Press Release

May 19, 2009

TechREACH, a program of the Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology (PSCTLT) has received a $7,500 Google RISE (Roots in Science and Engineering) Award.

Lynnwood, WA - This is the first year of the Google RISE awards and 30 organizations across the United States received funding. PSCTLT's one-year grant, TechREACH: Delivering Innovative Technology Experiences for Underrepresented Youth, provides funding for the development of a two-week summer technology workshop on robotics for King County youth. The workshop is designed for middle school students. Middle school is the critical time to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), because 12-14 year-olds are still open to the idea they can excel in these areas.

Through the Google RISE award, approximately 30 students from two King County middle schools will learn the basics of programming logic and robot assembly as they work with LEGO Mindstorms Robotics kits. Students will build a rover robot with motors that are controlled by touch sensors to avoid obstacles. Ultimately students will program their robot to compete in a challenge. Teachers will be trained to offer robotics curriculum, on strategies to support underrepresented students in STEM, and career and higher education resources to motivate students to pursue STEM fields.

"We are grateful to Google for their support in helping develop future workers in the field of science, technology, and engineering. Our youth have the capacity to be future leaders in these fields - they need access to experiences that excite their interest in these fields," said Karen Manuel, TechREACH Director. "Youth and teachers will experience hands-on robotics curriculum that builds their interest in how technology and engineering can solve everyday problems."

TechREACH addresses President Obama's call for underrepresented youth to have equitable educational experiences. He states, "We need after-school programs and summer-school programs because minority youth and poor youth are less likely to get the kind of environment and supplemental activities that they need" (January 15, 2008).

About TechREACH
Founded in 2003 with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, TechREACH has grown to over 100 clubs in 30 schools with more than 1,500 past participants. TechREACH clubs in Eastern Washington are currently funded by a National Science Foundation ITEST grant.

TechREACH equips teachers with proven curriculum and training to generate excitement about technology in middle school students. Through TechREACH after-school clubs and summer sessions, students from predominantly minority and low-income areas engage in engrossing, hands-on technology and science projects, fun creative challenges, and experiential field trips. The club members build confidence. They become motivated to equip themselves for a world that needs, demands and rewards technology ability. For more information on teacher training, after-school clubs or summer programs, visit www.techreachclubs.org.