Lockheed steps up STEM

Lockheed Martin and its predecessor companies have been big employers in Fort Worth for more than 70 years. They’ve also been active contributors to community life.

Now Lockheed Martin is stepping up again, providing a $1 million, multiyear grant to enhance science, technology, engineering and math programs at each of the Fort Worth school district’s elementary, middle and high schools.

Down the road, there will be a payoff: Lockheed Martin needs people educated in STEM fields for its future workforce. Nationally, the U.S. Department of Commerce predicts a shortage of as many as 1.2 million workers needed for STEM jobs by 2018, the school district reported in a news release.

The grant will cover teacher training, software, classroom equipment and supplies, the news release said.

Lockheed Martin engineers will volunteer as role models and mentors, providing connections between the classroom and the “real world.”

This is a significant contribution, one to make both Fort Worth and Lockheed Martin proud.

This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 5:57 PM with the headline "Lockheed steps up STEM."