BROWNSTOWN — Brownstown Elementary School recently received $50,000 in funding to support the integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics instruction and learning opportunities into the classroom.

The STEM Integration Grant is one of 48 totaling $2.2 million the Indiana Department of Education recently awarded to 48 school districts and charter school across the state. The grants are designed to improve access and support for students.

“Through STEM education, our students are building skills that will serve them throughout their life, including problem-solving, critical thinking, communication and digital literacy skills,” Katie Jenner, the state’s secretary of education, wrote in a news release. “We also know that these important skills are essential to meeting the needs of our state’s future workforce. The STEM Integration Grant helps Indiana schools continue to grow their capacity to provide high-quality STEM education, provide early exposure to STEM career opportunities and ultimately set students on the best possible path for future success, both in life and in their career.”

Brownstown Principal Marty Young discussed the grant during a recent meeting of the Brownstown Central Community School Corp. board of school trustees.

He said school staff will be meeting with Five-Star Technology Solutions — a Jeffersonville-based firm — to develop a plan for the use of the grant. Five-Star helps school corporations develop action plans through technology to help meet the needs of today’s learners.

Young said beginning this month, Five-Star plans to be at the school once a week to lead lessons for students and staff.

Brownstown Central received a similar grant for the 2020-21 school year.

The amount awarded varies based on enrollment. Those corporations with enrollment below 2,000 can receive up to $50,000.

First launched in the 2018-19 school year as the STEM Acceleration Grant, the STEM Integration Grant is a competitive grant that helps schools increase students’ access to STEM courses, programs and resources, according to the state department of education.

The grant focuses on helping schools integrate research-based, high-quality coursework, instructional materials and professional development for educators that helps build a culture of STEM leadership in schools.

Of this school year’s grant recipients, 60% intend to use these funds to develop or improve previously established STEM infrastructure to support applications for the STEM Certified Schools program, which recognizes schools for their focus on inquiry, project-based learning, community engagement, entrepreneurship, student-centered classrooms and out-of-school time STEM activities.

This grant is funded by state appropriations to IDOE for STEM program alignment. More than 170 schools have been awarded STEM Integration Grants since 2018 with grants totaling more than $11.3 million.

The grant is one of several IDOE-led initiatives focused on improving access to high-quality STEM education. In addition to the STEM Certified Schools program, this includes the launch of the Indiana STEM Cadre in 2022, which develops and implements collaborative professional development for educators. Additionally, Indiana approved new science and computer science standards in 2022 that increased focus on supporting active student engagement in science learning.