Sigsbee Charter School, which serves mostly children whose parents work at Naval Air Station Key West, has received a $540,000 federal grant.

The hefty grant arrives at the K-6 school one year after it left the Monroe County School District's supervision and was transformed into a charter school by locals, both civilian and Navy, who tore out the drywall, painted classrooms and stripped floors to reopen the school building at the Sigsbee Park Annex.

Sigsbee Principal Elisa Jannes said the $540,000 will allow the school to develop a "cutting edge" Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program over the next three years. The program is designed to help military-connected students who face academic obstacles due to multiple moves due to deployment.

"Our new technology will connect their learning in meaningful ways and close achievement gaps that develop when students move from state to state," said Jannes, who helped write the grant proposal.

"Our new technology will connect their learning in meaningful ways and close achievement gaps that develop when students move from state to state," said Jannes, who helped write the grant proposal.

The program awarded more than $64 million in grants this year to 57 schools across the nation serving military children.

The grant came through the Department of Defense Education Activity Educational Partnership (DoDEA).

"We think there are close to 80 percent of military children in public schools," said Connie Gillette, a DoDEA spokeswoman. "You can imagine now that it's really, really needed. These are tough economic times."