Texas Instruments Foundation awards $2 million to STEAM Academy for young women

(The center) – Young Women’s STEAM Academy, Dallas ISD’s first all-girls legacy school, began the 2024-2025 school year with an inaugural freshman class as part of its expansion, joined by the newest members of the Young Women’s Preparatory Network.

The network is a nonprofit organization that partners with schools across the state located in distressed urban areas. It is the largest all-girls public college preparatory school system in the country.

In support of YWSA’s integration into the network, the Texas Instruments Foundation donated a $2 million grant in an effort to bridge the trust gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Funds will support the remodeling of YWSA’s science lab, the installation of a mural featuring pioneering women, state university visits, a college success coach, and the recruitment of new teachers.

Rubinna Sanchez, director of Young Women’s STEAM Academy, who is a first-generation college student herself, says she is excited about the Texas Instruments partnership and grant because having resources starting in sixth grade can help ease the transition to college.

“We were assigned a college success advisor to work with our students to find scholarships and the best fit for them,” she said. “This is going to improve the mindset of these girls, knowing that we, as a campus and community, are here to guide them, to help them achieve their dreams and move forward to do something they may not have thought was attainable.”

Local leaders such as Mayor Carrie Gordon of Balch Springs and Representative Toni Rose visited YWSA for announcing the partnership, showing girls that they can pursue high-profile careers and that it is possible to achieve anything they set their mind to.