IMSAŽ RECEIVES $100,000 GRANT FROM MOTOROLA FOUNDATION
For Immediate Release, Press Release
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AURORA– The IMSA Fund for Advancement of Education received a $100,000 Innovation Generation Grant from the Motorola Foundation to help inspire Illinois’ future scientists and engineers.
IMSA President Dr. Glenn “Max” McGee gratefully thanked the Motorola Foundation for the generous gift, which will enable IMSA to expand its professional development programs to other sites throughout the state.
“Thanks to the Motorola Foundation, IMSA’s Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Initiative will provide professional development sessions for elementary, middle and high-school teachers in Chicago and other Illinois sites,” Dr. McGee said. “Motorola’s generous grant will enable us to prepare teachers for engaging students in applying mathematics and science concepts and knowledge to solving real world problems. Our vision is for today’s learners to be tomorrow’s leaders and use their problem-solving skills to make our neighborhoods, communities and state even better places to live and work.”
IMSA’s PBL Initiative, funded by this Innovation Generation Grant, will provide PBL Design Institutes and follow-up support in three regions of the state. Through this initiative, teachers will learn how to incorporate the Illinois Learning Standards into designing, implementing and evaluating classroom units that address problems that affect their community (see www.imsa.edu/programs/pbln).
The Motorola Foundation’s Innovation Generation Grants fund education programs that spark a love of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in today’s youth. Recipients of Innovation Generation Grants will create programs to help kids discover that science, technology, engineering and mathematics are challenging, interesting and fun, as well as fundamental skills for a bright future.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs requiring science, engineering, or technical training will increase 24 percent to 6.3 million between 2004 and 2014, creating greater demand for critical thinkers fluent in technology.
The Problem-Based Learning Initiative is one of several programs IMSA provides for teachers and students throughout Illinois to help ensure that Illinois’ young students, especially the historically underrepresented, have opportunities to excel in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Throughout the world, the Motorola Foundation’s dynamic network is inspiring future inventors and engineers. In early 2007, Motorola launched the U.S. Innovation Generation Grant program, with $3.5 million available to support programs that infuse the future with skilled inventors. Funding focuses on programs that engage students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics early in life, with priority given to those programs that incorporate Motorola employees as volunteers. For a complete list of Innovation Generation Grant recipients, visit www.motorola.com/giving.
“Motorola strives to help young people make the critical connection between the cutting-edge technology they enjoy every day and the educational foundation required to develop these cool products,” said Eileen Sweeney, director, Motorola Foundation. “Motorola’s partnership with IMSA’s Problem-Based Learning Initiative helps inspire a love of science by providing real-world experience and access to expert role models for young people around the nation.”
Since 2000, Motorola Foundation has contributed more than $35 million in grants to a variety of programs that draw students closer to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The internationally recognized Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® (IMSA) develops creative, ethical leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. As a teaching and learning laboratory created by the State of Illinois, IMSA enrolls academically talented Illinois students (grades 10-12) in its advanced, residential college preparatory program. It also serves thousands of educators and students in Illinois and beyond through innovative instructional programs that foster imagination and inquiry. (www.imsa.edu)