St. Joseph High School Awarded $20K Grant from National Grid Foundation
St. Joseph High School has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the National Grid Foundation to support our Building STEAM Program. This program seeks to help students gain the digital and technical skills necessary to pursue advanced study and careers in STEAM fields.
In addition to funding environmentally-focused organizations, the National Grid Foundation supports innovative educational programs, like Building STEAM, that develop skills and enhance quality of life for the underserved. The Foundation also plans to organize a roundtable where female National Grid engineers will share their stories with St. Joseph students. In June, St. Joseph High School will recognize a graduating senior for her outstanding achievements with a National Grid Award for Technology Studies.
“We are really blessed to have the support of wonderful organizations like the National Grid Foundation that are committed to helping the communities they serve,” says Caroline Latham, Principal of St. Joseph’s. “We’re a small school with big ideas and dreams for our students. To grow and compete, our country needs more women, especially women of color, in STEAM. The National Grid Foundation is helping us make that happen.”
Through the Building STEAM Program, SJHS students benefit from extensive math and science coursework, including required courses in the school’s two new makerspaces. Girls study technology fundamentals in the Fab Lab and master engineering fundamentals in the Engineering Lab. After school, all students can receive free tutoring and participate in absorbing STEAM clubs, workshops, and internships through a number of partner organizations, including NYU-Polytechnic Tandon School of Engineering, Mouse Technology, and Girls Who Code.
In addition, every year students create and donate several 3D-printed prosthetic hands to needy children in the US.
Because of its innovative Building STEAM Program, St. Joseph’s was chosen as the first field research site for a three-year study being conducted by researchers at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education. The study seeks to assess the impact of learning in a digital makerspace. The Building STEAM Program is one among many initiatives at St. Joseph High School designed to remove barriers to success for economically disadvantaged students.
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