Date: 5/23/2016

The Wind Program announced that the Distributed Wind Energy Association (DWEA) has been selected as a partner to support the long-term sustainability of the Wind for Schools project. The selection is part of a broader effort by the Department to support the growth of the Wind for Schools network and diversify sources of funding to allow for more schools nationwide to be able to participate in the program. Over the course of 9 months, DWEA's project team will work with the existing Wind for Schools participants to further the initiative's mission of bringing wind education to the classroom through experiential learning. The selection was announced at The Department's Wind Workforce Development and Education Summit held in New Orleans, Louisiana, May 22-23.

Wind for Schools currently supports a network of rural K-12 public schools and higher education institutions in Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Arizona, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. Each K-12 school hosts a wind turbine, with installation and curriculum supported by students and faculty working with a Wind Application Center at a partner university in their state. The K-12 host school incorporates its school's wind turbine into the classroom as a way to support interactive and interschool research tasks that inspire and demonstrate novel approaches to teach science and involve K-12 students in their communities. Students at higher education institutions are also engaged as they serve as project consultants at the Wind Application Centers. DWEA's partnership in Wind for Schools will support the existing Wind Application Centers as well as help to make connections with industry and help additional states, universities, and schools to join.

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