#dartfoundation

Two Talbot County Public Schools in Federalsburg, Maryland were recently awarded a grant by the Dart Foundation.

Thanks to the Dart Foundation’s recent grant, Easton High School and Saint Michael’s Middle/High School of Talbot County, Maryland will now be able to improve their career and technology education programs. Funds from the grant will be specifically reserved for the purchasing of printing and photography equipment, which will ultimately support both schools’ Interactive Media Production (IMP) courses.  

Offered by both Easton High School and Saint Michael’s, IMP courses are designed to prepare students with the skills needed for successful careers in new media, like computer graphics, web design and electronic multimedia. And while the equipment needed to develop these necessary skills in this career area tend to be expensive, the Dart Foundation’s grant of $4,495 enables the schools and their respective IMP courses to expand their budget.  

The Dart Foundation works to enhance youth education and improve quality of life in certain communities through various investments and grants. Working to prepare students to succeed in the world’s current leading industries, the Dart Foundation focuses their efforts on the awarding of science, technology, engineering and mathematics grants.

The private family foundation has been instrumental in the improvement of several kinds of educational institutions and programs since its inception in 1984. Earlier in 2017, the Dart Foundation awarded a grant to two Barren County schools in Kentucky, which enabled them to purchase new classroom materials for in-class science experiments and STEAM labs. However, the Dart Foundation has also been helpful in the enhancement of several collegiate level programs as well. In January 2017, Kettering University of Flint, Michigan could purchase new equipment for their chemical engineering students because of a $177,000 donation from the Dart Foundation.

The Dart Foundation recently awarded a $100,000 grant to Lansing, Michigan’s Information Technology Empowerment Center (ITEC) to help local students through STEM based learning.

ITEC functions as a nonprofit educational program for students to develop technologically based skills in an area where they may not have access to a variety of technology. The center allows more children to get involved in programs that will help them to build new skills as well as improve upon current skills, while also having some fun along the way.

The Dart Foundation’s grant will support the center’s ITEC bus program. The bus physically brings exciting programs to at least 2,500 students in the Lansing area who cannot access technology-based programs. The Dart Foundation is working to help make sure that all students have equal opportunities, especially with the rise of technology.

The bus program will feature state-of-the-art technology such as 3D printing and augmented reality on-board. It will also feature the Kerbal Space Program with a launch experience in collaboration with Dr. Shannon Schmoll, the Director of the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University.

Along with the ITEC Bus, the Dart Foundation’s generous grant will also be put towards ITEC’s iMath program. This tutoring program helps students build math skills through tutors as well as ITEC’s computer programs. Unlike other tutoring programs, this one adapts and works with each individual student’s skill level.

These programs all function as a way for ITEC to continue to rekindle student interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). By growing these skills, ITEC and the Dart Foundation are helping to prepare students for college and the ever-changing working world beyond.

As a board member of the Dart Foundation, Ken Dart has been a major supporter of STEM programs. By awarding this grant to ITEC, Dart is pushing the next generation of thinkers forward through fundamental academics and access to technology based learning.

Kettering University of Flint, Michigan received a $177,000 donation from the Dart Foundation for lab equipment materials which will be used by their chemical engineering students.

Ranked 13th nationally among non-Ph.D.-granting engineering programs in the 2017 U.S. News and World Report’s ‘Best Colleges’ edition, Kettering University is known for its offering of degrees focused in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The school is a private, experiential learning-based university that requires students to complete at least five co-op terms to graduate, which ensures each student acquires a solid academic foundation as well as paid work experience during their time at Kettering.

Kettering University will be utilizing the Dart Foundation’s donation specifically for the purchasing of materials characterization equipment as the school begins to expand their plastics course offerings and undergraduate research. The new equipment and enhancement of lab facilities will enable students to have real life industry experience through use of the new lab equipment and also create more educational opportunities for their students as the donation has allowed Kettering to consider the addition of a Plastics minor.

The Dart Foundation, an organization established to help improve lives through generous investments in education and other initiatives, was founded in 1984 by William A. and Claire T. Dart in Mason, Michigan. Similar to Kettering University, the Dart Foundation focuses their grant efforts on STEM opportunities as the foundation strives to help prepare students to succeed in the industries that are leading in innovation.