It was announced Tuesday at the Alpine School District board meeting that Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, has given a $100,000 grant to the district to support various robotics and STEM programs.

“Meta is proud to be part of this community and support the Alpine School District’s dynamic robotics and STEM education programs. Students across the district, from elementary school through high school, will have greater access to engaging activities and state-of-the-art technology that will enhance their learning,” William Marks, community development manager at Meta, said in a press release.”STEM learning is so important for students of today to be career- and college-ready. Collaborating on projects like these with Alpine School District is central to Meta’s commitment to being a great community partner.”

This grant is in addition to the $54,340  awarded to schools in Alpine School District through Meta’s Community Action Grants Program last month to improve STEM education. The Dan W. Peterson School received $24,290, Windsor Elementary School received $14,300, Eagle Valley Elementary School received $7,500, Black Ridge Elementary School received $750, and Polaris High School received $7,500.

Meta’s Community Action Grants Program provides funds to schools and registered 501(c)3 nonprofits in the areas surrounding Meta Data Centers. This is the second year, since being established in 2018, that the Eagle Mountain Data Center has awarded grants in the community.

“The willingness of our friends at Meta to support a broad range of initiatives is opening doors for many types of students to explore new topics and themes, go deeper in specific areas of learning, and challenge their limits and experiences.” David Stephenson, executive director of external relations & communication, said in a press release.”This latest round of grants will continue to maximize opportunities and allow students to grow in very important and very inspiring ways.”

The $100,000 Meta grant will be used to support the following projects:

• Alpine School District: $30,000 for the ongoing development and expansion of robotics programs at four secondary schools, supporting both in-school curricula and after school programming.
• Alpine School District: $25,000 for STEM library kits to be used in kindergarten through sixth-grade classes across the district to support state SEEd standards and assist STEAM teachers as they expose students to creative problem-solving and STEAM principles and concepts.
• Cedar Valley High School: $15,000 to support the STEM in Agriculture Education program and help finalize construction of its barn project where students will raise and study animals.
• Westlake High School: $10,000 for the STORM (Students Taking on Restorative Measures) Academy with materials and supplies, including VR headsets, multimedia equipment, yoga equipment, percussion instruments, alternative seating, sound system, and other technology, and resources to support students social and emotional wellbeing.
• Lake Mountain Middle School: $10,000 to support 3D printing and plastic recycling.
• Vista Heights Middle School: $5,000 for improved A/V to record and stream assemblies, concerts, drama programs and video announcements, and training for stage crew techs to run the streaming.
• Alpine School District: $5,000 to support Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion programming.

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