Hpi Blog HPI Teams With "We Teach Science" to Promote STEM Education

Following the lead of Company President and CEO, Hal Pontez, HPI employees are demonstrating their commitment to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education. This school year, HPI engineers will dedicate time each week to tutor and mentor public school students online through "We Teach Science", a non-profit education program to help U.S. students excel in math and science related disciplines. Employee mentors will be assigned a student that they will work with throughout the 2015-16 school year, and will connect with them through a web-based interactive whiteboard to complete assignments. HPI Director of Marketing and Communications, Erica Evans, believes the online platform provides employees with flexibility in volunteering that they wouldn't be afforded in a traditional tutoring environment. "We pride ourselves on being good corporate citizens and in fostering goodwill in the communities in which we operate through volunteer efforts. At times, our employees would like to donate their time, but are unable to do so due to time constraints. The remote tutoring and mentoring model offered through We Teach Science affords employees the opportunity to volunteer from their location, during a time that they designate, thereby giving them more flexibility," Evans says. To prepare, employees will be provided extensive training, including an orientation, workshops and coaching from former teachers on how to make tutoring/mentoring sessions more effective and fun. Evans is grateful for the additional support. "While some of our employees have prior tutoring and mentoring experience, for many this will be their first time. We're grateful to We Teach Science for providing us with the resources necessary for our employees to better engage students and put them on the path for success."