University officials on Monday announced the grant award from the U.S. Department of Defense. The three-year grant will benefit the College of Education's Summer STEM Institute to encourage middle and high school students to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Director of the Rural Education Center Spencer Clark said in a statement that the grant also will help Project LEAPES, or Learning, Exploration, and Application for Prospective Engineering Students.
Clark said the goal of Project LEAPES is to "engage students in awareness, exploration and preparation activities related to careers in aerospace engineering, artificial intelligence and computer science."
"Project LEAPES will situate Kansas and the Plains region as a vital part of the DOD STEM ecosystem by sharing resources and developing new engineers to contribute to the nationwide network of DOD partnerships in STEM," Clark said.
Project LEAPES will offer three programming phases: an awareness camp for seventh- and eighth-grade students, career exploration for ninth and 10th graders, and academic and career preparation for 11th and 12th graders. Nearly 3,000 students and 360 teachers are expected to take part in the project's summer programs over the three years of the grant. Project LEAPES also will provide in-person and virtual opportunities for students, as well as professional learning sessions for teachers during the school year.
Lori Goodson, assistant director of the Rural Education Center and assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, said Project LEAPES also will build upon the Virtual Summer STEAM Academy the college launched last summer. The grant will provide funding for 40 schools and up to 500 middle schoolers to participate in the college's Virtual STEAM Academy.
"Our Virtual STEAM Academy was modeled after our successful face-to-face Summer STEM Institute, which is a collaborative effort with Manhattan-Ogden USD 383," Goodson said. "This grant will help us reach more schools with our hands-on STEAM activities and build our virtual program."
The program is conducted in partnership with the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets at the University of Kansas.
This is the second grant that partners the Rural Education Center with the KU center. The project is part of more than $47 million in awards recently announced under the National Defense Education Program in STEM, Biotechnology and Enhanced Civics Education.
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