The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) is awarding $31,500 in grants to support a variety of Science-Technology -Engineering-Mathematics (STEM) programs and projects within V.I. public schools and early childhood centers in the territory. For the third year in a row, these grants were made possible by a generous contribution from the AT&T Foundation.
Hundreds of students within the St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John Districts will have the opportunity to explore the STEM subjects through hands-on, creative instruction. Teachers and professionals were required to submit proposals that aimed to improve student achievement. These grants range from $1,500-$5,000 and will be used to boost STEM education.
“STEM industries demand a highly-educated and skilled workforce and provides opportunities for under-represented populations such as women, minorities and students with disabilities to obtain the skills essential to their future success,” said Joe York, AT&T president of Florida, Puerto Rico and U.S.V.I. “These STEM grants provide the opportunity for increased knowledge in fields that are essential to the economic development of our country.”
Dee Baecher-Brown, CFVI president, recognized the continued generosity, vision and long-term support of AT&T as a model of commitment for businesses in the territory. “We are so appreciative of AT&T’s ongoing philanthropic support of initiatives serving students in the USVI, particularly as many are facing the challenges of split-session school schedules. As we build forward from the September hurricanes, these grants will enable students to access STEM enrichment in and beyond the classroom.”
Pre-schoolers at Head Start facilities throughout the territory will be utilizing learning kits to engage in STEM-related concepts; physics students at the Charlotte Amalie High School will participate in team building exercises to construct robots; students at the Claude O. Markoe Elementary School will be collecting data samples at local ponds to study their chemical composition. These are a few of the enriching projects that were selected as recipients for the 2017-2018 AT&T STEM Grants.
2017-2018 AT&T STEM Grant Recipients
Grant Recipient …… School ……. Island …… Project
Ludovic Atemazem, Charlotte Amalie H.S., St. Thomas: The Physics Behind the Robot – Sea Perch Navigation
Victor Barnes, St. Croix Central H.S., St Croix: M3 Challenge & IMMC Mathematics Competition
Nancy Graham, John H. Woodson Jr. H.S., St. Croix: Creative Minds STEAM Club Bucket Irrigation System
Masikia Lewis, V.I. Department of Human Service Head Start Pre-School Program: STEM in the Pre-school Setting
Marissa Richards-Nurse, St. Croix Educational Complex H.S., St. Croix: Flora, Fauna and Composition of St Croix’s Ponds
Tysh St. Jules, Claude O. Markoe Elementary School, St. Croix: “Fertigation” Bucket Irrigation System