OREANDA-NEWS. February 13, 2014. The Verizon Foundation announced an ambitious, multiyear program to drive student achievement in STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and math – by helping to change the way teachers teach and students learn.

The announcement came at a White House-sponsored event with President Barack Obama and students and teachers at Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi, Md.

Over the next three years, the foundation will invest up to USD100 million in cash and in-kind contributions in current and new initiatives, which will accelerate professional development for teachers on how to effectively use technology to boost student achievement in STEM.

Current Verizon Foundation programs that integrate technology into the classroom have produced impressive results, including 59 percent of participating teachers reporting improved ability to individualize their instruction; 52 percent of participating students showing increased technology proficiency; 40 percent of participating students demonstrating increased ability in problem solving; and 37 percent showing increased academic achievement.

“If you work alongside teachers and show them exactly how to integrate technology into the classroom in a consistent and meaningful manner with professional development, the results can be very profound,” said Rose Stuckey Kirk, vice president-global corporate citizenship and president of the Verizon Foundation. “In our work in this area, we find that this committed approach is critical. That’s why we are expanding our work to have an even greater impact in the education arena.”

Verizon already supports a number of STEM educational initiatives, including the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program and the Verizon Innovative App Challenge.

The Innovative Learning Schools program, a partnership between the International Society for Technology in Education and the Verizon Foundation, is a professional-development program for teachers at schools in underserved areas. The program currently includes 24 schools. Teachers receive two years of onsite and online professional development that prepares them to better incorporate mobile technology into classroom learning and makes STEM subjects more appealing to students.