A $200,000 grant from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund of the Tides Foundation will fund the Jackson County (Ala.) school system's Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative for grades 4-8.
Jackson school officials say the state science and technology initiative provides essential training for teachers and hands-on science curriculum instruction for students, but the cost limits spending in other areas. With the grant, the initiative can continue and expand, freeing up money for other needs.
"At the school level it's big because [the initiative] has been something in our science classrooms that's a game-changer for us, because it gives us access to materials lower- income schools really have a hard time getting access to," Bridgeport Middle School principal Jonathan Colvin said Friday.
The initiative's mission is to provide all students in grades K-12 with the knowledge and skills needed for success in the workforce and/or college, according to the program's website. Officials said that, thanks to the initiative, schools it benefits outscore schools without the initiative on every standardized test given by the Alabama Department of Education.
Schools get containers filled with materials needed to study a science, math or technology topics. The materials can be shared among classes, and when teachers are finished, the containers are sent back in exchange for the next ones, Colvin said.
"It allows us to maximize our resources because we're sharing them," he said.
"Another thing they do a great job of is training our teachers," Colvin said. "It's constant support, constant training and making sure we've got the materials we need."
Google stands to benefit down the road when the global company opens its $600 million data center at the former TVA Widows Creek facility on the Tennessee River in Bridgeport. The data center announced in 2015 it will need tech-savvy workers, and the grant to local schools is expected to enrich its potential workforce.
Jackson County Schools supervisor of curriculum A.J. Buckner said the initiative and grant will allow the system to focus more resources in other areas.
"Thanks to the resulting freed-up funds, we've been able to change our math curriculum for kindergartners," Buckner said, referring to a more advance program that helps students advance quickly.
Students in math and science experience more meaningful learning when their minds and hands are working together on complex ideas, he said.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton.