PHILADELPHIA — Four School District of Philadelphia high school science teachers have been selected for the 2021 inaugural cohort of the Naval Education Workplace Training (NEWT) Program.

The teachers are Maya Bhagat of Frankford High School, Lee Burwasser of Academy at Palumbo High School, Paula Miller of Abraham Lincoln High School and Jason Perez of Murrell Dobbins Career & Technical Education High School.

The NEWT Program gives teachers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience, learning engineering skills and conducting research side-by-side with Navy engineers and scientists. This 8-week summer program will give teachers a taste of life as a professional engineer, providing them crucial insights that they will be able to bring back to their classrooms.

Teachers will work with Navy mentors to develop demonstrations and curriculum materials, and will receive continued mentorship throughout the 2021-2022 school year, including classroom visits to give students a chance to interact directly with STEM professionals.

The NEWT program is a collaboration between the Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division and the Philadelphia Robotics Coalition, a nonprofit that builds equity in STEM education by supporting high-quality competitive robotics programs for Philadelphia public school students. Teachers receive a $10,000 stipend for completing the 15-month program.

The first-hand experience gained in the NEWT program will give teachers insight and perspective to better prepare their students to be the STEM leaders of tomorrow.