Shemitz and SoundWaters awarded $10K for STEM academy
Fairfield-based philanthropic group, Near & Far Aid, has awarded a $10,000 grant to SoundWaters in support of its STEM Academy. SoundWaters’ STEM Academy provides hands-on, science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programming for underserved and low-performing students. “Studies have shown that by the end of 5th grade, low-income children lose two months in reading achievement while student peers from wealthier backgrounds improve and can be as much as three grade levels ahead by middle school,” said SoundWaters President, Leigh Shemitz. “Carefully designed, the SoundWaters STEM Academy helps to counter this ‘summer slide’,” Shemitz added. The first class of 30 STEM Academy students in 2014 made significant gains in math, reading and science, while also exploring and learning about the habitats of Long Island Sound.