SUCCESS STORIES

Battelle gives $1.2 million to Washington STEM school

Source: Battelle World

Feb. 2, 2009

School now may open next fall

by Katy Delaney | Columbus and Greg Koller | Richland

Battelle will invest $1.2 million to support operations and startup costs for a proposed new Tri-Cities, Wash., public high school that will emphasize science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, education.

The gift, along with other public and private resource commitments by the Tri-Cities community, provides sufficient operating funds to cover a four-year startup period, a requirement set by local school boards.

The $1.2 million commitment assumes the school will be able to achieve mutually agreed-upon student enrollment and retention targets. The school also will be encouraged to incorporate innovative approaches in curriculum, professional development and other programs that enhance STEM teaching and learning in the participating districts. Receiving the gift will be the Washington State STEM Education Foundation, an organization established last fall to raise the funds needed to start the school and ultimately construct a permanent facility.

The new school—scheduled to open at Columbia Basin College’s Richland campus as early as next fall—will be one of the first STEM high schools in Washington, but not the first STEM school endeavor for Battelle.

In 2006, Battelle, Ohio State University and several central Ohio school districts opened Metro School, a STEM school in Columbus. The success of Metro School led, in part, to the creation of the Ohio STEM Learning Network, supporting the creation of eight regional STEM-based public schools targeting low-income and minority students throughout Ohio over the next two years. The network is supported in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

STEM education is designed to build critical thinking skills across disciplines, prepare students for post-secondary science and math studies, and help communities and the nation stay competitive in a global economy. The innovative school will target students of diverse backgrounds—students of all academic levels and interests. “The nation’s future depends on how well we solve problems such as climate change, energy independence, high health care costs, and other challenges,” says Rich Rosen, Battelle’s VP for education and philanthropy. “STEM literacy, with its emphasis on real-world problem-solving, gives students the intellectual as well as the technical foundation they need to make sense of the world around them, and then improve it.”