AT&T Foundation has awarded NYU a grant to enhance the COSMOS Education Activities.  Part of the grant is dedicated to graduate student stipends to support RET teachers back in their classrooms during the 2019-2020 school year and part of it is dedicated to enhancing the COSMOS Education Toolkit and quantity of materials that are given to teachers to bring back to their schools.

AT&T press release is below:

NEW YORK CITY TEACHERS SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN COMPETITIVE STEM TRAINING PROGRAM

WITH SUPPORT FROM AT&T, TEACHERS WILL GO BACK TO THEIR CLASSROOMS PREPARED TO
INCORPORATE TECH APPLICATIONS INTO THEIR LESSON PLANS FOR 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR

New York, NY, June XX, 2019 – Today, AT&T and the universities building one of the country’s first and largest real-world testbeds of advanced wireless communications announced the names of ten teachers from schools throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn and
Queens who earned spots in an intensive summer program that will prepare them to return to their classrooms this fall ready to engage their students in the transformative technology of 5G and beyond.

The teachers selected for this competitive program and their students will become part of a massive National Science Foundation-funded test of next-generation wireless communications in West Harlem called COSMOS – Cloud Enhanced Open Software Defined
Mobile Wireless Testbed for City-Scale Deployment.

A grant from AT&T will provide stipends and fellowships to graduate students from Columbia University and New York University Tandon School of Engineering, who will support the teachers in their classrooms and mentor students as they learn the fundamentals of electrical engineering and conduct exciting hands-on projects using the ultra-fast wireless network. The AT&T support will also allow the teachers to purchase additional materials and supplies needed to execute these STEM lesson plans.

The program begins July 1, 2019 at NYU Tandon during its giant summer program for students and teachers called STEMnow, under the auspices of the School’s Center for K12 STEM Education. Two weeks later the teachers will move to Columbia Engineering, where they will develop educational experiments that will use the COSMOS network. Rutgers University, another academic participant in COSMOS, will be the third stop for the selected teachers. The NSF provides teacher stipends for the summer program as part of the effort to attract the most qualified candidates from diverse communities throughout New York.

“The path to success in STEM careers remains out of reach for too many young people. But training teachers about the innovative ways to incorporate STEM into their lesson plans will help open students’ eyes to the possibilities around them,” said Amy Hines Kramer,
President, AT&T New York. “The COSMOS program is an incredible opportunity for teachers, challenging them to utilize real-world resources in their classroom. The practical skills they pass on to their students will open doors for them to thrive in college, their
chosen careers and beyond.”

“The generous support of AT&T will introduce students throughout the city to smart-city technology that will shape their future and that of our planet,” said NYU Tandon Dean Jelena Kovačević. “We are proud to be a world leader in wireless research, and the COSMOS
student and teacher outreach will help ensure that the pipeline of engaged and capable students in New York City will remain filled for years to come.”

The winning teachers include:

• • • Joel Bianchi, Frederick Douglass Academy (Manhattan)
    • Basil Masood, The Mott Hall School (Manhattan)
    • Brooke Williams, PS/MS 46 Arthur Tappan School (Manhattan)
    • Anne Williard, Mott Hall 2 (Manhattan)
    • Juditha Damiao, Joseph F. Lamb, PS/IS 206 (Brooklyn)
    • Richard Foster, Parkside Preparatory Academy (Brooklyn)
    • Jason Econome, Stuyvesant High School (Manhattan)
    • Martina Choi, The Beacon School (Manhattan)
    • Adam Seidman, The Beacon School (Manhattan)
    • Qiaochu Jia, Forest Hills High School (Queens)

This contribution is part of AT&T Aspire, AT&T’s signature philanthropy initiative to drive student success in school and beyond. The initiative supports STEM programs reaching students throughout the five boroughs. Along with its support of the COSMOS program and York College’s NASA MUREP Aerospace Academy, AT&T is continuing its collaboration with Girls Who Code, with First Star College of Staten Island Academy and with DreamYard for a third year. 

AT&T is also connecting underserved students to arts and science education this summer and fall through its support of Win (formerly Women in Need), East Flatbush Village’s STEAM workshops and BRIC’s 2019-2020 Youth Media Fellowship, which gives high school students the skills and professional insight needed to plan, curate and promote a media festival.

##

About Philanthropy & Social Innovation at AT&T
AT&T is committed to advancing education, strengthening communities, and improving lives. Through its community initiatives, AT&T has a long history of investing in projects that create learning opportunities; promote academic and economic achievement; and address community needs. The Company’s signature philanthropic initiative, AT&T Aspire, drives innovation in education to promote student success in school and beyond. With a financial commitment of $400 million since 2008, AT&T is leveraging technology, relationships, and social innovation to help all students make their biggest dreams a reality.

Contact Info:
Media Contacts: Marisa Rodriguez, 956.607.9952 or mrodriguez@skdknick.com
NYU Contact: Kathleen Hamilton, 646.997.3792 or kathleen.hamilton@nyu.edu
AT&T Contact: Kate MacKinnon, km9822@att.com