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Library says federal grant for DesignLab STEAM program ends early; city, parents seek options
Summary
The Fond du Lac librarylearned this month that a Department of Education-backed grant funding the DesignLab STEAM program will not continue for its final year. Library staff and partners described the program impact on nearly 500 children and outlined possible, unfinalized paths forward.
Interim Library Director Laurie Burgess told the Fond du Lac City Council on Sept. 24 that the libraryhas received notice the federal Department of Education will not fund the final year of a five-year grant that supported the DesignLab STEAM program.
The loss matters because the program brought sustained STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) activity to local children: Burgess said the libraryreceived more than $300,000 a year for four years through Dramatic Results, the nonprofit manager and fiscal agent for the federal grant, and the program reached almost 500 children.
Library staff described what the program offered: weeklong camps and summer sessions for children entering grades 3 through 5, hands-on design-thinking projects (this yearcentered on a food-truck design challenge), professional development for pre-service teachers, and meals and materials supplied for participants.…
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