"This was a year of important milestones for Toyota in America with both the 50th anniversary of sales in the U.S. and the 20th year of the Toyota USA Foundation," said Patricia Salas Pineda, group vice president of Toyota Motor North America. "The foundation has provided over $22 million in grants to nearly 200 organizations since its inception, and we are excited to increase our giving by raising the endowment to $100 million."
The Toyota USA Foundation supports quality K-12 programs that improve the teaching and learning of mathematics, science, and environmental education. The foundation places a high priority on:
• Diverse programs that are broad in scope, incorporate inter-disciplinary learning, and use "real-world" classroom applications; and
• Innovative and cost-effective programs which develop students and teachers' abilities.
Toyota USA Foundation Second-Half 2007 Grants:
|
Program |
Description |
Grant | |
| Biotech Partners
Berkeley, CA |
Science for Life | Provides four semesters of hands-on bioscience class work and an eight-week paid internship that helps prepare under-represented youth to enter the biotech workforce or a community or four-year college. | $200,000 over two years |
| Colorado River Foundation
Austin, TX |
River Stewards | Three-year program for sixth- through eighth-grade students that uses field-based learning to enhance science performance and environmental stewardship. Paired with classroom curriculum, field activities include study of animal adaptations renewable energy production, water quality and pollution analysis. | $100,000 over two years |
| Four Corners School of Outdoor Education
Monticello, UT |
Learning Progressions – The Living Environment | Kindergarten through eighth-grade program promotes conceptual understanding and increases student interest in the sciences. Eighty teachers and 2,000 students, 50 percent of which are Native American, in 20 rural elementary and middle schools in four states, will participate in education, service, adventure and conservation programs. | $400,000 over two years |
| James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA |
Summer Institute For Regional Physics And Physical Science Teachers | Acquaints teachers with up-to-date developments in physics as well as new and improved pedagogical technique. Also included is funding for a teacher-in-residence to manage the program. | $255,365 over three years |
| The National Aquarium
Baltimore, MD |
AquaPartners | A systemic, interdisciplinary science program for 1,500 fourth- and fifth-grade students and their teachers that integrates biological, marine and environmental sciences into the curriculum, in the classroom, in the field and at the Aquarium. | $464,381 over three years |
| University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI |
High School
Beginning Algebra Academy |
A joint project of UM-Dearborn’s Center for Mathematics Education and the Wayne County Regional Educational Services Agency to improve math understanding and instruction among high school teachers in Wayne County. | $200,000 |
| University of Nebraska
Lincoln, NE |
Online Masters Degree in Applied Science | Development of a collaborative interdisciplinary online master's degree program for K-12 science teachers across the country. Teachers will have the opportunity to improve their own science knowledge while also learning effective science teaching methods to apply in their classrooms. | $540,345 over four years |
| University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA |
Mission: Engineering | Launch a mentoring program to prepare and encourage promising high school students to pursue undergraduate engineering degrees. The students will be introduced to the scientific method, problem-solving and teamwork through seminars and a two-week summer camp. | $225,000 over three years |
| Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA |
One Mission | Development of a core of K-12 standards from each of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) disciplines integrated through the theme of exploration, particularly of space and ocean systems. | $243,870 |
For information on the Toyota USA Foundation's first-half 2007 grants, visit:
http://pressroom.toyota.com/Releases/View?id=TYT2007012918534
The Toyota USA Foundation is a $100 million charitable endowment created to support education programs serving kindergarten through 12th-grade students and their teachers in the United States, with an emphasis on mathematics, science and environmental science. For additional information about the Toyota USA Foundation, visit www.toyota.com/foundation.