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Raytheon brings Engineering is Elementary® to San Antonio, TX elementary schoolsSAN ANTONIO, Nov. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has funded a $37,000 grant to help teach engineering concepts and practices to elementary school students in San Antonio, Texas. The grant to the San Antonio Independent School District is part of a larger $2 million Raytheon initiative, launched in 2011, to help improve STEM education nationwide by expanding the use of Engineering is Elementary® (EiE®), an award-winning curriculum developed at the Museum of Science, Boston through its National Center for Technological Literacy® (NCTL®). "Raytheon's generous support greatly expands our mission to bring engineering to elementary-aged children," said Museum of Science president and director Ioannis Miaoulis, who created the NCTL to introduce engineering in schools and museums nationwide. The Raytheon-Engineering is Elementary® (EiE®) grant funds professional development for a group of 25 teachers from the district, who will attend a workshop that prepares them to use EiE with their students. San Antonio is one of four districts this year and among a total of 17 schools and districts since 2013 to receive one of these Raytheon awards. The workshop for San Antonio teachers will take place Nov. 17, 2015; in addition to the training, each teacher will also receive an EiE curriculum guide and a materials kit with everything needed to implement engineering activities in the classroom. Finally, as part of the grant's "train the trainer" model, a district educator will attend an EiE Teacher Educator Institute, acquiring the skills and knowledge to facilitate more workshops for district teachers. "The professional development opportunity afforded to our district by Raytheon and the Museum of Science, Boston will ensure that teachers are well prepared to develop our students' ability to collaborate, create, innovate and problem-solve as they begin to discover engineering design and biomedical engineering," says Becky Landa, the director of science and curriculum management departments for SAISD. "As a large urban school district, we understand the importance of providing our teachers with challenging instructional resources to engage and inspire our students to pursue and achieve success in STEM career fields. An early pathway to increase STEM literacy is critical and involves not only our schools, but our communities and business partners working together with a shared commitment to make STEM education accessible to all students." "Our nation's competitiveness and economic growth depend on development of technical talent, and teachers are vital to this effort," said Jack Harrington, vice president of Cybersecurity and Special Missions at Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services. "As part of the San Antonio community, Raytheon is personally invested in inspiring the area's next generation of innovators, and this grant helps strengthen teachers' ability to encourage students to pursue careers in math and science." To date, EiE has reached more than 9 million children across the country, engagingstudents as young as six with hands-on, inquiry-based activities. The curriculum explores a variety of engineering fields – from electrical to mechanical to biomedical and more – and each activity is tied to a science concept commonly taught in elementary schools. Research shows EiE helps elementary students become more interested in engineering as a career, and also improves their learning of science concepts. "With the release of the Next Generation Science Standards in 2013, there's a new expectation that engineering will be integrated with existing elementary science curricula – and schools and districts need an effective way to do that," said Dr. Christine Cunningham, a vice president at the Museum and EiE founder and director. "We're really pleased to be able to offer support through the Raytheon scholarship program." Headquartered in Massachusetts, Raytheon also has offices in the San Antonio area. In addition to San Antonio, two other Texas School Districts, McKinney Public Schools and Garland Independent School District, have received Raytheon grants. "Garland already promotes student-centered active inquiry to enhance critical thinking and problem solving skills," says Tina Garrett, an elementary science coordinator for the district. "Raytheon's generosity has enabled us the opportunity to embed engineering practices at all levels of elementary science." About Engineering is Elementary
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