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MARCH UPDATE
The InterMountain Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Launch Pilot (IM STEM)
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What's going on IN the network?
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Below is a summary of the progress in each work group. If you would like to join a work group, please email
lriegel@napequity.org
.
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Communications and Resource Sharing
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Registrations continue to come in as our network expands. Our communication team sends welcome emails to each new member and our workgroup leaders engage new members. The Communication and Resource Sharing group continues to explore ways to amplify the impact of the IMSTEM network and increase the value of membership. Engage in conversation and connect with each other on our social media channels, including our LinkedIn group (IM STEM Network) and Twitter (@imstemequity). Please also continue to invite your professional colleagues to take advantage of the network by signing up today at our website
https://www.napequity.org/stem/stem-equity-project/imstem/
.
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This workgroup is developing a data dashboard pilot with Idaho Career and Technical Education on concentrators in CTE programs using the new requirements in Perkins V to test the feasibility of a more comprehensive analysis across all six IM STEM states. Perkins V requires data to be disaggregated by gender, race/ethnicity and each of the 9 special population groups. It is intended that this pilot would inform states as they are working on data collection and accountability in their State Plans for Perkins V. To learn more about Perkins V go to NAPE’s resource page at
https://www.napequity.org/public-policy/frontline-legislation/strengthening-career-and-technical-education-for-the-21st-century-act/
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Our asset mapping teams aims to support the development of asset maps in all IM STEM network states. Some states already have maps, including
Idaho
and
Wyoming
,
and you can view them by clicking on the state name. New Mexico will also be launching an asset map of after school programming, and we will make sure to link you to it when it goes live. An asset map for Nevada is underway. If you are interested or can connect us to someone in your state who would be interested in pioneering this work with us, please contact Kathleen Fitzpatrick
kfitzpatrick@napequity.org
.
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Effective Practice Scaling
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This workgroup led the recent network meeting where we heard about the national perspective and the development of the
Federal Government’s five-year (2018-2023) strategic plan for STEM education. If you missed the meeting, you can watch the recording
here.
Our next network meeting is scheduled for May 22, 2019 from 5-6:30pm ET. We also hope to see you at the upcoming National Summit for Educational Equity in Washington DC April 28-May 2, 2019. For more information or to register, visit
http://nsee.info/
. At the conference and at our May network meeting, this workgroup will share the rubric they have developed for STEM program administrators, designers, implementers and funders to identify critical equity attributes to ensure success for underrepresented students.
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This workgroup continues to monitor NAPE’s professional development efforts in the six states. NAPE received a grant from Motorola Solutions Foundation to conduct Micromessaging to Reach and Teach Every Student professional development in the Salt Lake City, UT region this spring. Contact Kathleen Fitzpatrick at
kfitzpatrick@napequity.org
for more information.
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What's going on Around the network?
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Colorado
Today’s literacy is tech literacy, and KidsTek wants all students to be empowered and prepared for the future of their choice. KidsTek’s mission is to prepare students for academic, career and personal success by increasing tech literacy at Colorado’s highest-needs K-12 schools. Instructors begin by teaching elementary students that technology is fun through projects incorporating basic computer skills. In middle school, instructors teach that technology skills are useful, strengthening their skills while incorporating personal interests. Finally, high schoolers learn that technology skills are necessary for their future and are given several certification opportunities to enhance their workforce readiness and college preparedness.
(303) 818-1474
https://kidstek.org/
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Idaho
LIFT - Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow, a Detroit-based national manufacturing innovation institute, and the Idaho STEM Action Center have officially launched the MakerMinded program in Idaho. MakerMinded will expand students’ and schools’ access to world-class advanced manufacturing and STEM learning experiences through a digital platform that highlights student competition. Through these transformational experiences, middle and high school students will gain 21st-century skills and secure their path to in-demand STEM careers. The Idaho MakerMinded goal is to sign up at least 50 schools and 1,000 users across the state by the end of the 2018-2019 academic year. Students, schools, employers and others interested in joining the Idaho MakerMinded campaign should visit the website below.
(208) 231-1466
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Nevada
The Nevada STEM Student Voices Project, an initiative from the Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology, highlights the stories of underrepresented students in STEM so that students who follow in their footsteps know there are others like them who have struggled, persisted and succeeded in STEM education and STEM careers. Click on the link below to read some of the students’ stories that have been highlighted so far.
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New Mexico
STEM-NM is New Mexico’s nationally designated STEM Learning Ecosystem that is working to increase equity in and access to STEM experiences for students in order to prepare them for jobs in local science, technology and health care sectors. STEM-NM is comprised of a network of organizations throughout New Mexico where each partner contributes his or her unique expertise in order to expose students to STEM education and a broad array of career pathways. Click on the website below to read about some of STEM-NM initiatives and to learn how you can participate.
Mitchell Whitter
STEM-NM Manager
(505) 224-8330
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Utah
On March 28, 2019, Davis School District in Salt Lake City will be hosting a professional development opportunity for 50 middle school STEM teachers on NAPE’s Micromessaging to Reach and Teach Every Student. This professional development opportunity is designed to increase women and underrepresented students in STEM education pathways by focusing on classroom pedagogy and instruction. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore ways that micromessages can help achieve equity in the classroom and how teachers can support student participation, persistence, engagement and success in STEM. A majority of the cost of this program is provided for by a grant from the Motorola Solutions Foundation (MSF).
For information about NAPE’s Micromessaging to Reach and Teach Every Student, contact:
Kathleen Fitzpatrick
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Wyoming
The Wyoming Afterschool Alliance (WYAA) received a two-year grant, “Innovations in Learning” from the C. S. Mott Foundation to increase career readiness and education for middle and high school students utilizing afterschool and summer learning programs. All aspects of this grant are focused on preparing students for the future economy arming them with the knowledge and 21st Century skills necessary to compete successfully in school, careers and the workforce. Activities will include expanded STEM learning opportunities to encourage student engagement and career exploration. WYAA is looking for Wyoming afterschool and summer learning programs to be pilot sites for one or more of their exciting curriculums.
Linda Barton, Director
(307) 335-9922
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STEM Equity News, Events, & Resources
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Only SIX Countries in the World Have True Equal Rights for Men and Women, Report finds – with Britain, America and Australia All Failing to Make the List
According to a global report from the World Bank, six countries in the world have truly equal rights for men and women. Sweden, France, Belgium, Denmark, Latvia and Luxembourg were all found to ensure legal and economic equality in eight key areas such as salary, family life and job market access. Neither the UK nor the U.S. achieved a top score, with the U.S. performing so poorly that it did not even make it into the top 50. Gender equality is a critical component of economic growth, so why are there still laws today that hold women back? March 4, 2019.
Bridging the Divide Between Classrooms and Corporations
Two years ago, Minnesota STEM leaders from across the corporate, education and government sectors came together to ignite a movement to bring intentional focus to narrowing the STEM career gender gap within their state. They gathered focus groups of fifth-, eighth-, and eleventh-grade girls, along with their parents, to dive into how they make coursework selections in school and career path decisions. What they heard was that girls were moving away from STEM-related fields due to a lack of encouragement and confidence in STEM subject areas and a lack of exposure to defined pathways for a variety of STEM careers. The group saw it as their responsibility to connect classrooms and corporations, so they created an engagement model to provide consistent encouragement to young women to pursue STEM careers, as well as provide exposure to those jobs through a powerful network of corporate partners. January 16, 2019.
Why Women Excel at Prized ‘Soft Skills’ but Still Trail Men When It Comes to Being Hired for the STEM Careers of the Future
Women outperform men in many of the underlying skills that lead to job success. These skills, commonly referred to as noncognitive or soft skills, include emotional IQ, creativity, and conscientiousness. The huge rise over the past century in the number and percentage of women who work in the U.S., highlighted by more recent nationwide efforts to steer young females toward traditionally male-dominated STEM careers, would appear to give women at least an equal shot at great jobs. But it hasn’t turned out that way yet. This article explores some of the reasons women still trail men when it comes to being hired for STEM careers. February 18, 2019.
Downloadable STEM Role Models Posters Celebrate Women Innovators As Illustrated By Women Artists
Nevertheless, a WYSKy podcast that tells the stories of women who are transforming teaching and learning through technology, has commissioned additional female illustrators from South America, Africa, the Middle East and China to create a new set of STEM Role Models posters for its growing collection. Nevertheless now offers a total of eight inspiring posters, each celebrating a different woman innovator everyone should know. Posters are available in eight languages – English, French, French Canadian, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Brazilian, and Simplified Chinese. Download the posters and print them out for your school or workplace to help raise awareness of these women’s achievements, and hopefully inspire a new generation of women working in STEM.
February 11, 2019.
Raising the Next STEM Generation: How One School District is Closing the STEM Gap
Buena Vista Horace Mann School in San Francisco’s Mission district is a K-8 school made up of approximately 80 percent Hispanic or Latino students. Through their Tech Chicxs club, the school has found a way to encourage girls who are in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade to explore science, technology, engineering and math. In addition to helping students develop technical skills, the club also helps them develop character traits like leadership and resilience. Also, the San Francisco Unified School District is the first large district in the nation to attempt offering computer science classes to every student grades K-8 by the year 2020. Nearly half of the district’s 54,000 students are participating in computer science courses already this academic year.
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Help grow the network!
Please forward this newsletter to colleagues and contacts.
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IM STEM is a network of STEM educators and leaders across six states (CO, ID, NM, NV, UT, and WY) working to support STEM equity at key transition points (middle school to high school and high school to college).
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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1744472. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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