Hello and happy spring-

With the cherry and magnolia trees in full bloom, spring has most definitely sprung into loveliness here in the Mid-Valley. Events and opportunities in STEM and CTE are also blossoming around the region this month, with something for everyone. We’ve got new additions to our lending library in math manipulatives, new podcast episodes with innovators in computer science and oceanography, conferences and professional development for educators, and mark your calendars for STEM Week coming up in early May (14-22).

If you’re a middle school teacher in Albany, we’re working with the Albany Public Schools Foundation and GAPS to offer a limited number of micro-externships in late June. These will be two days spent touring local businesses to learn more about the great companies and careers in the area: robotics, 3D medical modeling, construction, manufacturing, healthcare, and the bountiful high-wage, high-demand jobs in STEM and CTE in our region. A grant has provided funding to compensate participants with a generous stipend for their time spent touring and learning with our industry partners and to develop curriculum to bring that learning back to the classroom. To learn more, see the program flyer and sign up here. You can also contact me directly: whitess@linnbenton.edu.

Externships such as these are just one example of career-connected learning (CCL). CCL is a great way to connect the classroom to the world of work and help develop our abundant local talent. We’ll be providing more of these CCL experiences for students and educators across Linn and Benton Counties with the help of the newest member of our team, Danielle Jarkowsky. It is my pleasure to welcome Danielle as our Business and Industry Outreach and Equity Specialist. She’ll be working with our industry and education partners to create more high-quality CCL opportunities across both counties. Welcome, Danielle!

Thanks and be well,

Sarah Whiteside, Director

Mid-Valley STEM-CTE Hub

If you are a woman in STEM, or have a career in manufacturing or a skilled trade and would like to talk about your experience, contact Kacey Montgomery at montgok@linnbenton.edu.

This episode will be released on April 18th, listen on our website and on Spotify.

Learn more here: Apprenticeship Program 2022.

Our spring newsletter, Front of the Class, is ready to be shared with classroom educators. This quarter's theme is Spring: A Time to Reflect and offers quick tips and resources. Please pass the newsletter on to your staff and encourage them to enter our book drawing.

The Board on Science Education of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will be exploring different efforts to address and support equity and STEM education at the state and district levels. Panelists will identity trends in state policies related to equity and STEM education as well as how different states are working toward their respective equity goals.

We will also hear invited guests’ hopes for what STEM education could look like when equity is the primary goal, and we will identify appropriate steps to turn these ideas into reality.

This meeting will be in a hybrid format: attendees can attend in-person at the Keck Center in Washington, DC -- OR view the meeting virtually. Space is limited for in-person attendance.

Register for free here.

The Oregon Workforce and Talent Development Board (WTDB) and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) are sponsoring the second Oregon Talent Summit. This conference will provide an opportunity for leaders to discuss talent needs of Oregon's employers and of current and future workers.

Join us and learn more about this extraordinary opportunity to transform the way in which we develop workforce talent through accountable and collaborative leadership from the business community, state agencies and community-based organizations that advances Oregon’s economic competitiveness and provides equitable opportunities for prosperity to a diverse workforce.

Oregon’s leaders from business, workforce and talent development, higher education, K-12, community-based organizations providing and supporting workforce development and others that include business CEOs, COOs, state and local workforce and education executive directors and boards, university and community college presidents, government officials.

The event will be in person and will be recorded. Masks are recommended, but not required. Full agenda is located on the website.

Want to know more about Oregon’s whales, including one of the most endangered orca populations in the world? Colleen Weiler, from Whale and Dolphin Conservation, will discuss how to help protect these “wolves of the sea” that have human-length lifespans, grandmother-led groups, and complex culture. Before the presentation (5-6 pm) get creative and make unique fish out of plastic trash as part of this month’s all-ages STEAM activity. Afterwards (7-8 pm) find participants with a logo sticker to learn more about 500 Women Scientists Corvallis. In-person and outdoors at Common Fields (545 SW 3rd St, Corvallis) or livestreamed on Instagram: https://linktr.ee/500WSCorvallis

The MVSCH Lending Library and Maker Resource Center now has three (3) button making sets (3”, 2.25”, 1”) available for you and your students. Each set comes with a professional die cutter, so your designs fit your buttons exactly. Check out the video below to see the button maker in action!

The American Association of University Women is generously donating the SumBlox Educational Package to the STEM-CTE Hub Lending Library!

Fill out the Educator Lending Library request form, and check out the rest of the MVSCH Lending Library Catalog. For more information, email Forrest Johnson.