Feb 28 2008
BP Solar and Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) penned a partnership agreement today to deepen their relationship to support education in the Frederick community. The partnership provides the two organizations with common objectives: to provide educational materials on alterative energy; to allow students to experience hands-on investigations using real-world activities; to connect industry experts to students and teachers through classroom visits and school fieldtrips; and to provide state-of-the-art solar equipment toward the construction of the FCPS Earth and Space Science Lab.
"BP is committed to investing in the communities in which we operate," said Geoff Slevin, vice president of sales and marketing for BP Solar North America. "We believe it is vital to educate the leaders of tomorrow on the importance of alternative energy and science and how they will impact our future."
The partnership is the second stage of a relationship that began in late 2006. Through the initial agreement, BP Solar donated nearly $30,000 worth of energy education materials, produced by the National Energy Education Development (NEED) project, for fifth grade science classes. As part of the new partnership BP Solar has committed to provide an additional $30,000 worth of NEED materials in energy education for eighth grade science education and environmental science for high school education. The company will also host classes to tour its facility, provide speakers on the topic of solar energy and supply solar modules for the planned Earth and Space Science Lab.
"We are very excited to receive such strong support from BP Solar and its employees," said Dr. Linda Burgee, superintendent of Frederick County Public Schools. "The solar panels for the FCPS Earth and Space Science Lab combined with BP Solar's commitment to helping our teachers provide hands-on activities that teach children about alternative energy solutions will leave a lasting legacy and bring science alive for our students."