AT&T Full STEAM Ahead grant awarded to Bessey Creek Elementary School

Kate Cotner, EFMC President; Stacy Schmit, Principal, Bessey Creek Elementary School; Kendra Remian, Science Lab Teacher, Bessey Creek Elementary School and Ian Cotner, Regional Director of External & Legislative Affairs at AT&T and EFMC Board Member. Photo provided by Education Foundation of Martin

Holiday magic came early to Bessey Creek Elementary School in Palm City when principal Stacy Schmidt and science lab teacher Kendra Remian received some great news. The school was awarded an AT&T Full STEAM Ahead Grant which will be used to provide hands-on science lab experiments for all third, fourth and fifth grade standards.  The Education Foundation of Martin County (EFMC) presented the grant on a surprise visit to the school.

Schmidt was delighted with the news. “Being awarded the AT&T Full STEAM Ahead grant means we will be able to connect our students’ concepts of science to hands-on learning.  This will make a lasting impression for all our fifth-grade students and afford them a learning opportunity to build a solid science foundation to keep them learning and growing for years to come,” she said.

Lisa Rhodes, Executive Director of EFMC, reached out to all Martin County public schools when she learned about the one-time grant and immediately heard back from Schmidt. Said Rhodes, “Ms. Schmit had a plan to re-engage students in science who may have fallen behind during the COVID-19 pandemic, but just needed the funds to make it happen.” Rhodes applied on behalf of Bessey Creek and the school was awarded $5,000, part of a $100,000 statewide grant offered by AT&T.

Bessey Creek Elementary students will now have an opportunity to experiment in real-time with a scientist, at their own lab station while using all the materials the scientist is using. The goal is to foster a love of science and boost science scores on the fifth grade Florida Standards Science Assessment. “We can't wait to see the end results of this generous award from our longtime partner, AT&T," said Rhodes.

To learn more about the Education Foundation of Martin County, visit www.educationfoundationmc.org.

 

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