LANXESS provides $50K in STEM education funding

Mark Day, left, public relations and land manager for LANXESS, stands with representatives from West Side Christian School, North West Elementary, Yocum Primary, Hugh Goodwin Elemenatry, El Dorado High School and the Smackover-Norphlet School District, as well as Steffen Kahlert, site manager at LANXESS, center, as the company distributes STEM education grant awards last week. (Contributed)
Mark Day, left, public relations and land manager for LANXESS, stands with representatives from West Side Christian School, North West Elementary, Yocum Primary, Hugh Goodwin Elemenatry, El Dorado High School and the Smackover-Norphlet School District, as well as Steffen Kahlert, site manager at LANXESS, center, as the company distributes STEM education grant awards last week. (Contributed)

LANXESS, a specialty chemical company boasting three sites in Union County, made good last week on a five-year commitment to provide a cumulative $250,000 in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education funding to local school districts with a fifth round of grants that totaled out to $50,000.

“All of us at LANXESS have thoroughly enjoyed seeing the creative projects that have come out of this grant program over the past five years,” Mark Day, public relations and land manager for LANXESS, said in a press release. “Schools and teachers have been challenged over the last year, but we are grateful for their commitments and perseverance to developing these programs that keep students engaged in the STEM fields.”

LANXESS first began operations in El Dorado in 2016, after acquiring the Chemtura plant in September of that year. At a grand opening event in April 2017, LANXESS made the pledge to support STEM education in the community, according to a previous News-Times report.

“It is part of our corporate philosophy to actively assume social responsibility in the communities surrounding our sites — all around the world,” said Anno Borkowsky, head of the Additives Business Unit, said at the grand opening. “That’s why back in 2008, we launched a global education initiative with which we support school students in the field of the natural sciences in particular … We shall join representatives of the local school districts to work out some specific projects for El Dorado.”

Since the grant program began in 2017, 12 Union County schools have received funding. This year, schools in the El Dorado and Smackover-Norphlet public school districts received grants, as did West Side Christian School.

According to a press release from the company, the SNSD received $13,090 for “Supporting the Future through STEM Education;” a post on the district’s Buckaroo Blog elaborates on the funding, saying it will go toward the district’s Kindergarten through 8th grade “Project Lead the Way” STEM programs.

Several schools in the ESD received grant funding: El Dorado High School was awarded $17,898.19 for “Content with a Purpose” programming; Hugh Goodwin Elementary received $500 for “3-D Printing Helping Students Thrive”; Northwest Elementary got $11,200 for a “Coding for All” program; and Yocum Prmary was granted $1,385.81 for a “Mobile STEM Station.”

According to the EHS website, the money granted to the school will go toward high-quality lab equipment for the Biotechnology and Engineering courses at the school. Hugh Goodwin’s grant was awarded to Librarian Sandra Bullard, who said in a post on the school’s website that it would go toward buying a 3-D printer for the library’s Makerspace. Northwest’s funding will help to purchase robotics and coding equipment for classrooms and school clubs.

West Side received $5,906 for a “Texas Instruments Initiative.”

Since the grant program started in 2017, schools in the ESD, including EHS, Hugh Goodwin, Northwest, Yocum, Retta Brown Elementary, Washington Middle School and Barton Junior High School, have received a total of $123,013.97 in grant funding from LANXESS. Northwest and Yocum both received their first grant awards from the company this year.

Additionally, the SNSD has received a total of $49,167.88 from LANXESS; Parkers Chapel High School has been awarded $31,351.96; Junction City High School has been granted $6,700; the Strong-Huttig School District has received $13,025; and West Side has been awarded $23,285, all for STEM education, according to the press release.

“These initiatives are not only critical to the development of our future workforce here in El Dorado, but also for advancements in chemistry, science, and society worldwide,” Day said.

See photos of the grantees.

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