CFVI Awards AT&T STEM Grants To Public School Educators In Territory

The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) is awarding nearly $28,000 in grants to support a variety of STEM programs and projects within the public schools, the nonprofit announced this week. These grants were made possible by a contribution from the AT&T Foundation.

According to the release, hundreds of students within the St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John districts will have the opportunity to explore the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics through hands-on, creative instruction. Teachers and professionals were required to submit proposals that aimed to improve student achievement. Preference was given to proposals where students are directly involved in the project. These grants range from $1,500-$5,000 and will be used to boost STEM education within the Virgin Islands public schools.

Third-grade students at the Juanita Gardine Elementary School on St. Croix look forward to working with robots to strengthen mathematical and computational literacy skills. Physics students at the Charlotte Amalie High School will engage in team building exercises to construct wind turbines, a potential source of renewable energy for the Territory. These are a few of the many enriching projects that were selected as recipients for the 2016 AT&T STEM Grants. See below for the complete list of grantees.

“We know that industries engaged in STEM disciplines create a majority of high-value, high-wage jobs and within ten years, almost nine out of ten new jobs will require education beyond a high school degree,” noted Joe York, president of AT&T Florida, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. “AT&T and our employees have a commitment that is deeply rooted in our culture to strengthening communities by advancing education opportunities. An educated workforce is critical to the future success of the U.S. Virgin Islands, our nation and the success of our company as well.”

CFVI President, Dee Baecher-Brown, stated, “We are so grateful for the continued generosity, vision and long-term support of AT&T. We consider AT&T to be a model of commitment for businesses in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is an honor for CFVI to assist them with their philanthropy.”

Feature Image: Left to Right: Attorney Tom Bolt; Katrin Braddell, CFVI Development Director; Ray Flores, Regional Vice President of AT&T Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands November 21, 2016. (Credit: CFVI)