Waste Management pledges $450,000 to Humble ISD Foundation to establish endowed chairs for elementary science education

Photo: Humble ISD School Board President Daniel G. Huberty shakes hands with Glenn Masterson following the announcement that Waste Management has pledged $450,000 to the Humble ISD Education Foundation to establish the Glenn Masterson Endowed Chairs for Elementary Science Education. Looking on are Glenn’s wife Rosalie Masterson, Waste Management Area Vice President Don Smith and Waste Management Public Relations Manager Lisa Doughty.

Waste Management has pledged $450,000 to the Humble ISD Education Foundation to establish the Glenn Masterson Endowed Chairs for Elementary Science Education. The donation will fund Science Endowed Chair positions to serve four Humble ISD elementary schools with the goal of advancing science instruction, application and achievement.

“This is history in the making,” Humble ISD Superintendent Dr. Guy Sconzo said. “While universities have a long tradition of endowed chair positions, it’s unheard of for public school districts. This is a first for Humble ISD and we are thrilled to enhance students’ science education thanks to Waste Management’s generosity.”

The primary role of the Endowed Chair positions will be to provide hands-on, researched-based learning experiences for the four elementary campuses in three major instructional areas - earth, physical and life science. The endowed chairs will work with students at Fall Creek, North Belt, Park Lakes and River Pines elementary schools. These campuses are located near Waste Management’s Atascocita Landfill.

Lisa Doughty, Public Affairs Manager for Waste Management, said Waste Management conducts a community survey in neighborhoods near its facilities to gauge the concerns of local residents. The Atascocita survey shows that children are local residents’ top priority. “What better way to show our continued support for the community than to be involved with what’s most important to them - their children,” Doughty said.

The endowed chairs were named in honor of Glenn Masterson, a Waste Management employee for over 27 years. Glenn has been a community partner in the Humble area since 1982 when the landfill first opened it’s doors.

One of the first hands-on science learning experiences that Waste Management’s donation will allow Humble ISD students to experience is Ecobots. Through Ecobots, students work in teams to build and program a robot that will accomplish a pre-specified green task. There is a city-wide competition in which teams demonstrate their researched based findings and solutions. Ecobots allows students to experience the processes of engineering, computer programming, product marketing and academic competition. It also teaches skills such as learning to work well with others, time management and thinking outside the box. The Ecobots program will benefit the four targeted schools as well Humble ISDs other elementary campuses because the donation will allow the district to implement Ecobots district-wide.

“Having the availability of endowed chairs who can lead this and other focused learning experiences, as well as gather, analyze and report data as evidence of the positive impact of student learning, will set Humble ISD apart from other districts and put us in the forefront for elementary science instruction,” Dr. Karen Perkins, Humble ISD Executive Director for Community Development, said. “We appreciate Waste Management's vision as an innovative, corporate community partner. This gift will influence science instruction for students in Humble ISD for many years to come.”

Based in Houston, Texas, Waste Management is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America, including the Atascocita Landfill, which serves residents in Northeast Houston. Its subsidiaries provide collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. Waste Management is also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. Its customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. For more information about Waste Management, visit wm.com or ThinkGreen.com


For additional information, please contact:
Lisa Doughty, Waste Management Public Relations Manager, 713-647-5546
Dr. Karen Perkins, Humble ISD Executive Director for Community Development, 281-641-8140