Toyota USA Foundation Announces $5.2 Million in New Grants

Foundation Continues To Support K-12 Math and Science Education

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Mar 15, 2011, 05:40 ET

NEW YORK, March 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Toyota USA Foundation, a charitable endowment supporting K-12 math and science education, today announced over $5.2 million in new grants. The latest round of grants is going to 8 organizations from across the country.

"These grants are an investment in the future of our educators and young people, and will give them invaluable skills for the future," said Patricia Salas Pineda, group vice president of Toyota Motor North America. "Toyota is proud to be able to support the critical work of these organizations."

The Toyota USA Foundation supports quality K-12 programs that improve the teaching and learning of mathematics, science, and environmental education. The foundation places a high priority on:

Diverse programs that are broad in scope, incorporate inter-disciplinary learning, and use "real-world" classroom applications; and
Innovative and cost-effective programs which develop students and educators' abilities.

Speaking about the Toyota USA Foundation grant awarded to The Nature Conservancy, President and CEO Mark Tercek said, "Today's youth are more urban, more diverse, and more technologically advanced than any previous generation in history. They are also more disconnected from nature than any previous generation. This unprecedented gift from the Toyota USA Foundation will empower a new generation of environmental leaders across the nation, and ensures a hopeful future for the greater conservation movement."

Toyota USA Foundation 2011 Grants:


Organization	Program	Description	Grant
Breakthrough Collaborative San Francisco, CA	Breakthrough STEM Initiative	The Breakthrough STEM Initiative is composed of five elements: 1) Preparing underserved students to enter and succeed in 8th-grade Algebra; 2) Launching underserved students into lab-based sciences in preparation for rigorous science coursework; 3) Tracking and supporting Breakthrough students from middle school through college matriculation; 4) Strengthening teacher training in inquiry-based science instruction and college-prep math during intensive summer sessions; and, 5) Developing national training and support for mentor teachers, including math and science teachers.	$225,000
College Entrance Examination Board (The College Board) New York, New York	AP STEM Innovation	To support the educational success of high need students by enabling districts and schools to supply Advanced Placement (AP) STEM teachers trained to help a diverse population of students succeed in rigorous AP coursework. Through the development of formative and interim student assessments and the delivery of online professional development, this new approach to ongoing AP courses will change the way in which students experience AP Calculus AB and AP Biology.	$350,000
Fremont Education Foundation Fremont, California	Math & Algebra teaching kits for schools	Educate, Challenge, Inspire Project Lead the Way because the program design is linked to high school graduation and college enrollment. That program, however, only adds up to $49,171 Math grants Proposal at $79,925, which provides a number of teaching tools for students in the unified school district. In addition to calculators the schools would be stocked with algebra and math kits that teachers could use in the classroom.	$129,000
Groundwork Inc. Brooklyn, New York	Middle School Educational support	After 5th grade, Groundwork students transition to the "Middle Ground" program - which provides a pathway for elementary school age students to become more involved, committed, and empowered in their own educational and developmental success. Middle Ground serves a total of 280 students across East New York and 22 middle school students in Bedford Stuyvesant. Middle Ground students participate in a variety of activities which include literacy instruction, homework assistance, service learning, arts and sports, math and science enrichment, tutoring, and field trips.	$375,000
Red Cloud Indian School Plane Ridge, South Dakota	Empowering Lakota Students With a Strong Science Education	Supports the Red cloud Indian School's enhancements to its science equipment, curriculum, and facilities to bring up-to-date and on par with the opportunities available to other students across the country. The new space will be equipped with infrastructural and safety equipment necessary to meet science renovation and curriculum requirements.	$420,000
SAE International, Inc. Warrendale, Pennsylvania	A World In Motion® (AWIM) science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) Education Experience	For nearly 20 years, SAE International's AWIM program has been bringing together teachers, students, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals (classroom volunteers) to introduce young minds to the wonders of science, technology engineering and math (STEM) subjects and careers. The 2010‐2011 goals and objectives are to increase the number of students reached, and to increase the number of STEM professionals in AWIM classrooms to improve the volunteer: student ratio.	$300,000
The Nature Conservancy Arlington, Virginia	Leadership for Environmental Action for the Future (LEAF)	The Nature Conservancy will continue to expand the Leaders in Environmental Action for the Future (LEAF) Program. LEAF will establish the first nationwide network for environmental high schools and provide students from these schools with real world, paid summer internships in the conservation field. Over the next two years TNC will expand the existing partnership model in New York to schools in urban areas across the nation, ultimately serving over 17,000 students.	$3,100,000
Thomas More College Crestview Hills, Kentucky	Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Students Initiative (Grades 9-12)	Thomas More College seeks to improve student outcomes in the STEM disciplines, at the high school level, and recruit more students into STEM majors in college. To achieve these long-term outcomes, the school will enhance partnerships with local schools through a year-long program that includes professional development workshops for teachers, field trips for their classes and summer STEM camps for selected students.	$360,000

The Toyota USA Foundation charitable endowment was established in 1987 to support education programs serving kindergarten through 12th grade students and their teachers in the United States, with an emphasis on mathematics, science and environmental science. For additional information about the Toyota USA Foundation, visit www.toyota.com/foundation.