A competitive three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Defense awarded $518,000 to three Beaufort elementary schools: Broad River, Coosa and Shell Point. The schools are chosen based on their high percentages of military families. One in four students at Broad River and Coosa elementary schools and one in five students at Shell Point Elementary come from military families connected to service at the Marine Corps Air Station, Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot or the Beaufort Naval Hospital.
The Department of Defense (DOD) “Joint Strike” grant has two main goals: to enhance teacher knowledge in mathematics and to go above and beyond the traditional school day education in the subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
Teachers will work with students one-on-one and in small group settings after school and during summer recess to increase students’ understanding of math, science and literacy. The DOD grant will also fund animation software and robotic kits to engage students in hands-on learning.
“We’re very excited to add three additional schools to our growing robotics and animation program in Beaufort County,” said Superintendent Valerie Truesdale.  “This brings us to a total of seven schools with grants to expand hands-on learning in math, science and literacy.”
In addition, the grant funds the tuition and book costs for teachers to take graduate-level courses.