NEF Offers $40 Million STEM and Energy Matching Grants for K-12 Schools
Enables disadvantaged school districts to get up to $30 million federal QZAB funds
Washington, D.C., June 28, 2017 (Newswire.com) - The National Education Foundation (NEF), the national non-profit leader in STEM education, is offering the required match to enable any disadvantaged school district in the nation to receive up to 30 million in federal funds for energy efficiency, STEM, renovation, technology, curriculum or teacher training.
Any school district with at least 35 percent of students on free or reduced-cost lunch is eligible to apply. Applications are available at www.qzab.org. Grants are awarded on a first-come first served basis in most states.
"School districts across the nation are faced with serious budget cuts at a time U.S. rankings in math, reading and science are still going down. Thirty countries are ranked ahead of the U.S. in math."
Dr. Appu Kuttan, NEF Chairman
The little-known federal funding program has $400 million currently available. NEF has set aside $40 million to provide the required 10 percent matching grant. NEF's academic partner, the State University of New York (SUNY), the largest U.S. university, will set up and maintain the mandated STEM+ Academy (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, English, Social Studies, SAT/ACT, IT, Business) at no cost to the school district.
Dr. Appu Kuttan, Chairman of NEF, philanthropist, author and global expert in STEM education, states, "School districts across the nation are faced with serious budget cuts at a time U.S. rankings in math, reading and science are still going down. Thirty countries are ranked ahead of the U.S. in math. Our $40 million grant program will provide school districts the required 10 percent match and a world-class STEM+ Academy at no out-of-pocket cost."
NEF's STEM+ Academies are capable of advancing a student one grade level in a subject in 25-35 learning hours, as documented by SUNY.
President Bill Clinton commended NEF's STEM+ Academy program, "You are helping to empower tomorrow's leaders. I salute you for your ongoing commitment to creating a better and stronger America."
According to Misty Weber, the NEF Academy program director at the Warren County School District in PA, "NEF helped us to receive $44 million in federal funds for renovating our school facilities and energy efficiency programs. In addition, NEF's STEM+ Academy, implemented by SUNY, helped our students to advance a grade level in math in 22 learning hours. NEF also set up a parent academy to train our parents in job skills, as well as a teacher academy to enhance our teachers' teaching skills at no cost."
In addition to the above matching grant program, NEF provides an 80 percent matching grant to qualified school districts/charter schools through its $100 million NEF SUNY STEM Grant program. NEF's Adopt-A-School program creates school-college-business partnerships to provide world-class STEM+ Academies for disadvantaged schools at no cost to the schools. Apply for these grants at www.stemgrant.org.
About NEF
National Education Foundation (NEF), founded in 1989 in the Washington, D.C. area, is the national non-profit leader in bridging the academic and job skills divides through high-quality, affordable STEM+ education solutions, consisting of STEM Academics, STEM application, and STEM hands-on programs. NEF provides total STEM+ education solutions including 3,000 top-quality online personalized learning courses mapped to every state standards, mentoring, motivational rewards, teacher stipends, teacher training, and tech support to disadvantaged school districts across the nation.
Contact: Tamara Stephens
Grants Director
Tel: 703-823-9999
Email: tstephens@@nefuniversity.org
Websites: www.stemgrant.org and www.qzab.org
Source: National Education Foundation
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