Cooke Foundation Grants $1.6 Million to STEM Programs for Low-Income Students
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has awarded
more than $1.6 million in grants to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)
education programs for low-income students.
According to a statement from the organization, many low-income students with
the aptitude for STEM fields miss out on educational opportunities that could
lead them on the path to careers in those fields. The foundation aims to support
those students by funding STEM education programs at the middle and high school
levels.
Programs that received grants this year include:
- New York Academy of Sciences in New
York, NY, which received $500,000 to launch the
Global STEM Alliance Junior Academy, a social learning network for
students aged 13-19 that offers online courses and mentoring from STEM
professionals;
- Duke University Talent
Identification Program in Durham, NC, which received $331,283 to support
435 low-income student in grades 6 and 7 and enable them to participate in a
one-week residential summer program from Project Launch called CRISIS,
engage in creative investigations, complete online courses, participate in a
nation-wide online book club and receive academic guidance through email and
text messages;
- Art of
Problem Solving in New York, NY, which received $330,000 to support the
Summer Program in
Mathematical Problem Solving, a three-week residential program for 80
low-income middle school students, and provide year-round academic mentoring
for approximately 170 of the program's alumni;
- The
College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, which received $250,000
for continued support of
Camp
Launch, a two-week summer residential camp for 80 high-ability,
low-income middle school students, offering hands-on science investigation
in nanotechnology, robotics, chemistry and ecology, as well as scientific
and creative writing and career planning;
-
Purdue University Gifted Education Research Institute in West Lafayette,
IN, which received $200,000 to help 65 Native American students in grades 6-12 participate in Project HOPE+, a two-week STEM-focused residential
summer camp; and
- The Center for Mathematical
Talent (CMT) at New York
University in New York, NY, which received $21,315 to support its high
school mathematics team that will compete in the New York State Mathematics
League Competition in April 2015 and the American Regions Mathematics League
Competition in May 2015.
Further information about the grants can be found on the
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's site.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].