SECOND-YEAR PROGRAM WILL BROADEN STEM HORIZONS FOR AFTERSCHOOL
Gladden is pleased to announce continued funding for our new Mind Map afterschool program, where our students gain explored real-life applications of STEM vocabulary through local businesses offering hands-on learning opportunities.
The learners we serve in Franklinton do not have the exposure their peers do to STEM learning experiences and career paths. If they can’t see it, or be exposed to it—they can’t aspire to it. Exposure to these worlds is critical; not just for their educational success, but in combatting the effects of the cycle of generational poverty.
This past school year we treated Franklinton, with its industrial infrastructure and a new class of creatives and makers, and the greater Columbus area, as our afterschool classroom. This year, 30 students will take part in Mind Map, now in its second year and funded by Battelle for an entire year, including extended summer programming.
Through Mind Map, these activities lessen the fear of failure and increase our students’ willingness to explore, experiment, innovate, and learn—while simultaneously showing them more career paths than often exist in their very own neighborhood.
A special thanks to, of course, the folks at Battelle for $41,000 in funding for our second year, but to Glass Axis, Franklinton Cycle Works, Colorant Graphics, Performance Auto, Mount Carmel School of Nursing, Franklin County Engineers, all the local businesses that opened their doors and engaged in meaningful moments with our learners!
For more about the grant and other community partners, visit: https://www.battelle.org/insights/newsroom/press-release-details/battelle-stem-grant-program-2022