Boeing invests $300,000 in Free 2 Teach STEM initiative

Aerospace and defense manufacturing giant Boeing announced on Monday a $300,000 gift to Free 2 Teach, the Huntsville-based nonprofit that provides free resources to teachers in public schools in Madison, Morgan and Limestone counties.

Boeing’s gift is specifically geared toward the Free 2 Explore program, Free 2 Teach’s STEM initiative that utilizes partnerships to give lesson kits to teachers from the pre-kindergarten through high school grade levels.

 

“To be standing here today alongside a Boeing team is particularly meaningful because Boeing was our very first investor at Free 2 Teach,” Free 2 Teach CEO Alison Kling said during a Monday press conference to announce the partnership. Referring to former first lady of Huntsville and Free 2 Teach co-founder Eula Battle, Kling added, “When Eula and her team were thinking about what could they do to invest in teachers, Boeing made the first donation, a box truck full of binders, that they backed into Mayor Battle and Eula Battle’s garage. Their garage, our founding location as an organization.” 

Chrystal Morgan, director of government operations at Boeing, announced the donation at Monday’s press conference at the Free 2 Teach warehouse in Huntsville.

Kits containing science, engineering, technology and math-related projects were on display in the warehouse, where projects and related supplies were organized on shelves according to grade level. One kit included materials and instructions for fourth-graders to construct a catapult using items such as straws, tape, string and rubber bands, as well as a worksheet encouraging students to predict what they think would make an object go farthest and explain their reasoning. 

“This program bridges the gap between industry experience and classroom experience, equipping educators to inspire students with engaging, rigorous science, technology, engineering and math activities,” Morgan said. “Supporting teachers in this way not only strengthens education, but also builds the foundation for sustained economic growth and innovation in Alabama. It helps ensure that our community remains a hub for advanced manufacturing, aerospace excellence and cutting-edge research.”

 

Emylee Drummond, a senior at New Century Technology High School in Huntsville, shared about her personal experience with Free 2 Teach. She said the organization always has the supplies she needs for projects as president of her school’s National STEM Honor Society chapter. 

“And those resources don’t just benefit me,” she said. “They give me the opportunity to share materials with peers who might not have otherwise had the opportunity to access them.”

Free 2 Teach, which was founded in 2011, serves 97,000 students and 6,000 teachers across the 158 public schools in the tri-county area. 

“STEM is not just a buzzword. It brings opportunities for people of different disciplines to work together and solve problems,” Christine King, a teacher at New Century, said during Monday’s event. “In Huntsville, the Rocket City, students are surrounded by a community with a strong connection to science, technology, engineering and math. Students need chances to ask questions, build, test, revise and learn from one another. Free 2 Teach’s resources and partnerships like this make those hands-on experiences possible.”