Raytheon contributes to STEM

The Raytheon Company contributed $20,000 to the Houston County School System in support of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. The gift was announced by Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services President Lynn Dugle during a reception held Feb. 20, at the Museum of Aviation.

The district is using the funds to help schools earn STEM Program certification through the Georgia Department of Education.

Superintendent Robin Hines commented, “We are thankful to Raytheon for this contribution and are excited about this partnership. Our principals are pleased that this gift will help their schools earn STEM certification, and integrating STEM across the curriculum will better prepare our students for the jobs of the future.”

Raytheon is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, security and civil markets throughout the world.

“We announced grants to both the Houston County School System and the Museum of Aviation to show our continued support for STEM activities in the community,” said Dugle. “It is important to foster interest in STEM however we can and continually fuel the pipeline for our future.”

Four schools are currently pursuing GaDOE STEM certification – Northside Elementary, Eagle Springs Elementary, Huntington Middle and Thomson Middle.

A GaDOE STEM certification requirement is that 75 percent of teachers in an elementary school must be certified in either math or science. To meet this need, the Middle Georgia Regional Educational Service Agency is offering math and science endorsement classes. Teachers volunteered to take either math or science classes for 18 months, funded by the Raytheon grant. The cost for 40 teachers totals approximately $28,000.

Raytheon also contributed $20,000 to the Museum of Aviation support of its National STEM Academy programs. Northside Elementary School teacher Beth Sciarro was awarded a $3,000 national Raytheon grant to purchase curriculum materials and to attend the “Everyone Engineers” workshop held at the Museum of Science in Boston this past October.

This program encourages the inclusion of engineering and technology education in elementary classrooms by providing access to Engineering is Elementary workshops and materials. Sciarro is now a trainer for Engineering is Elementary units.

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