Science / Technology
Toyota Supports Science Education for Local Students
- From left, Thomas S. Sayles, NAI scholars Kelly Lucero, Maria Orellana, and Hugo Lopez, Toyota strategist Kathy Mota, Toyota strategic planning manager Michael Kroll and NAI scholar Adrian Burke
- Photo/Alan House
By Alan House on November 9, 2011 10:04 AM
The USC Neighborhood Academic Initiative (NAI) received a $600,000 grant from the Toyota Corp. to increase science literacy among students in grades 6-12. The gift also will be used to augment the professional development of science teachers.
“This transformative gift will allow children in our local neighborhoods to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds by having better access to improved science, technology, engineering and math [STEM] instruction," said Thomas S. Sayles, USC senior vice president for University Relations during a recent luncheon with Toyota officials. “This is designed to improve success rates for NAI students who choose STEM majors, which is an important takeaway.”
NAI is a six-year college access and success program designed to prepare low-income neighborhood students for admission to a university. NAI scholars who complete the program and meet USC’s competitive admission requirements are rewarded with a full four-and-a-half-year financial package.
The program boasts a 100 percent high school graduation rate for NAI scholars. Nearly 100 percent of the scholars go on to attend college, with 35 percent choosing to attend USC.
“The Toyota grant bridges the gap for the students in this community, giving them improved access to STEM majors in college and eventually to careers in STEM fields,” said NAI executive director Kim Thomas-Barrios.
“It also allows secondary science teachers at our USC Family of Schools to develop a community of practice around the teaching of science in a new and substantive way.”
Working with the USC Rossier School of Education, NAI will use part of the grant to fund an online professional development opportunity that will be offered to a core of 60 secondary science teachers (20 every year for three years).
By offering teachers an opportunity to develop their skills with USC Rossier researchers and instructors, NAI estimated that nearly 6,000 non-NAI secondary school students also will benefit from having teachers who received the additional education.
According to Thomas-Barrios, some of the teachers enrolled in the hybrid online/in-person professional development program will instruct students attending NAI’s Saturday Academy in science, an addition to the English and math instruction that already exists.
“Teachers will be able to test and practice what they've learned through the online program in a more structured learning environment,” Thomas-Barrios said. “NAI students, in turn, will have the opportunity to participate in science experiments during Saturday Academy, including lab time in college laboratories and classrooms with USC engineering and science professors and graduate students.”
TAGS: community programs, education
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