WASHINGTON, May 5, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — National Education Foundation (NEF), the national nonprofit leader in K-12 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education solutions, has announced Lehighton Schools, PA the winner of its 2016 STEM Leadership Award for $10,000.
Lehighton students advanced a grade level in math and reading in 26 and 27 learning hours respectively, a phenomenal achievement.
The STEM Leadership Award celebrates the exemplary implementation of the NEF-SUNY (State University of New York) STEM education solution including personalized learning, teacher stipends, student rewards, teacher and parent training.
According to Lehighton Superintendent JJ Cleaver and STEM academy director Charlie Bachert, “It is a great honor and privilege to be recognized with an award of this magnitude from such a prestigious group as NEF. We are fortunate to have such a strong partnership with NEF, and look forward to expanding our STEM program districtwide.”
NEF Chairman Dr. Appu Kuttan and NEF national STEM academy director Prof. Anthony Betrus of the State University of New York at Potsdam stated, “NEF is concerned that the US is ranked 27th out of 34 countries in math and science. Our world-class STEM Academies across the nation will help students of disadvantaged schools improve their STEM skills, and better prepare them for jobs in the highly competitive 21st century global economy.”
Lehighton’s success stands out as a clear example of how to cost-effectively improve student achievement by involving and motivating all the stakeholders—students, teachers, parents and administrators.
School districts in Canton, NY, Sidney, NE, Steubenville, OH, and Warren County, PA have also been recognized for their distinguished achievements in STEM. These distinguished honors carry monetary awards from NEF.
In addition to these annual awards, NEF provides 80% STEM matching grants to disadvantaged school districts nationwide. Lehighton’s STEM+ academy was fully funded by the Federal QZAB (www.qzab.org) program and NEF’s significant matching grant.
Through the QZAB, STEM+ and Adopt-A-School grant initiatives, NEF has created the most cost-effective and high-quality STEM+ education solution in the U.S, mapped to every state’s standards.
NEF has STEM+ Academies in 20 states and in several major cities. NEF’s ultimate goal is to provide STEM+ education to students in most disadvantaged school districts in the U.S. by 2020.
For information about NEF’s grant programs for students, jobseekers, teachers and veterans, contact NEF at 703-823-9999 or visit www.cyberlearning.org
For STEM+ Academy Grants, visit: www.cyberlearning.org/stemgrant
