$67,000 Nissan Donation Will Benefit RCS STEM, Ion Schools

Nissan has generally donated funds to both Rutherford County Schools and Murfreesboro City Schools that will be used to provide additional STEM programming for local students.

In the education world, STEM is an acronym that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, and it is used to describe academic programs centered around those fields. Some also use the acronym “STEAM,” which is the same type of program, but the extra “A” stands for Arts.

“STEM and STEAM educational opportunities play an integral part in developing important skillsets for the youth of our community, which can lead to the next generation of auto engineers, designers and technicians,” said Ali Tonn, senior manager of philanthropy at Nissan. “In collaboration with Business Education Partnership Foundation, Nissan is thrilled to contribute to the future of our global workplace by supporting programs in Rutherford County, which has been home to our Smyrna manufacturing plant for 40 years.”

Rutherford County Schools received nearly $67,000 from Nissan through its partnership with the Business Education Partnership Foundation.

Director of Schools Dr. Jimmy Sullivan thanked Nissan for its generosity and continued support of local students and schools.

“These funds will be used for schools who are pursuing STEM and STEAM designations from the state level,” Director Sullivan said, “and will bolster opportunities for students through our new Ion schools, which will launch in the next year.”

RCS currently has two schools that have achieved either STEM or STEAM designations from the Tennessee Department of Education and the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network. Smyrna Elementary School became the district’s first STEM-designated school last year and Christiana Middle School became the district’s first STEAM-designated school in May.

The Tennessee STEM Innovation Network names various schools annually who have met the requirements to become either a STEM- or STEAM-designated school. It is a three-year, rigorous application process to earn either designation, and schools must demonstrate they have baked the principles of STEM or STEAM into the fabric of their school culture.

Several other Rutherford County schools are also pursing these designations, and the Nissan donation will assist with those efforts.

The funds will also benefit the district’s new Ion School initiative.

The schools selected for the program include six elementary schools and three middle schools. The Ion initiative is intended to bring additional programmatic opportunities to students at the elementary and middle levels. Rutherford County high schools are not included in the program because each high school already offers specialized programs.

Participating schools include Cedar Grove Elementary, Christiana Middle, LaVergne Middle, Plainview Elementary, Rocky Fork Middle, Roy Waldron Elementary, Smyrna Elementary, Smyrna Primary, and Stewartsboro Elementary.

Ion is an innovation incubator that will use community, staff, and student input to develop exciting new programs and offerings across Rutherford County.