Spring Hill High School has been awarded a STEM Special Event Grant by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL). Supported by the Danaher Foundation, the STEM Special Event Grant Program supports a special event to increase student engagement by providing direct assistance funding to middle or high school libraries for special short-term projects or events that would engage students to promote STEM education and student interest in a career in the STEM field.
Spring Hill High School was one of 5 schools across the country to receive a $3,000 grant to fund their project or event. The school’s Librarian Margaret Adams and Digital Integration Specialist Meghan Blackburn applied for the grant.
“Spring Hill High School is honored to be selected as a recipient of the STEM Special Event Grant supported by the Danaher Foundation,” Adams said. “The award funds will be used to kick off an extension of our monthly lunchtime Creative Commons Makerspace, a collaboration with our local public library. We are excited about this opportunity to further this program by adding STEM activities that reflect our five career academies; Engineering, Entertainment, Entrepreneurial, Environmental Studies, and Exercise Science.”
Digital Integration Specialist Meghan Blackburn added, “Students have really enjoyed the projects offered by the Chapin Public Library and we hope to gain more interest in our ‘Creative Commons’ by including monthly STEM projects.”
Grant recipients will provide additional information through a variety of communication and professional development paths to share their events or projects for the field to replicate.
The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.
“We want to thank the Danaher Foundation for their generous support of this grant program and school libraries,” said AASL President Courtney Pentland. “I am absolutely inspired by the innovative work my school librarian colleagues are doing to engage their learners, connect them to valuable resources, and build community. Congratulations to all of the recipients!”
The Danaher Foundation, an independent charitable organization funded by Danaher, invests in partnerships that share a desire to make a positive impact in the world by Building a Diverse, STEM-ready Workforce, Advancing Healthcare Innovation and Protecting the Environment.
Photo: The school’s Librarian Margaret Adams and Digital Integration Specialist Meghan Blackburn