Cleveland Schools Awarded $700,000 To Boost STEM Learning
- By Mike Hohenbrink
- 11/28/11
Students in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District will have more opportunities to engage in learning about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) after the district was awarded $700,000 by the KeyBank Foundation.
The grant builds on an existing relationship that began in 2008 with a three-year grant of $600,000 to help implement the MC2STEM High School, a project-based school designed to prepare students for college and eventually for careers in STEM fields. The school opened at General Electric in Nela Park in the fall of 2008.
Of the $700,000, $600,000 will go toward expanding STEM curriculum in six schools while the remaining $100,000 will provide additional learning experiences designed to ensure that students are college-ready. Schools receiving the grant money include:
A key feature of the program will be use of the FabLab (Fabrication Lab), a product created at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which "links computers to production equipment to make objects that students themselves design," according to information provided by the KeyBank Foundation and the district.
A mobile FabLab will travel to each of the six elementary schools, allowing students to complete two FabLab units over the course of the year. The district will be the first in the nation to utilize the FabLab with preK-8 schools.
"KeyBank's stated purpose is to help our clients and communities thrive," said Key CEO Beth Mooney. "This grant is both a vote of confidence in the Cleveland schools and their leadership, and an investment in a curriculum that has supported important and proven academic gains--a curriculum that will help Cleveland's children thrive."
The Cleveland Metroplitan School District serves more than 44,000 students at 112 schools. The district employs 3,463 educational staff members and has an annual budget of approximately $1.4 billion.
For more information about the KeyBank Foundation, visit key.com.