O&R Seeks Innovative Classroom Projects for $25,000 in Grants

PRESS RELEASE

Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. on Wednesday announced that it will award grants totaling $25,000 again this year to support classroom projects and teacher professional-development initiatives focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The O&R STEM Classroom Grants program will award 25 grants of up to $1,000 each to educators at schools (pre-kindergarten through grade 12) and youth group leaders for the 2016-2017 school year in communities located within O&R’s service area.

Any creative classroom project designed to improve, advance and enrich student learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics will be considered. Grants will be awarded based on a review by the O&R STEM Education Advisory Council, a panel of educators and engineers assembled by O&R expressly for this process.

O&R President and CEO Tim Cawley said, “We initiated this program last year as a pilot, and the response was deeply gratifying. The projects were thoughtful and ambitious, interesting and ingenious. The teachers brought hard work and great enthusiasm to crafting their proposals. These instructors challenge their students to think, to plan, to act and to achieve. The lessons these students learn here will serve them well throughout their lives.”

Last year, O&R made STEM Classroom Grants to 27 schools and youth education groups in the O&R service area in Orange Rockland, Bergen and Pike counties. Resources requested should be integral components of a well-planned classroom project/lesson plan and important to its success. O&R seeks educational proposals that range from formative ideas that explore learning concepts to fully tested models that are ready to be adopted and disseminated. Ideally, the successful proposal would focus on the study of electricity and electricity production, natural gas exploration, renewables, and clean energy.

The STEM Classroom Grants Program application can be completed online at www.oru.com/STEM. The application must be received by O&R no later than 5 p.m. March 31, 2016. The grants will be awarded in May.