Duke Energy Awards $25,000 Grant to Teach For America–South Carolina for STEM Education Opportunities

Teach For America–South Carolina received a $25,000 grant from Duke Energy to support Teach For America’s efforts to increase statewide STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education opportunities. The donation will help to recruit, train, and support Teach For America teachers who are leading STEM classrooms in the Palmetto State, and will also support the ongoing leadership development provided to Teach For America alumni in teaching and fields that address educational inequity.

“Providing leaders to teach subject areas such as science and math in high-need schools in South Carolina is critical to helping students attain an excellent education,” said Josh Bell, executive director of Teach For America–South Carolina. “We are thankful to have received the award and to partner with Duke Energy to support excellence in teaching and create pathways for students to prepare for future opportunities in STEM.”

In celebration of Math Awareness Month, Duke Energy representatives awarded the grant during an eighth grade math classroom visit at Southside Middle School in Florence District 1. The students, taught by a Teach For America corps member, heard from a Duke Energy engineer on the role math plays in his career.

“Putting our support behind effective education programs and initiatives that emphasize STEM is a critical focus for Duke Energy,” said Mindy Taylor, Duke Energy’s government and community relations manager. “We are proud to be a partner with Teach for America–South Carolina.”  

Teach For America has worked in South Carolina since 2011, partnering with 14 school districts across 12 counties. This year, 230 Teach For America corps members are reaching 14,500 students in high-need schools across the state; nearly 70 are teaching in the Pee Dee region. Seventy percent of Teach For America teachers in the Pee Dee region teach STEM subjects.

Teach For America–South Carolina is an AmeriCorps program supported by United Way Association of South Carolina and the Corporation for National and Community Service.  

About Teach For America
Teach For America works in partnership with communities to expand educational opportunity for children facing the challenges of poverty. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding college graduates and professionals to make an initial two-year commitment to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the movement to end educational inequity. Today, 10,600 corps members are teaching in 50 urban and rural regions across the country while more than 37,000 alumni work across sectors to ensure that all children have access to an excellent education. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.  

About Duke Energy
Duke Energy is the largest electric power holding company in the United States with approximately $121 billion in total assets. Its regulated utility operations serve approximately 7.3 million electric customers located in six states in the Southeast and Midwest. Its commercial power and international energy business segments own and operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing portfolio of renewable energy assets in the United States.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com.