SunPower is launching its SunPower Solar Science Academy in six K-12 school districts in Arizona and California this summer, encompassing 140 students. Every program will last a week and comprises a solar-focused curriculum and will mainly concentrate on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), mixing lectures and field trips with discussions to solve problems and practical applications of the acquired knowledge.
SunPower Solar Science Academy students explore practical applications of solar technology. (PRNewsFoto/SunPower Corp.)
San Ramon Valley, Mount Diablo, West Contra Costa and Porterville Unified School Districts and also Oxnard Union High School District are introducing their students to the SunPower Solar Science Academy this summer and Scottsdale Unified School District of Arizona will introduce their students to the program later in fall.
Besides forming a partnership with the districts with respect to the academies, SunPower has also collaborated with them to install SunPower solar power systems in their premises, which will produce clean, renewable solar power in their buildings, thus contributing to a considerable amount of savings. The academy’s curriculum was arrived at in collaboration with district teachers under the supervision of Contra Costa Economic Partnership, a non-profit alliance of education, business, and public sector experts committed to generating and retaining quality jobs. Funded by SunPower, twenty-four teachers are associated with the academy and have developed study plans, guiding academy sessions or partaking in the training courses.
SunPower also offers teaching tools to partaking districts the entire year through programs formulated by Project Lead the Way in California. Project Lead the Way is a non-profit establishment that collaborates with public schools, organizations, and higher educational establishments to raise the bar on the quantity and quality of biomedical, engineering, and technology professionals graduating from the educational setup.