ODESSA, Texas — Dowling Elementary is in the process of starting a new after-school STEM club due to a grant from Sparklight.
Sparklight decided in March to provide funds to schools looking for projects and clubs involving math, science, technology and engineering. This is a part of their "Dream Bigger" social media campaign.
“We gave away $15,000 in grants to 5 schools across the country," said General Manager for Sparklight Odessa Joe Drisco. "The entries were narrowed down to 10 then posted online for community voting.”
Dowling Elementary received 1,200 votes for the grant to start the STEM Club as well as a trip to Texas Tech University for STEM activities.
“It came about because Mrs. Marshall sent me an email about the grant and asked if I was interested in doing it because Dowling doesn’t have STEM programming," said Communities in Schools Campus Coordinator at Dowling Elementary Courtney Selking. "We hope to serve Communities in Schools students that often don’t have possibilities like that and possibly other students, however many we can cover.”
Dowling Elementary has served as a pilot elementary for Communities in Schools, and its goal is to make sure students are staying in school.