Joni Ehm Joins STEM Team as Southwest Regional STEM Manager

Joni Ehm is the newest addition to the STEM Council team, serving as the southwest Iowa regional STEM manager.

The Governor’s STEM Advisory Council recently welcomes Joni Ehm as the new Southwest Regional STEM Manager operating out of Southwestern Community College. She joins five regional manager counterparts to effectively implement STEM programming, create connections, and collaborate with community and business partners, educators and others to increase student interest and achievement in STEM education and careers.

Ehm is a former secondary teacher and instructional coach for the CAM Community School District. She also served multiple school districts in southwest Iowa as a digital learning consultant with Green Hills Area Education Agency. In this role, she supported several school districts in southwest Iowa in implementing and growing authentic learning programs.

Ehm has been a strong advocate for STEM Council programming and previously served on the review team for the STEM BEST Program. She is a member of the Iowa Authentic Learning Network (ALN) and a trained Strategic CSforALL Resource and Implementation Planning Tool (SCRIPT) facilitator.

“I am passionate about helping stakeholders change the way they look at education systems and transform how we teach 21st Century learners,” said Ehm. “I believe STEM education aligns the needs of our economic development efforts with the needs and interests of our students. The STEM Council serves an important role in providing the means to meet those needs. I am thrilled to join the STEM team and look forward to supporting the educators, students and communities in southwest Iowa.”

Ehm earned a Bachelor of Science in Spanish and public administration from Iowa State University. She also earned a master’s degree in education from Kaplan University.

Southwest Iowa STEM is in very good hands with Joni and the Southwest Regional Board members supporting her.

Apply Today for STEM

Scale-Up Program

The STEM Scale-Up Program provides some of the nation’s best STEM lessons, labs, kits, software and professional development to thousands of educators and approximately one-fifth of Iowa students each year. PreK-12 educators in-school, afterschool and other educational settings, are eligible to apply.

Thirteen programs were selected by a team of trained reviewers for the 2022-2023 STEM Scale-Up Program menu based on the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council’s strategic priorities, including computing, agriculture, medicine, robotics and connections to STEM careers, spanning early learning to senior year. These priorities ensure selected programs prepare Iowa students for the future workforce.

The application period for the STEM Scale-Up Program closes on February 22, 2022. Recipients will be announced in April. The STEM Scale-Up Program menu is below. For more information, visit www.iowastem.org/scale-up-application. 

STEM Education Flourishes at CAM

Digital media kids take part in the STEM BEST Program at CAM High School in Anita, Iowa.

By: Paige Jensen, Digital Media Student of 3 years

STEM is an essential part of the everyday learning process at CAM High School in Anita, Iowa. This program is incorporated into each and every class to help guide students into a career ready future. From the small business course, to the art department, authentic learning at CAM is thriving. This success can only be accredited to a woman who wears many hats, Mrs. Shelly Miller, a business teacher at CAM High School.

Back in 2018, Mrs. Miller first introduced authentic learning into CAM, alongside KJAN Radio and Green Hills AEA by creating a live-streaming service for the district. Thus, both the CAM Cougar Channel and CAM Digital Media were born. From then on, the course has been growing and its components have spread across the district. We have many projects that our students work on each week and they consist of senior athletic banners printed on our poster printer, the aerial drone projects, commercials for local businesses, website design, and 3D printer projects to name a few.

The digital media class applied for the STEM BEST Program in 2019 and the STEM BEST Enhancement Award in 2020, and received both awards. These awards have been used to create new projects within the classroom that involve authentic learning.

The CAM Digital Media is excited to announce their newest project, The Cougar Den. After receiving the STEM BEST Program in 2021, students at CAM can now make their dreams a reality by opening up a storefront on Main Street Anita. This storefront will feature merchandise that is 100% made by the students involved in the career and technical education classes at CAM. The goal of the Cougar Den is to teach students several academic and “soft skills” including professional interpersonal communication, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship; skills that are essential for students to learn in the 21st century. The grand opening for the Cougar Den is scheduled for April 8, 2022!

Learn more about the STEM BEST Program at www.iowastem.org/stembest.

Southwest STEM

Regional Advisory Board

Regional STEM Advisory Board members collaborate with Regional STEM Managers to identify, grow and create STEM programs that strengthen the Southwest STEM region.

Deb Sprecker is the executive director of Woodbine Main Street, Inc., and has served on the SW Regional STEM Advisory Board for two years. We had the opportunity to capture some of her insights from her experience from the past two years on the Advisory Board.

How did you become so connected to the school and how does that positively impact Woodbine programs? What are barriers you see for the mission and how can they be broken down?

Schools are the heart of small towns. I’ve been involved in the school as a parent, a volunteer, a grant writer, and a speech coach. As an economic development professional, I’ve always recognized the importance of working with the school and including the District whenever possible on community development projects. They’re just a great resource -- both staff and students and bring a lot of ideas, solutions and energy to projects. Working on successful community projects together through the years establishes communication channels and a high-level of teamwork and trust. Just remember that educators’ workdays are much different than those of us in business settings, so communication and meeting schedules need to be flexible and patience is required. Be creative about how you bring stakeholders together to meet high-level needs of a community, and don’t rely on traditional methods. Education, business, healthcare and industry in rural Iowa have to join forces to get important things done for our communities. Also, on a purely selfish note, I get a lot of joy and satisfaction out of being around students and knowing that in small ways my energies are positively changing their lives.

Why is being on the SW Iowa STEM Board is important? What are the connections between your position in economic development and STEM?

I reached out to the school several years ago upon seeing a STEM BEST Program press release. It looked like a good fit and opportunity to invigorate STEM learning here in Woodbine. I volunteered to put a team together to work on the grant proposal with three dedicated staff members after getting the go-ahead from school administration. That grant for our ThinkerDome (a makerspace for elementary) was a real turning point for WCS, and it happened because a community team joined forces. There are some exciting STEM projects occurring in SW Iowa, and my participation on the SW Iowa STEM Advisory Board gives me the opportunity to share what’s happening in my area -- and from my professional perspective -- as well as tap in to what is going on in the rest of the region.

I think people in my position – whether you are a Main Street or Chamber director, or a County Economic Development staff person – have the ability to connect education and business in high impact ways that pay dividends. Joining forces and linking entities in creative ways has made a big difference for Woodbine.

Check out the SW STEM Region on social media!