10/4/2012--Science, math grants will benefit county students
San Mateo Daily Journal
More than 600 San Mateo County students will learn critical science, technology,
engineering and math skills due to more than $100,000 in grants awarded by the Board of
Supervisors and Workforce Development Services.
“This funding is critically important,” said San Mateo County Supervisor Carole Groom
in a prepared statement.
“In a region known for innovation and technology-driven industries, it is essential that
young people learn to solve problems and the joy of asking probing questions so that they
can become the innovators of tomorrow,” Groom said.
In 2005, the board created the Math and Science Workgroup to promote and improve
student achievement and teacher excellence in math and science. The group awards
grounds though the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Innovation Fund
which is financed through the county general fund.
These grants will help students participate in after-school programs at Borel Middle
School and Highlands Elementary School in San Mateo and the La Honda-Pescadero
Unified School District. They will learn technology skills, problem solving, critical
thinking and technology troubleshooting.
Elementary school students in South San Francisco will explore science through microbe
and plant experiments and participate in math sessions while Daly City students at
Pollicita Middle School will work side-by-side with San Francisco State University
students on robotics and science projects, and become instructors themselves as they lead
science activities with kindergarten to fifth-grade students Susan B. Anthony Elementary
School.
The San Mateo County Community STEM Alliance will provide eight-week modules to
more than 200 students in San Carlos, Half Moon Bay, Pacifica and the mid-coast. These
modules will teach students computer programming and use high-tech tools to analyze
earth’s environmental and ecological communities.