Investment to double number of students in Casa Grande Middle School STEM Academy
PhoenixMart and their business “Friends” in the community presented a $35,000 check to Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz) and Casa Grande Middle School on Tuesday, May 6, 2014 to fund a mobile computer science lab and allow for twice as many students to participate in Casa Grande Middle School’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Academy.
Margaret Mullen, COO of SFAz MC’d the event with keynote speakers that included Elizabeth Mann, CEO AZ Sourcing, developer of Phoenix Mart and NALTEC; William Harris, SFAz; Casa Grande Mayor Robert Jackson; Casa Grande Middle School Principal Jennifer Murrieta and John Kriekard, SFAz Director of Education.
The school’s STEM Academy is key to ensuring students have the opportunity to become part of a skilled and qualified workforce for Arizona’s future. Casa Grande Middle School’s STEM program currently includes 90 sixth-graders. Next year, it’s expected to reach 180 students with the new funding. The school eventually expects to expand the program to a school-wide model.
The event showed the importance of STEM programs and the opportunities the new funding will create. The 90 students in the current year STEM Academy were in attendance along with their parents, STEM teachers from the school, representatives from AZ Sourcing (parent company of PhoenixMart). Other donating entities included Bank of America, Walton Development & Management (USA), Ultrastarmovies, Corporate Interior Systems, Family Entertainment Center of Maricopa and Leezie Kim, Attorney with Quarles & Brady.