O&R issues $45,000 in grants for STEM studies
Tuxedo. Several local schools received grant funding for STEM programs.
![O&R issues $45,000 in grants for STEM studies Top: Won Choe (Orange and Rockland vice president), Melissa Benjamin (Washingtonville High School), Katherine Leo (Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County 4H), Rosali Shannon (MHA Preschool at Temple Sinai), Toby Schack (Orange Environment, Inc.), Christopher Stack (Orange Ulster BOCES Career and Technical Center) and Evan Lally (S.S. Seward Institute).](http://www.thephoto-news.com/binrepository/648x432/0c0/0d0/none/1050949/SOJE/dfdfd_4-7789719_20240605105433.jpg)
Orange and Rockland Utilities recently awarded grants totaling approximately $45,000 to support nearly 50 classroom projects that focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
The selected projects are designed to challenge students to think, plan, act and achieve, and the grants enable schools in Orange, Rockland, and Bergen counties to purchase solar panels, software, or technology to put real tools in the hands of students interested in different STEM applications.
“Congratulations to our STEM grant winners for all the brainstorming and research involved in submitting plans to bring science, technology, engineering and math into our classrooms in a meaningful and engaging way,” said Orange and Rockland Utilities President Michele O’Connell. “We’re committed to supporting workforce development programs that equip students of all ages with the skills, competencies and experiential learning that will lead to sustainable, well-paying careers in clean energy and technology fields.”
Orange County winners
• Smith Clove Elementary – Monroe-Woodbury Central School District (two awards)
• S.S. Seward Institute – Florida Union Free School District
• George Grant Mason Elementary School – Tuxedo Union Free School District
• Orange Ulster BOCES – Career & Technical Central
• Orange Environment Inc.
• Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County 4H
• Tuxedo/George F. Baker High School STEM Academy – Tuxedo Union Free School District
Over the past 10 years, the utility company has awarded 412 STEM Classroom Grants totaling over $383,000. The grants were awarded based on a review of teacher-submitted proposals by the Orange and Rockland STEM Education Advisory Council, a panel of educators and engineers assembled by Orange and Rockland Utilities expressly for this purpose.