FREDERICK, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today the Battelle National Biodefense Institute and Frederick County Public Schools announced $50,000 in science, technology, engineering and math challenge grants.
“Over our long STEM partnership with BNBI, we have taken many positive approaches to sparking a love of science and math in our middle and high school students. However, most of them were top down; developed by BNBI and FCPS, but implemented in the classroom,” said FCPS Superintendent Dr. Theresa Alban.
“This approach changes all that. During a month long open competition FCPS elementary, middle and high school teachers will have the opportunity to develop and submit their best STEM education ideas. If selected they can receive up to $5,000 to make that idea a reality for their students,” said BNBI President, Dr. Pat Fitch.
The challenge grant criteria will be released by FCPS on Tuesday, March 20. Completed grant applications will need to be submitted on Friday, April 20. During that month FCPS and Battelle will offer a grant writing seminar that will be webcasted to help ensure that every teacher can capture their best idea.
The winners will be announced and recognized at the Wednesday, May 23 FCPS Board of Education meeting.
The FCPS/BNBI STEM partnership was established in 2009 with the long-term goal of getting more students interested in and better prepared to major in math, the hard sciences or engineering in college. Since its inception BNBI has directly gifted $383,000 to FCPS, and BNBI staff has committed thousands of hours of time to assisting curricula development, classroom instruction, and outside of the classroom STEM activities.
About BNBI
The Battelle National Biodefense Institute, LLC is a non-profit Maryland company. BNBI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Battelle. Since 2006 BNBI has operated and managed the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, located on Fort Detrick, for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as a Federally Funded Research and Development Center.
