91制片厂 has received an award of $100,000 from Emerson to support its Center for Access and Achievement (CA2), which provides access to high-quality STEM education for pre-K through 12th grade students and their teachers.
鈥淭he path to lifelong learning begins in early childhood,鈥� said Steve Coxon, PhD, executive director of CA2. 鈥淥ur goal is to reach children as early as possible and inspire them to reach their full potential.鈥�
CA2 supports Maryville鈥檚 strategic plan as the beginning of the pipeline from preschool to profession. Traditionally underrepresented students are given the boost they need to succeed in postsecondary education and the careers of the future.
Current partners of CA2 include Ritenour, Jennings, Normandy, Riverview Gardens and Ferguson-Florissant School Districts, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis and the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation.
The Emerson award, called FutureSTL (Science and Technology Leaders), will allow CA2 to expand its programming and reach hundreds more children. This includes increasing student enrollment for existing STEM summer camps hosted by CA2 as well as increasing the number of teachers at those camps. Teachers serve as camp assistants and learn technologies and strategies from Maryville faculty to take back to their classrooms.
Additionally, the Emerson award will help expand Maryville鈥檚 STEM Education Certificate Program. Participants learn to integrate STEM into the classroom with research-based best practices led by expert educators in the field. Teachers, librarians, media specialists, technology trainers, principals, instructional coaches and others interested in engaging students in STEM are invited to participate in the program.
鈥淎t Maryville, we know student success is shaped by the educational experiences that begin well before college,鈥� said Mascheal Schappe, EdD, dean of the School of Education, of which CA2 is a part. 鈥淲e鈥檙e working with teachers and students at all grade levels to advance access for talented students with higher education goals and the ambition to achieve them.鈥�