Licking Heights receives STEM grants from Google, Battelle

Special to Pataskala Standard
·2 min read
Fourth grade students at Licking Heights West Elementary enjoy an experiment about fluorescence, viscoelasticity, and fiber optics lead by the district’s Technology Integration Specialist Vicki Willett. In October, the district received two major grants from Battelle and Google to support STEM education in the classroom.
Fourth grade students at Licking Heights West Elementary enjoy an experiment about fluorescence, viscoelasticity, and fiber optics lead by the district’s Technology Integration Specialist Vicki Willett. In October, the district received two major grants from Battelle and Google to support STEM education in the classroom.

Licking Heights Local Schools recently received two major grants to support student learning from Battelle’s Ohio STEM Learning Network and Google’s Data Center Community Grants Program. The district was awarded $5,000 from Battelle and $49,100 from Google.

The school’s Ohio STEM grant is one of 233 issued this fall by Battelle to create sustainable STEM learning projects. It will fund a project titled "Beep Beep–Don’t Go to Sleep," which will provide Ozobots to kindergarten students at North Elementary. Students will use the Ozobots, which are desk robots for classroom use, to learn the basics of coding.

In total, 161 public schools also received funding through the Ohio STEM award. The program reaches students in one of every seven school districts across 60 Ohio counties. $5,000 is the maximum amount a classroom may receive through a grant. The district earned another $5,000 Ohio STEM grant from Battelle last year.

With the money from Google, the district will fund a project titled "The Segue Project." This project will provide students kindergarten through eighth grade with hands-on opportunities for computer science using grade-level appropriate robots.

According to Google, the Data Center Community Grants Program "supports eligible organizations and initiatives that directly impact the immediate community surrounding a Google data center." This can include projects focused on education, economic opportunity, bridging the digital divide, sustainability, health and science and arts and culture.

"Earning these grants could not have happened without the dedicated efforts of Vicki Willett, our district’s Technology Integration Specialist. Mrs. Willett is a tireless advocate for high-quality, engaging, meaningful STEM education for all students in our district, and a nationally recognized educator and STEM leader herself," said Kevin Miller, Licking Heights Superintendent. "Myself and the teachers of Licking Heights thank Mrs. Willett for making STEM experiences accessible to all students. We are building tomorrow’s workforce right here in our classrooms."

To express her excitement and gratitude for the grants, Willett quoted her hero Mae Jemison: "We have the opportunity to create the future and decide what's in it."

Information submitted by Licking Heights Local Schools.

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Licking Heights receives STEM grants from Google, Battelle