SAIC Pledges Additional $200,000 to Project Lead The Way (PLTW)

MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) (NYSE: SAI) announced today it will continue its enterprise-wide program to help inspire, engage and educate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education by pledging an additional $200,000 to Project Lead The Way (PLTW), an organization with demonstrated results in the STEM arena. The donation builds on SAIC's $400,000 donation to the organization in January 2010.  

PLTW partners with middle schools and high schools to prepare students for the jobs of the 21st century by engaging them in a hands-on, project-based curriculum that emphasizes innovation and critical thinking. Through PLTW's programs, students understand how what they are learning in math and science class applies to real-world problem solving. Students also benefit greatly from mentorships and internships, and are able to see firsthand the relevance of the concepts that they are learning in the classroom.

Throughout 2010, SAIC and PLTW have worked with schools across the country to encourage participation in PLTW's program that provides students with a proven path to college and career success in STEM fields.  The latest donation will enable PLTW to support new and existing STEM programs in participating schools.  

"Every student deserves the opportunity to experience learning in an Innovation Zone," said John Lock, CEO of PLTW.  "Our hands-on, project-based curriculum is engaging hundreds of thousands of students in STEM fields, but we won't be satisfied until every student has the chance to develop the skills they are going to need to be successful in today's global economy.  SAIC's generosity is providing more students with access to PLTW and we are grateful for their support in creating the next generation of innovators in this country."

Over the past year, SAIC has helped PLTW implement initiatives including providing Nansemond River High School in Suffolk, Va., with $20,000 to continue its 'Pathway to Engineering' pre-college engineering curriculum; Timber Creek High School in Orlando, Fla., with $20,000 to further its Engineering Technology program; North Hardin High School in Radcliff, Ky., with $27,000 to incorporate engineering coursework into its existing curriculum; and New Century Technology High School in Huntsville, Ala., with $17,500 to implement 'Pathway to Engineering' and Biomedical Science programs.

"We're delighted to continue to strengthen our relationship with PLTW in the communities where we live and work," said Amy Alving, Ph.D., SAIC's chief technology officer.  "PLTW programs excite students about technology because the curriculum is structured around solving real problems.  The hands-on, practical approach motivates kids to pursue STEM-related careers, and that helps ensure we're educating the workforce we need to retain our innovation-based economy."  

About PLTW

Project Lead The Way, Inc., is a national, non-profit organization that is the leading provider of rigorous and innovative STEM education curricular programs used in K-12 schools. The PLTW comprehensive curriculum, which is collaboratively developed by PLTW teachers, university educators, engineering and biomedical professionals, and school administrators, emphasizes critical thinking, creativity, innovation and real-world problem solving. The hands-on, project-based program engages students on multiple levels, exposes them to areas of study that they typically do not pursue, and provides them with a foundation and proven path to college and career success. PLTW began in 1998 in 12 high schools in upstate New York as a program designed to address the shortage of engineering students at the college level and has grown to a network of nearly 4,000 middle and high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia. More than 350,000 students are expected to take a PLTW course during the coming school year. For more information, visit www.pltw.org.

About SAIC

SAIC is a FORTUNE 500® scientific, engineering, and technology applications company that uses its deep domain knowledge to solve problems of vital importance to the nation and the world, in national security, energy and the environment, critical infrastructure, and health.  The company's approximately 45,000 employees serve customers in the U.S. Department of Defense, the intelligence community, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, other U.S. Government civil agencies and selected commercial markets.  Headquartered in McLean, Va., SAIC had annual revenues of $10.8 billion for its fiscal year ended January 31, 2010.  For more information, visit www.saic.com.  SAIC:  From Science to Solutions®

Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in SAIC's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended January 31, 2010, and other such filings that SAIC makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

SOURCE SAIC