Friday, January 22
Weslaco, TX - IDEA College Preparatory Alamo, one of two new IDEA campuses set to open in August 2010, has been awarded a Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (T-STEM) grant, approximately $1 million, from the Texas High School Project. This is IDEA Public Schools’ fourth school to receive a T-STEM award, in addition to IDEA Mission, IDEA San Benito, and IDEA San Juan.
IDEA Alamo is one of five award winners and the only open-enrollment charter school recipient this year. The 2 ½ year grant will be used to design a school for middle and high school students that places a special emphasis on the STEM content areas: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The planning phase of the IDEA Alamo grant will begin in March 2010 and funding will continue through the 2011-12 school year. The desired outcome of the T-STEM award is to improve student achievement and promote college readiness by exposing students to innovative science and math instruction.
The goals of a T-STEM school align nicely with the academically rigorous college-going culture present at all IDEA campuses. T-STEM schools offer unique learning environments that offer hands-on, student-centered approaches to learning with an emphasis on math and the sciences. Clubs like robotics and chess, as well as engineering courses are offered at IDEA schools with a focus on establishing dual credit and AP or IB courses for students in the upper grades.
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