Alliance members said the grant would open educational doors for local children. They expressed a desire to get children more interested in science. The grant was awarded to the Brownsville Alliance for Science Education, or La BASE, by the Kellogg Foundation and Houston Endowment to be used for educational purposes. Mario Diaz, interim chair for Engineering Technology at the University, said the grant gives him the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream. He said that while the focus of the grant is on science, it would also help students in other areas.
Science also helps develop critical thinking skills.
He said this grant will help train Brownsville Independent School District teachers to teach science more effectively. The grant enables teachers to return to college to take science courses. Diaz said the courses would not only show teachers how to go back and teach more effectively, but would be taught in the manner a teacher would teach his students. Roni Rentfro, Program Administrator for the National Science Foundation with BISD, said she was pleased with the grant. She said the BASE program will open doors for the children participating.