nConnect NW's History
In 2005, with limited funding and volunteers from nLIGHT, Educational Service District 112, and Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council, MAPS ran a pilot program. With seven engineers and physicists from nLIGHT, the pilot year focused solely on AP® Physics and served twenty-two students from six high schools.
The initial pilot received an enthusiastic response from teachers, students, mentors, and many others in the community. Based on this success, nConnect NW expanded in 2006 to include other leading high tech firms in Southwest Washington such as Hewlett Packard, Sharp Laboratories of America, Underwriters Laboratories, and nLIGHT. Supported by additional funding from local school districts, nConnect NW expanded to cover AP® courses beyond physics including chemistry, calculus, biology, and statistics and to serve over ninety students in ten schools. In 2006, nConnect NW also established a 501(c)(3) entity and a board of directors.
By 2007, nConnect NW had secured funding from Washington State Legislature, private foundations, school districts, and individuals and began implementing plans to expand its scope of services across the state.