Matching funds available for area teachers to boost STEM and anti-racism education

SAN DIEGO – San Diego Gas & Electric announced Friday, Nov. 4, that it is providing $250,000 in shareholder funds as matching dollars to help teachers supplement classroom learning with science, technology, engineering and mathematics projects, as well as racial equity and inclusion education. It is the fifth year that SDG&E is partnering with DonorsChoose, a nonprofit crowdfunding platform that empowers public school educators to post their projects online and raise donations to fund them.

“We consistently hear from students that they want to see more diverse perspectives and examples of positive contributions – from their cultures and others – in their classrooms and curriculum. Students want to be seen and understood as they seek to see and understand others,” Paul Gothold, Ed.D., San Diego County Superintendent of Schools, said. “We are thankful SDG&E is supporting local educators as they seek to implement equitable practices and strategies in their classrooms.”

Under the initiative for public K-12 schools in the San Diego and southern Orange County region served by SDG&E, teachers who request donations for STEM and/or racial equity and inclusion learning materials through DonorsChoose can receive up to $2 for every dollar they raise for their projects.

“As a company that is deeply invested in the future of our region, we have long recognized the vital role that teachers play in developing the next generation of citizens, leaders and knowledge workers,” Kazeem Omidiji, director of community relations for SDG&E, said. “And we want to do our part to support educators in their efforts to create meaningful and impactful learning experiences for their students.”

SDG&E first launched its partnership with DonorsChoose in 2018 so teachers don’t have to use their own money to purchase supplies. The partnership in the first four years provided a total of $1,164,159 in matching funds to teachers for STEM projects. To date, the STEM collaboration between SDG&E and DonorsChoose has supported more than 1,750 teachers and 250,000 students at 900 plus schools in a few dozen school districts. It is the second year that SDG&E is providing matching funds for anti-racism education.

How it works

In support of educational equity, SDG&E will provide a double match (2-1) for eligible teacher projects at schools in disadvantaged communities as determined by CalEnviroScreen.

Projects of $1,000 or less at public schools within SDG&E’s service territory in San Diego and Southern Orange Counties are eligible to receive matching funds from SDG&E on the DonorsChoose platform. Last year, 65%of the 266 schools in 31 school districts receiving funding from SDG&E were in disadvantaged communities.

Eligible teachers can visit http://donorschoose.org/sdge to apply for matching funds for STEM projects and http://donorschoose.org/sdgeracialequity for racial equity projects. The matching fund program will run from today until funds are exhausted.

To see the 11 projects needing funding in Fallbrook, visit https://www.donorschoose.org/donors/map.html?startingZip=92028-3238.

Submitted by San Diego Gas & Electric.