A Donation for STEM NOLA

 Boeing has given a $1 million dollar donation to STEM NOLA’s new project the New Orleans East science education building. The $15 million project is headed by Calvin Mackie who is STEM NOLA’s founder and CEO.

STEM NOLA was founded in 2013 and has expanded since its beginning in Mackie’s, a former engineering professor at Tulane University, garage. Mackie began the program with $100,000 of his own money. Since then, there have been several who have made donations to help the project grow and run. In fact, the US Department of Defense has granted $2.79 million so that the group can reach students across the Gulf Shore that are military connected.

The group now reaches kids from all around the New Orleans metro area providing them with weekly science tutorials. The groups will meet virtually, at parks in the area or during and after school programming. So far, the program has helped 125,000 students since its conception.

“We have to get our kids tinkering, building stuff with their hands, critically thinking, asking why it worked, why it didn’t work….. that’s gonna give rise to the mindsets and skills that are needed in the 21st century,” Mackie said.

The new science building will be built on property that was given to the STEM (acronym for science, technology, engineering and math by Oschner Health. The building will house classroom space and tons of up-to-date technology. So far STEM NOLA has not set a date for the groundbreaking.

So far, along with the $1 million from Boeing, the STEM group has been given $1.25 million from WK Kellogg Foundation, $1 million in CARES Act omey and $2 million in state capital outlay funding. The funds given from Boeing has helped with starting the process of fundraising for the building.

“For the children of New Orleans to have access to this type of space, and the type of equipment and this type of technology hopefully from cradle to career. I think we could change the trajectory of many families, if not the community,” says Mackie.

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Patrick F. Taylor Science and Technology Academy Ranked No. 1 in Louisiana

The U.S. News & World Report ranked Patrick F. Taylor Science and Technology Academy number 1 in Louisiana. Benjamin Franklin High in New Orleans was the previous number one school. The principal, Sharmeika Daniels credits this accomplishment to the team effort between students, teachers, parents and administrators. Students have described the teachers as life mentors. 

“This is my first experience, ever, that I’ve seen a leadership team, as well as teachers, parents and students, all on the same page,” Daniels said. “We’re a family here, and everybody’s input is important.”

“Teachers are demanding here and the content is rigorous, but that’s what’s going to be expected of the kids when they leave us.”

“There is never going to be a student on this campus [who] goes under the radar,” Daniels said.

The school is a magnet school that has a STEM-based college preparatory curriculum. There are around eight hundred students from the east and west bank of Jefferson Parish who go to the school that is named after the founder and CEO of the Taylor Energy Company. The school starts in the sixth grade where students will start to learn computer programing. Students have to score in the 85th percentile or higher on Jefferson's Advanced Studies Academies admissions test to enroll.

“I will never take for granted how blessed I am to lead such phenomenal faculty and staff,” Daniels said. “All of our teachers are on board. That’s not an easy thing to do, to get a whole group of people to agree on one goal.

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