WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita State University has announced a total of $200,000 in grants to 11 area school districts for engineering education.

The university says in a statement that the money will come from the state’s University Engineering Initiative Act. The funds will allow school districts to teach curriculum from a national program called Project Lead the Way.

Lawrence Whitman, associate dean of Wichita State’s College of Engineering, says it’s important to maintain students’ interest in science and engineering through the K-12 years.

School districts receiving grants for the 2014-15 year include Wichita Public Schools, the Wichita Catholic Diocese and the Circle, Derby, Goddard, Hillsboro, Hutchinson, Kingman-Norwich, Newton, Remington and Valley Center school districts.