Denton, TX - Educators' Workshop

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding Arconic facilities in Denton, Texas in Spring 2016. BEF’s Solar 4R Schools program and the City of Denton’s Sustainable Schools partnered to provide a STEM teacher training that enabled renewable energy programming to reach 10 educators from 9 schools across the District with substantial science kits – which are now available to teachers through a lending library hosted through Denton Sustainable Schools. The City of Denton, Denton Municipal Electric, and Denton Independent School District contributed additional resources to support the training.

Local teachers enjoyed a full day of exploring renewable energy innovations and building and testing devices that harness the power of solar and wind. Teachers anticipate reaching 2,336 K-6th grade students during the first year.

City of Denton Sustainability Director, Kathy Jack told us, “ I wanted to make sure to share that providing this training and these tools to Denton teachers and kids is honestly on of the most fulfilling ‘moments’ of my career. I am a HUGE believer in providing the right people with the right tools. Having the teachers in our area have access to the caliber [of] training you provided and THESE tools- is tremendously exciting!” Check out this amazing video some of the teachers put together after the workshop: https://youtu.be/kUTfzDxVjiQ.

Arconic Foundation is proud to support Solar 4R Schools and bring this innovative program to Arconic communities nationwide. The mission of the Arconic Foundation is to advance science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and skills training worldwide, with a special emphasis on engaging and creating access for underrepresented and underserved groups. Through our partnerships, we are helping to change the perception of manufacturing by creating excitement around the rewarding career opportunities available to the next generation of talent – from career and technical education to the most advanced robotics and digital manufacturing. Solar 4R Schools is a proven and innovative model that we believe can bring to life the issues and solutions around energy management. Energy is a critical component of what we do in industry and in all of our personal lives – it is a topic that we want our youth educated about so that they can solve the problems of tomorrow.