San Miguel Academy of Newburgh is pleased to announce it has received a $5,000 STEM grant from the Toshiba America Foundation (TAF). These funds will support an innovative STEM project, “Testing the Waters: Engineering a Water Reuse Process,” which combines math with engineering in a real-world, project-based learning environment.  

The entire eighth-grade class will participate in the project, which includes creating and testing water samples from the nearby Hudson River, exploring different types of filters, and designing systems to reuse water. Students will use math skills such as measurement, ratios, and data analysis to improve their water filtration systems, learn about water pollution, and consider how these methods could be applied to clean up polluted rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs. This project will help them build important skills in technology, math, and engineering while showing them how science can be a powerful tool for solving real-world environmental problems.  Through this project-based learning approach, students will gain a deeper understanding of water science, the impact of pollution, and why managing our water resources is so important.

“San Miguel Academy is grateful for Toshiba’s role in creating grants for financial resources to support innovation within our school. This project is particularly close to our hearts as it touches upon multiple aspects of our students’ lives. Giving a student in Newburgh agency over one’s life and community is life-changing. Marked by the highest murder rate in the state of New York, San Miguel students live in a city where they are faced with navigating the social-emotional effects of living in a marginalized community every day. By empowering our students with innovative educational experiences, we are lighting the spark of curiosity and nurturing creators of solutions for the next generation,” said Father Mark Connell, executive director and acting principal of San Miguel Academy.

Toshiba America Foundation’s grants fund projects designed by individual classroom teachers. This “direct-to-teacher” approach brings immediate results. Teachers are able to change the way they teach Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects because the grant supports equipment for hands-on experiments and inquiry-based approaches to the curriculum. At TAF, we believe that STEM is a lot more fun than just reading a textbook. TAF grants provide teachers with the tools they need to be more effective educators. The grants make the classroom a more exciting place for both teachers and students.

The mission of San Miguel Academy is to break the cycle of poverty through education. San Miguel’s year-round, STEM-based middle school serves low-income families in Newburgh, a city of 27,249 that struggles with poverty and violence. One in four residents lives below the poverty line, a rate 72% higher than the national average. All San Miguel Academy (SMA) students are eligible for free meals under the federal Child Nutrition Program. SMA makes a 12-year commitment to students and their families, partnering with them through high school, college, and into the workforce. SMA students enjoy a 98% graduation rate from high school and a 90% placement rate in colleges, trade schools, and the military. This 12-year commitment to each student and their family is integral to breaking the cycle of poverty and changing the trajectory of its students’ lives.