By Maegan Murray, ���سԹ�

RICHLAND, Wash. – Students and families at four elementary schools in Pasco will benefit from after-school programming and extracurricular learning experiences thanks to $2.5 million 21^{������}Century Community Learning Center grant to Washington State University Tri-Cities.

The school program, supported by the five-year grant, provides students with homework help and access to programs including LEGO Robotics, drama, chess, archery, Minecraft, field trips, fire safety, rocketry and English language learning. Schools also provide a four-week summer program focusing on the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

This is ���سԹ�’ third time receiving a 21^st Century Community Learning Center grant from the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Each grant received by ���سԹ� has served a different cohort of students.

The four Pasco schools to benefit from the new grant include Mark Twain Elementary School, Marie Curie Elementary School, Captain Grey Elementary School and Robert Frost Elementary School. The other grants awarded to ���سԹ� through the program also served Pasco schools.

The program aims to achieve four goals:

• Increase academic achievement among target students in reading and math.
• Provide high-quality learning opportunities that lead to increased positive student behavior among target students.
• Increase parent literacy levels and opportunities for educational development.
• Increase the number of community partners who collaborate with the program.

“���سԹ� can provide services to students in the community beginning at third-grade, and continue to engage students through their sixth-grade year,” said Jay Scott, director of the 21^stCentury Community Learning Centers program. “If the university continues to receive grants in the future, we can put new grants in place in the high schools and re-enter the middle schools, allowing ���سԹ� to potentially create a pipeline of STEM-ready students.”

In addition to supporting students at the elementary schools, the program also stands to benefit preservice teachers in the education program at ���سԹ�.

“Students wishing to pursue the elementary education degree at ���سԹ� can use the experience to gain exposure to classroom life and to work with students in the after school program,” Scott said.

Scott said he plans to work with the grant’s principal investigator, Kate McAteer, assistant vice chancellor of academic affairs, to develop a partnership with ���سԹ� students so that they can work in the 21^st Century Community Learning Center programs to gain real-world experience in the classroom.

���سԹ� was one of 10 proposals accepted for the grant program and received the highest funding award allotment allowed by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

“I am confident we are changing students’ lives for the better in the schools where we serve,” Scott said. “I am proud of all of the accomplishments my staff have achieved thus far. We want to achieve more during the 2018-19 school year. We know that if we are successful, then the students and the families we serve will be successful.”

 

Contacts:

• Jay Scott, director of 21^st Century Community Learning Centers, 509-222-7000 x5794, jscott@earlyoutreach.wsu.edu
• Maegan Murray, ���سԹ� public relations specialist, 509-372-7333, maegan_murray@wsu.edu

PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University announces the launch of a collaborative program with Amazon titled Amazon Catalyst — a successful innovation grant program.

Amazon will provide up to $300,000 to WSU to launch the initiative, providing funding and mentorship to support bold, globally impactful and disruptive projects proposed by members of the university community. The Amazon Cataly������program will support the expansion of the entrepreneurial ecosystem across the WSU system.

Grants will be available to students, staff and faculty across all of WSU’s campuses, colleges, research stations and extension offices located throughout the state. The grants can be awarded in any field, including the humanities, engineering, physical and life sciences, and the arts. Grant recipients also will join the Amazon Catalyst Fellows, a collaborative community of individuals who share a passion for building solutions to solve complex problems. The grants reward creativity, scholarship, and innovation for devices, products, processes and services.

Amazon first launched Amazon Catalyst at the University of Washington in 2015. In the program’s first two years it funded dozens of projects, ranging from self-cleaning solar panels to eco-friendly self-driving bikes, that tackle difficult challenges.

“We’re excited to bring the Amazon Catalyst program to WSU and to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurial spirit across the entire state of Washington,” said H.B. Siegel, director of engineering at Amazon Web Services, Inc.

“As the state’s research land grant institution, with a mission of supporting and creating innovation that drives the economy of the state of Washington, we are thrilled to have the Amazon Catalyst program at WSU,” said Chris Keane, the university’s vice president of research. “Thousands of exciting ideas are generated across our campuses each year. This program will bring much-needed resources to help translate those ideas into successful endeavors.”

Amazon Catalyst projects must address a key problem faced in the world today. Problems can be diverse and focus on a variety of topics from computer security to immigration to healthcare. Given the complex nature of these issues, the solutions may come from different fields and perspectives. Therefore, grants are open to all members of the university community.

The Amazon Catalyst grant application process kicks off in the fall of 2017, and grants are scheduled to be awarded in early 2018.

 

Media Contacts:

• Ann Goos, director for public affairs, WSU, 206-465-5136, ann.goos@wsu.edu
• Brian Kraft, WSU Office of Research, 509-335-3959, bkraft@wsu.edu
• Marie Mayes, WSU Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, 509-335-5628, mmayes@wsu.edu