Ohio Charter School Nets $3 Million for Science Center, STEM Training

KIPP Columbus, a Columbus, OH charter school, has received a $3 million donation to help build a science center and provide science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) training for teachers.

The bulk of the funds, $2.7 million, will go toward building the school's new science center, currently called the Center for Creativity and Innovation, which will be built on a former golf course adjacent to the KIPP Columbus campus and will feature hands-on learning experiences for KIPP students and others in the Columbus area. The center is scheduled for opening in 2016.

The remainder, $300,000, has been earmarked by Battelle, the company behind the gift, to fund a Teaching Fellowship Program for the training of new STEM teachers.

"As a company, we're motivated by the desire to learn more about how the world works and how to use knowledge to solve problems," said Jeffrey Wadsworth, CEO of Battelle, in a prepared statement. "Schools like KIPP Columbus help inspire that passion in the next generation of American innovators. I am delighted that we are part of the future of this terrific Columbus institution."

KIPP, for Knowledge is Power Program, "is a national network of free, open enrollment charter schools with a track record of preparing students in underserved communities for success in life and college," according to information released by the organization. KIPP originally launched in Houston, TX in 1994. The first KIPP school in Columbus, serving grades 5-8, launched in 2008. This year, the organization launched the KIPP Columbus Elementary School serving grades K-5 and a High school is planned to open in the area in 2017. KIPP projects an enrollment of 2,000 K-12 students by the end of the decade.

More information is available at kippcolumbus.org.

About the Author

Joshua Bolkan is contributing editor for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe. He can be reached at [email protected].

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