Arlington School & Family Magazine January 2015 | Page 14

District Programs GM Foundation Supports the AISD GM’s Arlington Assembly plant, in partnership with the GM Foundation, proudly supports the Arlington Independent School District. With a focus on K-12 STEM education, this partnership has provided funding for programming, training, materials and most importantly role models for students of all ages in this community. Over the past few years, through multiple GM Foundation donations and with the volunteering support by the team at GM Arlington Assembly plant, thousands of students in Arlington were able to participate in new educational programs to help foster their learning and development. The GM Foundation brought the students at Sam Houston High School The Great Minds In STEM Viva Technology program through a $25,000 grant. This national K-12 education program is designed to engage students, teachers and parents with STEM challenges that stimulate their interest in the application of technology and provide STEM-focused career pathways. This program creates awareness, supplies STEM resources and provides access to STEM career pathways. Capturing children’s attention at a young age in math and science is essential. That’s why the GM Foundation provided a $7,000 donation to Roark Elementary school to establish a Junior Achievement program aimed at helping prepare young people for the real world. Some of the subjects 12 Arlington School & Family - January 2015 include showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. Students put these lessons into action and learn the value of contributing to their communities. Working with GM employees, students get a hands-on approach to problem solving and diversified role models. With the help of a $10,000 donation from the GM Foundation, it was possible to bring the USHLI Student Leadership Series to local area middle schools. The goal of this Student Leadership Series is to ensure that every child has an opportunity to obtain the level of education that is consistent with his or her maximum potential and the opportunity to be successful in life and career. Our objectives are to motivate students to stay in school, improve their academic per