February 19, 2020
The Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) is pleased to announce a generous donation from Ofinno in support of its Smithsonian Science Summer School (S4) program. Ofinno is a local research and development lab based in Reston, Virginia that believes in empowering the next generation of new technology developers and users through education. The Smithsonian’s Office of the Associate Provost for Education and Access also supports S4 in its second pilot year.
In the summer of 2018, the SSEC launched the inaugural S4 program in affiliation with Horizons Greater Washington, a local summer enrichment program for economically disadvantaged K-12 students in the Washington, DC Public School System (DCPS). For 2020, S4 is on track to deliver a high impact, immersive experience to DCPS students from Title I schools. Smithsonian Science Summer School is a robust, science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)+Arts education program that pairs the SSEC’s K-8 primary and middle school curriculum with the breadth and depth of the Smithsonian collections. Working with Horizons’ students, volunteers and faculty, S4 provides targeted professional development for teachers, inquiry-based science instruction for students, and educational experiences at selected Smithsonian museums.
“Ofinno’s mindset of service and community involvement inspire us to engage in many forms of service to help enrich the world,” states Michelle Betoni, Operations Director for Ofinno. “We are very excited to support the S4 program’s mandate to reduce the summer skills gap among underserved youth in the DC area.”
The Smithsonian Science Education Center is so pleased to welcome Ofinno to the Smithsonian-DCPS Partnership effort and we are looking forward to a very rewarding and productive collaboration.
About the Smithsonian Science Education Center
The Smithsonian Science Education Center’s mission is transforming K-12 Education Through Science™ in collaboration with communities across the globe.
About the Smithsonian-DCPS Partnership
The Smithsonian-DCPS Partnership is the Smithsonian Institution’s effort to fulfill its five-year strategic plan goal to understand and impact 21st century audiences by reaching all Washington, D.C., metropolitan area K–12 students by 2022.
About Horizons Greater Washington
Horizons Greater Washington is a 501(c)(3) organization operating in Washington, DC that develops public-private partnerships between independent and public school communities to provide academic, cultural, and recreational programs designed to empower economically disadvantaged students to realize their full potential.
About Ofinno, LLC
Ofinno, LLC, is a research and development lab based in Northern Virginia, that specializes in inventing and patenting future technologies. Ofinno’s researchers create technologies that address some of the most important issues faced by wireless device users and the carriers that serve them. Ofinno’s inventions have an impressive utilization rate. Ofinno’s research involves technologies such as 5G Radio and Core networks, IoT, V2X, and ultra-reliable low latency communications. Our innovators not only create the technologies, they oversee the entire process from the design to the time the technology is sold. For more information about Ofinno, please visit www.ofinno.com.
