PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Some Philadelphia schools are getting extra money to boost science and technology projects for Black, Latinx and female students. The grant program is designed to inspire students who are underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Sixteen elementary and high schools are getting up to $2,500 each.
The winning projects include creating video games for female students of color at the John Moffet School, developing virtual reality programs at Frankford High to showcase STEM careers, and exploring wearable computing technologies at Philadelphia High School for Girls. Other winning projects feature aquaponics, study urban water infrastructure and use drones to teach coding.
The grants are funded by GSK (GlaxoSmithKline), and they are being administered by the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia.
Black and Hispanic adults are less likely to earn degrees in STEM fields and they make up a lower share of the STEM workforce compared to their share of the population, according to an April Pew Research report.
Teachers applied for the grants, and schools in areas with a concentration of Black, Latinx and female students were given extra consideration.
The other 13 recipients include:
• Abraham Lincoln High School
• Alain Locke School
• Alexander Adaire School
• Anna L. Lingelbach School
• Carver High School of Engineering and Science
• Cook-Wissahickon School
• Eleanor C. Emlen School
• Eliza B. Kirkbride School
• Francis Scott Key School
• High School of the Future
• Samuel Fels High School
• Thurgood Marshall School
• William H. Loesche School