CINCINNATI — Five all-girls Catholic high schools in Cincinnati are making history after receiving a $2 million STEM education grant.
The presidents of Mercy-McAuley, Mount Notre Dame, Saint Ursula Academy, Seton and Ursuline Academy have joined forces to enhance STEM education opportunities for their students.
"It gave us five schools of all women to be able to benefit from opportunities for each school uniquely in the STEM world, which is really unheard of," said Leilia Kramer, president of Saint Ursula Academy.
WATCH: How these schools are uniting for the $2 million grant
The three-year STEM education grant was awarded by The Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, N.A. Trustee. Each school will receive $400,000 from the fund to provide new opportunities for STEM teachers and students.
''Empowering young women has been at the heart of the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund since its creation in 1908,’’ said Heidi Jark, managing director of the Foundation Office at Fifth Third Bank. "We are honored to continue that legacy by supporting these five esteemed academic institutions as they advance STEM education for the next generation of female leaders across the Cincinnati region."
While the schools have collaborated before, this marks the first time they've worked together on a project of this magnitude.
"We're commonly seen as competitors in the community. But what better way to lift each other up and collaborate together to be an example to our students," said Michelle Robinson, president of Mount Notre Dame High School.
The funds will support individual STEM programs at each school, including upgrading classrooms and lab spaces, enhancing current STEM programs and providing new professional development for teachers.
For Saint Ursula Academy senior Mica Kissing, seeing the schools unite is inspiring.
"I'm really excited to see how it works into the curriculum, because Saint Ursula is changing our schedule, so it's going to be more focused on experiential learning," said Kissing. "I feel like there's already going to be a lot of opportunities. And now, combined with this grant for educators and students, they can kind of like step up and get involved in what they're passionate about."
Seton's principal, Karen White, noted that resources for STEM education can be challenging to secure.
"Sometimes it's hard to find resources to make those things happen because they might require certain equipment, or certain spaces, professional development for someone to teach the courses, which is always challenging, so this will allow us to do all of those things," said White.
Despite progress in recent years, STEM fields continue to be male-dominated, making this initiative particularly significant.
"We are seeing a much bigger shift for our students wanting to go into the STEM fields. Statistics show that, and we're seeing it in all of our schools, so having this opportunity allows us to meet the girls where they want to be," said Kramer.
The schools will begin utilizing the funds from the grant beginning in the 2025-2026 school year.
"We see it as a platform to do even greater things," said Robinson.
