Verizon Foundation awards $300K grant renewal to CSUSB to bring STEM education to minority middle school boys

San Bernardino, Ca – Verizon Innovative Learning, the education initiative of the Verizon Foundation, has awarded a two-year grant renewal of $300,000 to Cal State San Bernardino to extend its partnership in a program that offers minority males from middle schools across the San Bernardino City Unified School District summer intensive courses in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Since 2016, 297 San Bernardino middle school male students have participated in the program, and the additional funding will enable the university to continue the program through 2020.

Launched in 2015, the Verizon Innovative Learning program works with 24 Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic-Serving Institutions across the country to prepare minority male students in middle school for the tech careers of the future.

Students participating in the program are invited to university and college campuses for summer courses that provide entrepreneurship training, hands-on learning experiences in next-gen technologies such as robotics, augmented reality, and 3D printing, and access to college-aged mentors. Following the summer courses, students are invited back to the universities, monthly, for continued STEM education courses and mentoring.

“We’re grateful to the Verizon Foundation for their foresight, dedication and generosity into helping to inspire young people in our community about the importance of STEM programs,” said Jay Fiene, dean of the CSUSB College of Education. “It also increases the prospect that these students will stay in the inland region as a well-educated and well-qualified workforce that will attract employers to bring business and industry here.”

The program also complements the shared efforts of K-12 educators, colleges and universities, and the business community in the inland region to help students be prepared for college by the time they graduate high school.

Verizon Innovative Learning, the education initiative of the Verizon Foundation, brings technology and hands-on learning opportunities to middle and high school students in underserved schools and communities. We not only fund the programs, but we also create and administer them in partnership with leading nonprofits. We diligently measure the impact of our work and refine our programs to ensure we’re making a difference. We’ve reached more than 1 million students so far – and we’re just getting started.

About Cal State San Bernardino

California State University, San Bernardino is a preeminent center of intellectual and cultural activity in Inland Southern California. Opened in 1965 and set at the foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, the university serves more than 20,000 students each year and graduates about 4,000 students annually. The university offers more than 70 traditional baccalaureate and master’s degree programs, education credential and certificate programs, and a doctorate program in educational leadership.