IN THIS ISSUE
New STEM Council Project Announced: Computer Science is Elementary
Nominations Open for I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award
Innovation Fund Application Opens September 4
STEM Day at the Iowa State Fair was a Blue Ribbon Day
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September 12, 2018 - 1:00 p.m.
Northwest Regional STEM Advisory Board Meeting
September 20, 2018 - 1:00 p.m.
Northeast Regional STEM Advisory Board Meeting
September 21, 2018 - 9:00 a.m.
Southeast STEM Advisory Board Meeting
September 28, 2018 - 12:00 p.m.
North Central Regional STEM Advisory Board Meeting
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New STEM Council Project Announced
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Computer Science is Elementary is a new project from the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council that will launch six innovative computer science elementary schools.
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The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council recently announced a new project to launch six innovative computer science elementary schools. The six high-poverty schools will be competitively selected to transform existing buildings with engaging computer science instruction. This will create more opportunity for their students, including real-life work experiences with area employers. It also will establish a network of computer science expertise as a resource for all public and non-public elementary schools across the state.
Loess Hills Computer Science Elementary School in Sioux City is the inspiration for the Computer Science is Elementary project. The district pioneered one of the first computer science elementary schools in the nation in 2015 when Loess Hills started teaching computational thinking and other skills, such as problem solving and teamwork. Loess Hills will serve as a blueprint for the project, which aligns with the Future Ready Iowa initiative to prepare more Iowans for rewarding, high-demand jobs.
Gary Scholten, executive vice president and chief digital and information officer at Principal Financial Group, is leading corporate engagement and support for the project. The campaign is
working to raise $450,000 from the private sector by December 2018: $50,000 one-time planning grants for each of the six schools; $50,000 for Loess Hills Computer Programming School to serve as a blueprint; and $100,000 for a project manager. Once the six schools are launched, they will operate with regular school funding like Loess Hills Computer Programming School in Sioux City.
The
Computer Science is Elementary Advisory Group
will begin designing the criteria to select public and nonpublic elementary school awardees. In January 2019, the STEM Council will issue requests for proposals and will announce the awards in spring 2019.
The Computer Science is Elementary project will enhance other work to expand computer science, including a $1 million fund passed by the legislature to prepare Iowa’s computer science teacher workforce. This follows a new state law encouraging elementary, middle and high schools to offer high-quality computer science instruction, and the State Board of Education recently adopting statewide voluntary computer science standards.
For more information, please contact Carrie Rankin, Managing Director,
Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council, at
Rankin@IowaSTEM.gov
or 319-273-2757.
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Nominations Open for I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award
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Nominations for the 2019 I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award are now being accepted through Tuesday, October 9, 2018.
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Do you know a teacher doing outstanding work in the STEM fields? Show your appreciation by nominating him or her for the 2019 I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award. Nominations are currently being accepted through Tuesday, October 9, 2018.
Sponsored by Kemin Industries, the award recognizes one full-time, licensed PreK-12 teacher from each of the six STEM regions across the state for their passion in motivating their students to develop a lasting interest in STEM, both in and out of the classroom. The six teachers selected will each receive an award of $1,500, with an additional $1,500 for their classroom.
The Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and Kemin Industries are eager to begin the fifth year of recognizing outstanding Iowa STEM educators and hope to honor all recipients over the past five years in the spring of 2019. This fifth year also marks an exciting update to the nomination process with the addition of preschool educators as eligible recipients.
Anyone can nominate a teacher via
stemaward.fluidreview.com
through Tuesday, October 9, 2018. Once nominated, teachers will fill out an application to be assessed by a panel of judges who will select the six award recipients. Honorees will be announced in January 2019.
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Innovation Fund Application Opens September 4, 2018
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The Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council is launching a statewide Innovation Fund to serve as an incubator for new STEM Scale-Up programming.
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A goal of the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council is to support research-based STEM education proven to promote, inspire and engage youth in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) activities and to introduce youth and their parents to careers through STEM.
In support of that goal, the Iowa STEM Council is launching a statewide Innovation Fund, a financial resource available to organizations with ideas for innovative STEM programs that show promise for supporting the goal. The intention of this fund is not to support past or current STEM Scale-Up programs with additional resources, but rather to serve as an incubator for new
STEM Scale-Up
programming. Programs wishing to be selected for the Iowa STEM Scale-Up program menu will be evaluated through the
STEMworks database
.
Beginning September 4, the Iowa STEM Council invites applications for ideas that will have an impact upon Iowans locally, regionally and potentially on a statewide level. The Iowa STEM Council will not fund marketing or promotional campaigns for commercial products or services, nor will it fund policy advocacy activities.
Estimated Funding
Awards will range from $500 (minimum) up to a maximum of $10,000 per award. Applicants must provide a 10% cash match. All programs funded must be completed within one calendar year of the award date with a final report due at the end of the award period. A reporting template will be provided. Funding will be provided on a cost reimbursement basis. The Iowa STEM Council reserves the right to determine the number of awards made based on the quality of applications and availability of funds.
Eligible Applicants
Organizations eligible to apply for the STEM Innovation Fund are Iowa’s public and private educational institutions, home school associations, area education associations and Iowa-registered non-profits. Individuals or for-profit entities are not eligible to apply—though those groups may be partners in the work conducted by the award recipient. Though for-profit businesses do not meet the eligibility to apply, they are encouraged to be a part of a partnership program which would be submitted by an eligible entity on behalf of all of the partners.
The following are examples of ideas for Innovation Funds:
- School competitions
- Summer camps
- Educator/volunteer professional development
- A "student STEM corp"
- Pre-service educator support - conferences, etc.
- Higher ed. + K-12 minglings
- Parent engagement
- Work-based exposures, working with business
- Mentoring system
- STEM events
- Networking opportunities
- Curriculum development or STEM activity design and pilot
- After school programs
- Programming for underserved students
More information about the Innovation Fund, contact Southeast Regional STEM Manager Kristine Bullock at
kristine-bullock@uiowa.edu
.
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STEM Day at the Iowa State Fair
was a Blue Ribbon Day
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STEM Day at the Iowa State Fair was held August 19 and featured many exciting hand-on learning opportunities and demonstrations on the Grand Concourse.
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While the Iowa State Fair caps the summer for many Iowans each year, STEM Day at the Iowa State Fair offered many exciting demonstrations and hands-on STEM activities to get students and families excited for the school year.
Held on August 19, STEM Day at the Fair featured 23 exhibiting partners, six stage acts and eight corporate sponsors.
More than 400 fairgoers stopped by the STEM Stage throughout the day to check out amazing performances and demonstrations from Absolute Science, Blank Park Zoo, FIRST, Iowa Lakes Community College, Iowa State University Engineering Community Outreach and the Science Center of Iowa.
At noon, STEM Council Co-Chairs Gov. Kim Reynolds and Accumold President and CEO Roger Hargens provided remarks on the STEM Stage and announced the nomination period for the I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award offered by the STEM Council and Kemin Industries. Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance for Kemin Animal Nutrition and Health Kristi Krafka shared information about how to nominate a teacher and Kemin’s involvement in the award.
The STEM Council continued the popular tradition of giving away “Greatness STEMS from Iowans” backpacks to fairgoers. In addition to the backpacks, Iowans also had the opportunity to pick up a STEM activity to take home and continue the STEM learning beyond the Fair.
More than 300 volunteers, exhibitors and stage acts from various organizations worked together to make STEM Day at the Iowa State Fair possible. A special thank you to our sponsors, including Accumold, Cognizant, HNI, ITC, Iowa Workforce Development, PhRMA, Principal and Rockwell Collins.
For another look at STEM Day at the Iowa State Fair, check out our photo album on
Facebook
.
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The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council has awarded
37 STEM BEST® Programs
since 2014 with an opportunity to grow a series of community collaborations involving school+business partnerships. Teachers and industry professionals will work side-by-side to craft curriculum and projects that prepare students for exciting career pathways in the STEM fields of manufacturing, information technology, bioscience (agriculture and medicine), finance, and more.
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The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council is seeking applications for the 2019-2020 STEM Scale-Up Program, designed to deliver high-quality programs to engage Iowa students in STEM activities and units through in-school, afterschool and other educational settings. The STEM Scale-Up Program provides STEM educational opportunities to nearly 100,000 students each year, with more than 500,000 students impacted to date.
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Four Additional Future Ready Iowa Regional Summits Announced
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Registration is open to attend Future Ready Iowa Regional Summits throughout the state, increasing opportunities for collaboration to address the state’s shortage of skilled workers.
The day-long summits are scheduled for this fall in the Iowa communities of
Ames,
Atlantic,
Burlington,
Centerville,
Creston,
Davenport,
Denison,
Des Moines,
Elkader,
Fort Dodge,
Iowa City-Cedar Rapids,
Muscatine,
Pella,
Sheffield,
Sioux City,
and
Spencer
and in the
Cedar Valley Region
.
The events will bring together key stakeholders in education, business, economic development and community organizations to create local strategies to ensure all Iowans are future ready.
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Contact the Iowa STEM Operations Center by phone at (319) 273-2959
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