Glenview Elementary School is the recipient of nearly $10,000 in grant funding from the Arkansas STEM Coalition and the Committed to Education Foundation.

The Arkansas STEM Coalition provides grant funding to public schools serving kindergarten through sixth-grade students. The goal of the grant is to support hands-on learning activities that foster a deeper understanding of science, mathematics, technology, engineering, and other STEM concepts. To receive funding, interested school leaders must submit an application, which is evaluated using a scoring rubric. 

Glenview Elementary School will receive $9,902.32 to create a general science lab, aiding teachers in creating opportunities for hands-on, inquiry-based learning through experiments, investigations, observation, and data collection. 

“We want our students to understand that careers in STEM are attainable and that the skills they are developing now (curiosity, critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, perseverance, and problem-solving), can open doors to their future. Our goal is not simply to prepare students for a test, but to help prepare them for the opportunities and challenges they will encounter beyond elementary school,” said Principal Dwight Kelly.  

Kelly said students will have access to tools and resources, such as microscopes, weather stations, an indoor greenhouse, robotic equipment, and data-collection tools, just to name a few. 

“These experiences will help students make meaningful connections between what they read about in a textbook and how science works in the real world,” Kelly said. 

Only 12 schools in the state received grant funding, totaling $109,340.31 in awarded funds. Glenview was recognized as the school with the highest-scoring application.