Toyota USA Foundation Pledges $200,000 to SAE Foundation in Support of STEM Education
Warrendale, PA – September 23, 2014
The SAE Foundation is pleased to announce that the Toyota USA Foundation has pledged $200,000 to bring together teachers, students and STEM professionals for hands-on, project-based learning through SAE International’s A World In Motion®.
The Toyota USA Foundation and Toyota and its affiliates have comprised one of the strongest corporate supporters of the SAE Foundation and A World In Motion® STEM education programming since it began in 1990. In fact, since 2006 Toyota has contributed over $1.4 million dollars to encourage K-8th grade students in understanding and exploring STEM subjects. Toyota support makes it possible to truly inspire the next generation of innovators!
In addition to this corporate support, Toyota employees contribute their time and talent to support AWIM programs in Toyota communities and ensure a STEM industry professional in every classroom working with AWIM and to maintain a 24:1 ratio which is critical to a positive student experience. Toyota’s commitment to STEM education and the SAE Foundation has had a significant impact on students. Marcia Sidney-Reed, Principal, LA Unified School District speaks on the impact Toyota and the SAE Foundation have had in her school:
“I am the proud principal of 186th Street School, a Title I School in the Los Angeles Unified School District. 186th Street School serves an ethnically diverse population of 884 students in Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade. The Wise Owl Nation is soaring academically, artistically, peacefully, and scientifically because of the relationships we have built with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), Toyota, and the lessons we have taught with the award-winning A World in Motion (AWIM) Program that brings science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to life in the elementary classroom. Our students are empowered to learn with hands-on science activities that address the academic learning standards. As a school, our students have improved in their science proficiency from 24% to 55% over the past 6 years. The influence of SAE is far-reaching and life-changing. We are a better school and a better people because of our involvement in the AWIM Program.”
Through this partnership with Toyota and the Toyota USA Foundation the SAE Foundation hopes to ignite a spark of curiosity and interest in science, technology, engineering and math in more K-8 students.
About the SAE Foundation
The SAE Foundation is the charitable arm of SAE International that strives to encourage and increase student participation and achievement in science, technology, engineering and math through educational programs, including A World In Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series™. SAE International is a global association of more than 148,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International’s core competencies are life-long learning and voluntary consensus standards development.
About AWIM
SAE International’s A World In Motion ® (AWIM) is a teacher-administered, industry volunteer-assisted program that brings science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education to life in the classroom for students in kindergarten through grade 12. Benchmarked to the national standards, AWIM incorporates the laws of physics, motion, flight and electronics into age-appropriate hands on activities that reinforce classroom STEM curriculum.
About The Toyota USA Foundation
The Toyota USA Foundation is a $100 million charitable endowment committed to enhancing the quality of education by supporting innovative programs and building partnerships with organizations dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. For additional information about the Toyota USA Foundation, please visit http://www.toyotagrants.com/foundation.