MAC $5,000 grant will help Mount Pleasant sixth-graders
9/15/2017 12:00:00 AM | General
Hands-on learning in science and technology for sixth-graders in Mount Pleasant Public Schools will be possible this year because of a $5,000 grant through Central Michigan Athletics and the Mid-American Conference.
The MAC is providing funding for its entire 12-member institutions to establish a community-based program. Funding for the grant is provided through the MAC's partnership with the College Football Playoff Foundation.
"The support from institutions like Central Michigan University and the Mid-American Conference is what makes the Mount Pleasant community such a great place to live, work, and learn," Mount Pleasant Middle School sixth-grade teacher Kaylee Vander Baan wrote in a letter. Vander Baan will lead the effort, important now that sixth-graders in Mount Pleasant are part of the middle school structure.
Vander Baan noted that sixth-graders last year had several opportunities to visit the CMU makerspace program. "The kids loved it," she wrote. "They got to experience science in a hands-on atmosphere and be the innovators that they are capable of being. It would be great to start utilizing aspects of the makerspace model and integrate them into our curriculum. In order to do that, however, we need an extensive list of supplies that kids can use to engage, create, and build with their own hands."
During the 2017-18 academic year, the MAC is providing $60,000 -- $5,000 for each athletic program -- for academic initiatives at elementary and/or secondary schools. This is the first year of the MAC's community program, and it will become an annual event.
"I am extremely pleased to see the diversity of community programs our athletic programs have partnered for this upcoming season," said MAC Commissioner Jon A. Steinbrecher. "Our students, coaches and athletic administrators support their campus communities with events throughout the year and this opportunity only enhances our support within each community."