SREL partners with coalition to bring STEM education to Allendale

Vicky Sutton-Jackson on September 14, 2018

Augusta Chronicle

Posted Sep 12, 2018 at 2:01 AM

By Contributed, Savannah River Ecology Lab

The University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory is expanding its outreach efforts in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education by joining a coalition that has been awarded a share in $1 million of resources, including a $50,000 cash award and best-practices training.

SREL will partner with a new collaborative known as the STEM Community Coalition to take STEM education to students in Allendale, a community that historically is underserved in this area. The team includes the Allendale School District, the South Carolina Promise Zone and the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization, known as SRSCRO.

SREL is proud to partner with the coalition, one of only eight organizations in the country recently selected out of 92 applicants, to share in the grant, known as the US2020 STEM Coalition Challenge. The grant will allow the collaborative to provide STEM education to students in rural and low-income communities through experiential learning experiences and one-on-one, hands-on mentoring.

Mindy Mets, the Nuclear Workforce Initiatives program manager at SRSCRO, said the goal is to connect existing industry and outreach programs with students in Allendale schools. “SREL helped in winning this grant for Allendale by offering to provide its existing education outreach programs for Allendale students,” Mets said.

P.J. Perea, SREL’s outreach and public relations manager, said SREL is excited to serve as a partner and adviser on the program and teach the wonders of STEM to the students of Allendale.