SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCE OVER $1.2 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDS FOR INSTITUTE OF ECOSYSTEM STUDIES
Federal Investment Will Design, Develop, And Test A New Curriculum Unit For High School Chemistry Courses
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $1,258,223 in federal funding for the Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York. The funding was allocated through the Nation Science Foundation (NSF) and will design, develop, and test a new curriculum unit for high school chemistry courses.
“The Institute of Ecosystem Studies is a world class institution that excels in research and innovation. This federal investment will allow the Institute to use their expertise to develop a new high school chemistry curriculum that will help students advance their knowledge of chemistry,” said Senator Schumer. “I will continue to fight for these types of federal programs that invest in our students, institutions and communities who can make a real difference with this type of funding.”
“The Institute of Ecosystem Studies is at the forefront of innovation, and this grant from the NSF will help them continue to lead in science and discovery,” said Senator Gillibrand. “I will continue to do everything I can to support these groundbreaking programs that are helping to prepare our students for good-paying STEM jobs in our state.”
The federal investment will design, develop, and test a new curriculum unit for high school chemistry courses that is organized around the question, "How does chemistry shape where I live?" The new unit will integrate relevant Earth science data, scientific practices, and key urban environmental research findings with the chemistry curriculum to gain insights into factors that support the approach to teaching and learning advocated by current science curriculum standards. The overarching goal of the project is to develop teacher capacity to teach and evaluate student abilities to use the practices of scientists and concepts from Earth science and chemistry to understand important phenomena in their immediate, familiar environments.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 48,000 competitive proposals for funding and makes about 12,000 new funding awards. NSF also awards about $626 million in professional and service contracts yearly.
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