Walt Disney World Resort has provided a boost to local STEM education at Orange County Public Schools.
The theme park — part of Burbank, California-based The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) — presented a $100,000 donation to the school district on April 4 as part of a preview of the Tron Lightcycle/Run ride. The surprise announcement is set to boost Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education for the district.
Why this matters: Childhood STEM programs can boost participation in the career fields that benefit from those workers and give awareness to students who may have never considered those roles.
“We can always count on Disney to provide for our schools and students in innovative, fun and thoughtful ways," Orange County Public Schools Superintendent Maria Vazquez said in a prepared statement. "This generous donation will help our teachers bring STEM to life in the classroom and will help provide our students with experiences they’ll treasure for a lifetime."
Michael Ollendorff, spokesman for the school district, told Orlando Business Journal the grant money will be used to provide STEM-related teacher impact grants and support the district's Read2Succeed program, which strengthens reading and pre-reading skills for developing readers in kindergarten, first and second grades. The grant will be matched dollar-for-dollar with funds the district's foundation receives from the Florida Legislature’s School District Education Foundation Matching Gifts Program.
"STEM Teacher impact grants will positively impact at least 20,000 students at approximately 50 schools," Ollendorff said. "Read2Succeed will positively impact approximately 3,000 students at approximately 110 schools."
The funds come as Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary celebration event — which concluded at the end of March — gave $6.5 million in grants to over 60 nonprofits.
“This continued commitment ensures that our future innovators receive the skills and hands-on experiences they need to dream about their futures, build their talents and become who they imagine they can be – which could one day lead them to a career at Disney,” Rena Langley, senior vice president of communications and public affairs at Walt Disney World Resort, said in a prepared statement.
Meanwhile, there were roughly 9.88 million STEM workers in the U.S. during 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a number expected to grow by 11% by 2031 to 10.94 million. That total would be two times faster than the rate for all occupations.
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