Keeping in the spirit of Young Sheldon TV universe, Chuck Lorre has enrolled Young Sheldon executive producers Steven Molaro and Jim Parsons, Warner Bros. Television Group and CBS to create a new grant program appropriately called The Young Sheldon STEM Initiative.
The cast of Young Sheldon made the announcement in the video above. The program will continue the Chuck Lorre Family Foundation’s (TCLFF) commitment to fund innovative efforts and to foster excitement in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), specifically in support of our nation’s public schools, teachers and students.
“To those of us involved in making it, Young Sheldon is more than a television series,” said Lorre. “At its heart, it’s a story about potential. When the education of a child is supported, there is no limit to what that child might eventually achieve. We hope that in some small way, this program gives these public schools more STEM educational tools in the classroom for teachers to nurture and ignite the curiosity of students who will ultimately become our future leaders and scholars.”
Molaro, Parsons, WBTV and CBS will co-fund two-year educational grants totaling more than $600,000 which will be awarded to 19 select elementary, middle and high schools in Southern California as well as East Texas, where the Young Sheldon is set. It also should be noted that both Parsons and Young Sheldon co-star Montana Jordan are from the Lone Star State. In fact, Parsons attended three of the selected East Texas schools while Jordan attended one of the Texas schools, where his mother also taught first grade.
Each of the 19 public school grant recipients will be acknowledged as a Young Sheldon STEM Initiative Grant Recipient and will receive a two-year grant from TCLFF which is specifically to support each school’s STEM teachers and STEM educational programs within their existing in-class curriculum and/or after-school programs. The grant will also fully fund all costs for an annual experiential opportunity for students and teachers in and outside the classroom. Each school will be eligible to submit for continuation grants at the end of the two-year period. The initiative will launch to coincide with the 2018–19 academic school year.
The following 19 institutions are the initial recipients of the Young Sheldon STEM Initiative:
BURBANK (CALIF.) UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (8)
Burbank High School (grades 9–12)
John Burroughs High School (9–12)
Monterey High School (10–12)
Burbank Community Day School (8–12)
Independent Learning Academy (7–12)
Luther Burbank Middle School (6–8)
David Starr Jordan Middle School (6–8)
John Muir Middle School (6–8)
LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (1)
Van Nuys High School (9–12); Young Sheldon films regularly at this school
KLEIN (TEXAS) INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT (3)
Klein Oak High School (9–12); Jim Parsons attended this school
Strack Intermediate School (6–8); Jim Parsons attended this school
Haude Elementary School (K–5); Jim Parsons attended this school
TOMBALL (TEXAS) INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT (5)
Tomball High School (9–12)
Tomball Memorial High School (9–12)
Creekside Park Junior High School (6–8)
Tomball Junior High School (7–8)
Willow Wood Junior High School (7–8)
ORE CITY (TEXAS) INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT (2)
Ore City Elementary School; Montana Jordan attended this school and his mom taught first grade here for 19 years
Ore City Middle School; Montana Jordan attended this school
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