We are proud to announce that Huntsville City Schools (HCS) has secured two additional FUSE STEAM Studio grants. Challenger Middle School and Whitesburg Middle School have been selected as recipients of the FUSE STEAM Studio grant, generously provided by The Mazda Foundation for the 2026–2027 and 2027–2028 school years.
This latest award continues the district’s strong history of success with the FUSE STEAM Studio initiative. In 2025, HCS secured all four North Alabama grants available for Huntsville Junior High, Chapman Middle, McNair Junior High, and Williams Elementary—demonstrating the district’s ongoing commitment to innovation, access, and excellence in STEM education.
With the addition of Challenger Middle and Whitesburg Middle, HCS continues to expand transformative, student-centered learning environments where students engage in science, technology, engineering, art, and math through hands-on experiences such as robotics, coding, architecture, and music production. Each new FUSE STEAM Studio site will receive over $200,000 in cutting-edge equipment and technology to support these immersive learning opportunities.
“Securing the FUSE STEAM Studio grants for Challenger Middle School and Whitesburg Middle School is a powerful investment in our students and our future," said Dr. Rachel Evans, District STEM Coordinator. "These innovative learning environments will expand hands-on, student-centered STEM opportunities and ensure that more learners across Huntsville City Schools have access to engaging, real-world experiences that build creativity, confidence, and career-ready skills.”
FUSE STEAM Studios are designed as student-led, choice-based environments where learners select challenges aligned to their interests, progress at their own pace, and build real-world skills through collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving. The program continues to provide accessible entry points for all students while also offering increasingly complex challenges that grow alongside learner confidence and capability.
“At the heart of the FUSE experience is student choice,” said Reed Stevens, FUSE founder, professor of learning sciences at SESP, and principal investigator on three National Science Foundation grants supporting FUSE. “Students choose challenges that spark their curiosity and push them to collaborate, create, and problem solve in ways that aren’t typical of a traditional classroom.”
Huntsville City Schools extends its gratitude to The Mazda Foundation and FUSE STEAM Studio for their continued partnership and investment in STEAM education. These opportunities are helping to cultivate the next generation of innovators, creators, and leaders across our district.
“The Mazda Foundation is proud to support FUSE Studios and expand hands-on STEAM learning for students in the Huntsville area,” said Tamara Mlynarczyk, president of the Mazda Foundation. “Programs like FUSE help spark curiosity, build confidence, and develop the real-world skills students need to thrive.”