WHIPPANY, N.J. – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., joined Bayer Corporation’s Dr. Mae C. Jemison, the nation's first African-American female astronaut, to present a $100,000 two-year grant from the Bayer USA Foundation to Students 2 Science, an innovative education organization that offers hands-on programs designed to encourage students to pursue in science, technology, engineering and math.
“Bayer, Students 2 Science, and I all know that increased education in science, technology, engineering and math drives innovation in our communities, in our state, and throughout our country,” said Sen. Booker. “With this grant, Bayer is investing in New Jersey’s future and ensuring that our students have access to quality education in innovative fields that will help grow our economy."
S2S makes science and scientists accessible to students. The organization works to inspire, motivate and educate elementary, middle and high school students about pursuing STEM careers by getting them out of the classroom and into the laboratory where they conduct challenging experiments side-by-side with professional scientists using sophisticated lab instruments.
The new Bayer grant will underwrite all visits by middle and high school students to S2S’s laboratory and its virtual labs during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years. During the announcement, Bayer called on additional companies located in the Garden State to support Students 2 Science’s mission.
According to Change the Equation’s Vital Signs report, New Jersey business leaders say they have had problems finding the qualified science and technology workers to stay competitive. While Vital Signs credits the state with stretching its math and science education dollars farther than other states do, it says no state has been able to close persistent student achievement gaps among racial and ethnic groups. In 2011, only 9 percent of New Jersey’s African American eighth graders and 12 percent of Hispanic eighth graders scored at or above proficient in science. At the same time, New Jersey’s K-12 STEM Ed Report Card 2011 projects the state will add roughly 270,000 STEM-related jobs that will need to be filled by 2018.