Raytheon Commits $1 Million for Teacher Scholarships Supporting Engineering is Elementary(R) Program
Last updated 10/20/2011 6:48:11 AM
Raytheon CSR - Engineering is Elementary
Raytheon Company announced it will establish the Raytheon-EiE Teacher Scholarship Program through a $1 million gift in support of the Museum of Science, Boston's Engineering is Elementary® (EiE) program. The donation will fund the training and readiness of thousands of educators throughout the nation to prepare them to effectively deliver the EiE curriculum into their classrooms. Raytheon Chairman and CEO William H. Swanson announced the gift during his keynote address at today's 2011 Massachusetts STEM Summit event held in Newton, Mass.
The Raytheon-EiE Teacher Scholarship Program, part of the company's MathMovesU® initiative, will accelerate the adoption of the specialized EiE curriculum in elementary schools, with a particular focus on those located in inner city, rural and disadvantaged areas. By providing $200,000 in teacher scholarships annually over the next five years, the program will facilitate the attendance and participation by teachers in EiE training workshops and provide them with access to EiE course materials.
This new commitment builds upon Raytheon's $1 million sponsorship of the museum's EiE program announced on October 5, 2011. That initial gift will fund the expansion of EiE training hubs beyond Boston, establishing new professional development centers for educators to be located in Washington, D.C., Phoenix, Ariz., and Huntsville, Ala.
The research-based, standards-driven EiE program integrates the basic concepts and skills of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the form of a classroom-proven curriculum that has already reached more than 27,000 teachers and 2.5 million students in the U.S.
In his address, Mr. Swanson said, "STEM is the foundation of innovation in this era of global competitiveness. It is critically important for the U.S. to have a strong STEM pipeline so our nation can continue to be a leader in innovation." He urged the broader business community to actively support STEM education initiatives, pointing out that businesses have much to contribute to this critically important endeavor, including:
- Visibility into workforce trends and needs,
- A results-oriented focus,
- Marketing skills,
- Public policy advocacy,
- Corporate philanthropy, and
- Employee volunteers who use science, technology, engineering and math every day.
The Raytheon-EiE Teacher Scholarship Program is the latest addition to the company's roster of educational scholarships and grants that also includes MathMovesU Middle School Scholarships, Math Hero Awards program and the Raytheon Scholars program. Interested applicants can find more information at www.mathmovesu.com.