As part of her 99 county tour, Governor Kim Reynolds visited the Clarinda Community School District on September 19th to celebrate National Coding Week.

Governor Reynolds was greeted by students of Garfield Elementary and escorted to Mrs. Trulla Pullen's STEM Classroom. Mrs. Pullen has received several STEM Scale Up Awards and has successfully implemented those programs into her curriculum. Mrs. Pullen is the PK-4 STEM teacher and serves approximately 400 students in the Clarinda district. 

A group of second grade students demonstrated critical thinking skills with their use of BeeBot robots. The students coded the robots to a designated destination and "debugged" the robots when the code did not go to plan. A group of 3rd grade students showed Governor Reynolds how they used a Makey Makey to create a portable musical device. The students used the Engineering & Design Process to design a musical device out of recyclable materials. They then connected the Makey Makey to their creation and used Scratch to code so their device would play the music that they created on Garage Band.

Clarinda CSD Superintendent Jeff Privia was honored to have the Governor visit their school and stated: "It was great to see Governor Reynolds come and see how STEM works at Clarinda Elementary. Mrs. Pullen is an excellent example of our staff's positive things in the Clarinda Community School District."

The Creston Early Childhood Center is forming a "BEST" path for early childhood STEM learning. 

On September 27th, the Southwest Iowa STEM Advisory Board, along with several community stakeholders, met at the Creston Early Childhood Center (EEC) to tour their STEM BEST model.

In the spring of 2021, the Creston Early Childhood Center received the STEM BEST award. STEM BEST fosters community partnerships by encouraging Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers. What makes the ECC model unique is that it is one of the only early childhood models that exists in the state. ECC Principal Callie Anderson, and Instructional Coach Karlie Hyde, worked with teachers to create a learning environment that incorporates creative play, hands on learning, and STEM concepts directly correlated to content standards. They then brainstormed links to local businesses and how they could incorporate career connections to their units of study. 

Southwest Iowa STEM Board members, along with representatives of Southwestern Community College, Iowa Intermediary Network, and Stanton Community Development were able to tour the room and ask questions about the planning and implementation of the STEM BEST award. 

When asked about how the classroom has altered instructional practices, Callie Anderson stated, "Instead of giving them questions to answer, we are giving them problems to solve." 

Thank you to the Southwest Regional STEM Board for your service and support! 

• Jane Chaillie
• Misty Grey
• Denise Hoag
• Larry Jonson
• Stephanie Lane 
• Janell Leinen
• Deb Sprecker
• Terry Torneton
• Kristin Sheffield
• Kathy Somers