DEARBORN, MI-The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has awarded a $60,000 matching grant for the expansion of the SME Education Foundation’s Gateway Academy-a one-week pre-engineering summer program designed to introduce students, 7th through 9th grade, to the fundamentals of math, engineering, technology and science and prepare them for middle and high school engineering coursework offered by Project Lead The Way. The invitation-only Gateway Academy will be offered in metropolitan areas of Kansas City, Mo, during the summer of 2009.

In a unique partnership, the Gateway Academy program in Kansas City will be jointly funded by the SME Education Foundation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation through its summer science enrichment initiative. The Foundation’s 2009 Summer METS (Math, Engineering, Technology and Science) programs provide engaging summer camp experiences for children, ages 5 to 15, to spark an interest in science. The Summer METS programs include school districts, community-based organizations, museums and colleges. During 2009, they are projected to serve more than 2,000 children from diverse backgrounds in the five counties of the Kansas City metropolitan area.

“We appreciate receiving the financial support of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation that will allow us to expand the Gateway Academy,” says Khalil S. Taraman, PhD, FSME, PE, D.I.T., chair of manufacturing engineering at Lawrence Technological University and president of the SME Education Foundation. “Introducing exciting, highly creative pre-engineering programs to young people, when they are most curious and inquisitive, allows us to present career possibilities never offered to their parents, and prepare them for the challenging future they will be facing.”

For more information about the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, visit www.kauffman.org.

For more information about the SME Education Foundation, visit www.smeef.org.