The Lutheran Schools Partnership and Concordia Lutheran High School were among several organizations that recently received grants from the Talent Initiative, which is striving to further project-based leaning (PBL) and science, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in northeast Indiana.
The Lutheran Schools Partnership received $12,700 to host four STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) camps for a total of 96 students this summer at two area Lutheran schools.Concordia Lutheran High School received $16,000 to train teachers in PBL and STEM at Trine University over two years.“We’re grateful to the Talent Initiative for these grants, which give us the opportunity to not only broaden our students’ horizons, but also to provide important continuing education to our teachers,” says Mark Muehl, director of The Lutheran Schools Partnership. “What will be accomplished through these grants will further enhance the outstanding learning environment already found at our area Lutheran schools.”The Talent Initiative, established by a $20 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., is a 10-county regional program in northeast Indiana focused on accelerating educational and training initiatives in STEM. The primary goals of the Talent Initiative are to increase the base of highly skilled workers to meet the needs of the defense, aerospace, and advanced-manufacturing industries, while increasing job quality and reversing the current decline in regional per capita income.
