Over a dozen Mississippi school districts will share $886,000 in grants to enhance or establish programs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in Kindergarten through 8th grade.
The Mississippi State Board of Education awarded funding for the K-8 STEM Initiative Enhancement Project Grant, which will support the implementation of STEM activities in classrooms and coursework while providing technology upgrades and educator training to implement STEM applications. Priority was given to schools implementing engineering, computer science, robotics, and other project-based STEM activities to expand the current Mississippi College and Career Readiness standards for math and/or science K-8.
“These dollars will help schools get students interested in the STEM field at an earlier age,” said Jean Massey, executive director of secondary education. “This will allow us to expand opportunities for students at the high school level to be ready to enter STEM-related fields either in college or in the workplace.”
The districts and schools were selected by competitive request for an application to receive the grant and include over a dozen schools and districts.
The list of schools include:
- Booneville School District – Booneville Middle School
- Cleveland School District – BL Bell Academy, DM Smith Elementary School, Hayes Cooper Center, and Pearman Elementary School
- Columbia School District – Columbia Elementary School, Columbia Primary School, and Jefferson Middle School
- Corinth School District – Corinth Elementary School
- DeSoto County School District – Horn Lake Middle School
- Lauderdale County Schools – Clarkdale Elementary School, Northeast Lauderdale Elementary, Southeast Lauderdale Elementary, and West Lauderdale Elementary School
- Long Beach School District – Reeves Elementary School
- Natchez-Adams School District – McLaurin Elementary School, Susie B. West Elementary School, Frazier Elementary School, and Robert Lewis Magnet School
- Neshoba County School District – Neshoba Central Elementary School
- Rankin County School District – Florence Middle School, Highland Bluff Elementary School, Northshore Elementary School, and Northwest Rankin Middle School
- Stone County School District – Perkinston Elementary School, Stone Elementary School, and Stone Middle School
- Water Valley School District – Davidson Elementary School
- Wayne County School District – Beat Four School and Waynesboro Riverview School
