CHICAGO (Apr. 3, 2018) — The Governor’s Office of the Illinois Bicentennial is awarding 25 schools across the state a 3-year technology program as a signature legacy project of the Bicentennial Celebration. The highly renowned IMSA Fusion program presents a unique curriculum for middle school teachers to inspire 4th through 8th graders to study math and science and pursue careers in technology, medicine, education and business. The effort is a partnership with the Illinois Math and Science Academy.
The application deadline for schools is April 13. Applications can be submitted through http://bit.ly/FusionBicentennial.
Wintrust and Abbott are the presenting sponsors. All Bicentennial Office programs are privately financed. Additional funding for this campaign is provided by Boeing, Ingredion and Motorola.
IMSA Fusion is a teacher professional development and student STEM enrichment program. IMSA Fusion places a special emphasis on students who are historically underrepresented in those areas.
A five person school selection committee will review the applications. The committee includes: Emily Bastedo, Senior Advisor to the Governor; Dr. Kevin Pitts, Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education- University of Illinois; Ross Hemphill, Board Member- IMSA Fund for Advancement of Education; Jenna Daugherty, Divisional Vice President of Global Social Responsibility- Abbott; and Susana Meza, Vice President, Marketing- Wintrust Financial.
The schools will be chosen based on serving predominately underrepresented populations, commitments to embedding IMSA Fusion into the regular school day as an elective/encore/CTE course and requiring teachers to undertake 5 full days of professional development, and a sustainability plan to continue the IMSA Fusion after the 3-year award expires.
