Avon Education Foundation Receives $20,000 Grant from the Duke Energy Foundation, Avon Schools to Benefit

The Duke Energy Foundation announced Monday that the Avon Education Foundation (AEF) will receive grant funding to start a project seeking to provide STEM Labs in 9 schools serving grades K-6. The grant will provide $20,000 in seed money that will allow Avon Schools to incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering and Math into routine learning across all subjects. AEF is among the top 5 out of the 26 grants awarded in the Duke Energy Indiana service territory and the highest in Hendricks County. This represents the single largest one-time contribution AEF has received since its inception in 2007.

Duke Energy Powerful Communities: K-12 Education Grants focus on initiatives that seek to address summer reading loss for rising kindergarteners through rising third graders as well as programs that advance energy, engineering and environmental education through student programming or teacher professional development. “This program in Avon Schools is a great fit within these focus areas, making this award a powerful win for the entire Avon Community,” says Jean Renk, Duke Energy Government and Community Relations Manager.

“We are honored that Duke Energy has chosen to support our vision for creating opportunities in Avon Schools that encourage creativity, innovation and excellence,” said Sara Bender, AEF Executive Director. “With this grant, we will be able to promote literacy and daily classroom concepts through the increased application of technology.”

AEF supported pilot STEM labs in the past year at River Birch and Cedar Elementary Schools where students have learned to code robots and create projects that emphasize themes from their standard course work through the application of STEM projects. This program will now expand to impact an estimated 6,500 students and teachers as well as an estimated 12,000 family members serviced by Duke Energy. “This program will create powerful opportunities for K-6 students and teachers in Avon. We cannot thank Duke Energy enough for supporting such a valuable program,” said Dr. Margaret Hoernemann, ACSC Superintendent and AEF Ex-Officio.