Lockheed Martin supports Cobb STEM education with $90,000

Lockheed Martin Corp. officials presented a $90,000 check for use in science, technology, engineering and math education to the Cobb County Board of Education and Cobb County School District Superintendent Chris Ragsdale during their Dec. 13 meeting. (Courtesy of the Cobb County School District)

Lockheed Martin Corp. officials presented a $90,000 check for use in science, technology, engineering and math education to the Cobb County Board of Education and Cobb County School District Superintendent Chris Ragsdale during their Dec. 13 meeting. (Courtesy of the Cobb County School District)

Thanks to $90,000 in grants from the Lockheed Martin Corp., the Cobb County School District will have more funds available for use in science, technology, engineering and math education.

Lockheed Martin officials presented the check to Cobb’s STEM and Innovation Department during the Dec. 13 Cobb County Board of Education meeting.

“We are grateful for Lockheed Martin’s investment in Cobb students,” said CCSD Superintendent Chris Ragsdale. “Cobb Schools continually stand out as STEM role models; and with the support of community partners, like Lockheed, our students will be standouts in the STEM career fields of the future.”

The Lockheed Martin funds will help Cobb build on the district’s STEM foundation which includes 23 Cobb STEM, 12 AdvancED STEM, six Georgia STEM and two Georgia STEAM certified schools.

For three years, educators from around the state have flocked to Cobb’s annual STEMapalooza to learn how Cobb does STEM.

Now, with the help of a $50,000 Lockheed Martin grant, Cobb once again will give educators access to a learning conference dedicated to STEM.

The 2019 STEMapalooza, which is scheduled for June 18-20, will give more than 500 educators access to greater than 250 STEM learning sessions taught by experts inside and outside of Cobb.

In addition to a grant for Cobb’s STEM conference, Lockheed Martin also awarded Cobb a $40,000 grant to support Cobb Robotics.

The grant will provide for new equipment, training, software and other resources necessary to integrate robotics into schools.

Cobb also will provide STEM mini-grants for teachers throughout the district so that teachers can purchase needed robotics equipment for their classrooms.

Allowing individual educators to integrate robotics into their daily instruction, these mini-grants will range from $250 to $500.

The Lockheed funds also will help establish STEM Gems Clubs across the county to introduce young girls to female role models in STEM, including role models in the robotics field.

Information: cobbcast.cobbk12.org/?p=24325, stemCobb.com/stemapalooza.html, stemCobb.com