Jawan Burwell, Ed.D., director of N.C. A&T’s Child Development lab, wanted his young students to have plenty of access to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) before their formal grade school years – particularly to technology.

The five-star rated program, which enrolls 34 children ages 3-5, has about as much technology in the classrooms as most early programs for young children, including several computers that the students can use for instructional games and learning.

But Burwell wanted more.

“We are a STEM program, so we put a lot of emphasis on preparing our students for the future,” Burwell said. “Technology is a huge part of that. We also want to make our program stand out from other childcare facilities.”

So, he initiated a request he called “Project Ed Equity,” describing the Child Development Lab’s need and his goals to Truist Bank’s grant program. Truist responded to Burwell’s request by funding a $15,000 grant for the program to purchase various technology tools for each child, such as android tablets, smart boards and flat-screen TVs, as well as academic subscriptions for the classrooms that will help the students get a jump-start on STEM and reading concepts.

The program will also be able to enhance its outdoor space by adding an additional structure that will use technology.

“We hope that this gift will impact our program by bringing visibility to the work we do here and give us more ways to positively impact the children's development,” Burwell said.

“We thank Truist for their investment in our children and for enabling them to be top-quality future scholars.”