Earlier this year, ACA embarked on an initiative focused on STEM Education with education-based consulting company Young Minds Inspired. The effort resulted in a program titled, “Got You Covered,” a toolbox of lesson plans, class activities, and supporting materials that could be integrated with schools’ curriculum to introduce coatings science to middle school students.

The program was distributed to approximately 3,700 sixth to ninth-grade science teachers in 1005 schools. The schools chosen were in targeted areas where the coatings industry has a presence, specifically areas near universities with coatings science programs. Overall student reach was approximately 211,000.

Recently, a survey* of those teachers was conducted to ascertain how the materials were received, and whether they were used in the classroom.

The most consistently used comments described the materials as “useful,” “informative,” and “relevant,” and 98% of the teachers who responded rated the program’s appeal to students as “Good” to “Excellent.” Ninety-nine percent of respondents rated the program’s educational effectiveness as “Good” to “Excellent.” Other notable results include:

  • 85% Indicated that they have used or plan to use the educational program.
  • 87% Indicated that they plan to share the program with other teachers or had already done so.
  • 76% Indicated that they used additional resources offered on the Got You Covered website.

ACA member companies and their employees are encouraged to utilize the Got You Covered materials for their own STEM Education efforts, either as a stand-alone program or by incorporating the materials into an existing STEM program.

All program materials, including experiments, the guide distributed to teachers, Presenter’s Guide, and Career Guide are available on ACA’s website at paint.org/got-you-covered/.

For more information on ACA’s STEM Education Initiative, or to find out more about presenting Got You Covered to a school in your area, contact ACA’s Xavier Ferrier, Environmental, Health & Safety specialist, at xferrier@paint.org.

*Approximately 250 surveys were distributed; 168 surveys were returned.