Upcoming Events
July 1
Scale-Up Training Begins
August 1
August 21
STEM Day at the State Fair
September 13
September 21
Have an event coming up?
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Northeast Region
of the Iowa
Governor's STEM Advisory Council
Advisory Board
Sue Burrack
Waldorf University
Lisa Chizek
Iowa State
University
Kendra Crooks
Chickasaw County Extension and Outreach
Larry Escalada
University of
Northern Iowa
Heather Fransen
RSM, LLP
Gena Gesing
Northeast Iowa Community College
Seth Harms
West Delaware
High School
Doreen Hayek
University of
Northern Iowa
Ellen Heuer
Martin Brothers Distributing
Marla Loecke
IowaWorks
Jason Martin-Hiner
Keystone Area Education Agency
Kim Miller
Cedar Valley Clocks
Allison Plunkett
John Deere
Miriam Ohrt
John Deere
Anderson Sainci
City of Dubuque
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Governor’s STEM Advisory Council Announces 12 Schools will be Awarded STEM BEST Grants
Students to gain experience of STEM careers through collaboration between schools and Iowa workplaces
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The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council announced 12 STEM BEST (Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers) Program partners for the 2022-2023 academic year. The program encourages collaboration between schools and businesses to develop outstanding STEM coursework curriculum that prepares students for STEM careers and emphasizes the necessary skills required in today’s workforce. With the addition of 12 projects, 147 new or expanded partnerships have been created since STEM BEST launched in 2014.
The STEM Best Program supports school-business partnerships that allow teachers and industry professionals to work together on curriculum and projects that provide students with firsthand experience in an industry or business environment. It also allows businesses to introduce students to the available career opportunities.
The STEM Council Executive Committee voted unanimously to award 12 new or expanded partnerships up to $25,000
each. Participating employer partners contribute to a dollar-for-dollar match with some going above and beyond the cost-share requirement. The awards can be used for the curriculum development and coordination, educator training and development in workplace-classroom integration and preparing the work-based learning environment.
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To be considered for a STEM BEST Program award, applicants were required to submit a comprehensive proposal that incorporates rigorous and relevant STEM curriculum, valuable partnerships with community businesses or organizations, real-world learning opportunities and expertise at the post-secondary education and training level. These awardees will
serve as a model to share unique perspective, strengths, demographics and program focus with other schools
throughout Iowa.
Congratulations to the 2022 STEM BEST Program awardees from Northeast Iowa:
- Starmont Community School District – Elementary and Middle School
- Turkey Valley Community School District – Junior and Senior High School
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More than 18,000 Students to Receive STEM Programming in Northeast Iowa |
The Northeast Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council is anticipating more than 18,000 students throughout northeast Iowa will benefit from STEM Scale-Up Programming in the 2022-2023 academic year. Nearly 470 educators are expected to engage with 13 selected programs offering high-quality STEM education and experiences for PreK-12 students and educators in-school, afterschool and in other educational settings.
For each of the last 11 years, the STEM Council has invited top preK-12 STEM programs to scale across Iowa in the aptly named “STEM Scale-Up Program.” Educators were able to apply for one or more programs to be implemented during the 2022-2023 academic year with topics including computing, medicine, robotics and connections to STEM careers. These programs were selected based on the Council’s strategic priorities and identifying opportunities to prepare Iowa students for the future workforce.
Selection criteria is based on need, student diversity, geographic location and distribution, and plans to sustain the program, among other factors. Since 2012, funding from the Iowa legislature has enabled more than one million PreK-12 students to participate in STEM Scale-Up Programs throughout Iowa.
Educator training for this year’s STEM Scale-Up Program recipients will begin in July. The programs will be implemented in classrooms, afterschool programs and other educational settings over the next twelve months.
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New Chapter for STEM
Youth Advisory Group
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An inspiring group of 24 Iowa youth, ranging from middle school through college age, were recently appointed to the STEM Youth Advisory Group. These students will represent their peers across the state as they contribute to the STEM Council’s mission and will provide a valuable evaluative lens for Council activities.
This group of young people has potential to help shift the discussion from teachers motivating students about STEM to students influencing STEM involvement in their schools and communities.
Though members have a broad array of experience in STEM education, they all have one thing in common – a strong interest and passion for STEM.
The group is led by Amber Pargmann, John Deere Distinctive Product Quality Manager and South Central Regional STEM Advisory Board member, and Allison Plunkett, John Deere Full Tree Engineering Manager and Northeast Regional STEM Advisory Board member.
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2023-2024 STEM Scale-Up Program Provider Request for Proposal (RFP) |
The Scale-Up Program of the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council, a signature investment of state and private funds in students and educators with ample accumulated evidence of effect. The Council’s intention is to bring top STEM education opportunities to all learners, especially those historically underserved. The intent is to seed, jumpstart or expand little-known and exemplary programs proven to inspire and educate PreK-12 students, enabling educational organizations to sustain beyond the Council’s trial investment.
For the 2023-2024 academic year the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council is seeking program providers for the Iowa STEM Scale-Up Program. If you are interested in providing STEM programming in Iowa and would like to be considered for this initiative, please click on the link below.
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Timeline
- August 1, 2022: Request for Proposals opens.
- August 15-19, 2022: Webinar for Proposers
- September 13, 2022, 11:59 PM Central Standard Time (just before midnight): Proposal submission deadline.
- September 14 - November 14, 2022: Review period.
- November 14, 2022: Proposers notified.
- November 15, 2022 - January 2023: Selected Program Providers collaborate with STEM Council network administrators to prepare materials for the educator application phase.
Objective
An eligible applicant will provide STEM program(s) that serve PreK-12 grade audiences in or out of school with the capacity to deliver professional development/training and materials in Iowa. (Professional development/training is appropriate for Iowa STEM Scale-Up Programs when preparing an educator to implement a student kit, curriculum, activity, lesson or new course of study in STEM.)
Eligible applicants
- Business
- Governmental Agency
- Higher Education Institution
- For Profit Organization
- Nonprofit Organization
- Other Organizations providing PreK-12 STEM programs
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Support in Place for Teachers to Pursue Latest High-Demand Skills
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Job skills needed by school graduates are evolving rapidly; to thrive in today’s workplace graduates need to command basic skills in robotics, data management, programming, modern machining and others embedded in STEM education. Teachers of STEM subjects need the opportunity for special professional development that keeps them abreast of these rapidly evolving skill trends. That’s why the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council has created the STEM Latest Information for Teachers (LIfT) Scholarship to support STEM teachers’ pursuit of these high-demand skills and knowledge for incorporating into their classes.
Eligible fields include agriculture, computer science and technology, engineering, family consumer science, health, industrial technology, mathematics, science and STEM.
Scholarships are available up to a maximum of $1,800 depending on tuition costs. Any Iowa college or university may be selected by teacher-scholars. The catch is that the course they select must be of a cutting-edge subject in their field of teaching rather than a methodology course. Scholars write essays describing how the course update will enhance their teaching.
For summer opportunities, the application is open March 1 through April 29 with scholarships announced May 13. For the fall, the application is open June 1 through July 29 with scholarships announced August 12.
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Registration is Now Open for the
2022 Future Ready Iowa Summit
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The Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council will be hosting the the 2022 Future Ready Iowa Summit on September 21. The Summit brings together Iowans from business and industry, education, nonprofits, elected officials, students and others to amplify the public conversation about solutions for connecting education and the workforce.
Admission is free of charge. Free license renewal credit and substitute teacher reimbursement is available for practicing PreK-12 educators.
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AGENDA
- Keynote speakers include Astronaut Raja Chari from Waterloo (invited) and MacArthur "Genius" Dr. Lisa Schulte-Moore of Iowa State University (confirmed)
- Iowa futurists interviewed live by Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O'Donnell
- Presentations from Iowa leaders sharing resources and supports for your innovation
- Exciting people and projects presenting a slew of options for Iowans to be Future Ready
- Showcasing 30+ local innovations in education and workforce development
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