IN THIS ISSUE
Regional STEM Managers Translate Policy into Practice
Tenth Year a Record-Setter for Teacher Externships
Bridging Business and Education through STEM BEST
2019 STEM Education + Workplace Partnerships Summit
|
|
June 10, 2019 - 2:00 p.m.
South Central Regional STEM Advisory Board Meeting
July 23, 2019 - 10:00 a.m.
STEM Day at the Johnson County Fair
August 18, 2019 - 9:00 a.m.
STEM Day at the Iowa State Fair
|
|
Regional STEM Managers Translate Policy into Practice
|
|
Iowa's STEM Network team, consisting of six Regional STEM Managers and the operations staff convene weekly online and monthly in-person including this May meet-up at Iowa State University's Extension-4H Building, home office of North Central Regional STEM Manager Kelly Bergman.
|
|
This coming summer, hundreds of Iowa educators will participate in professional development associated with the
STEM Scale-Up Program
of the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council. Thousands of children and families will take part in community STEM festivals across the State (including the granddaddy of them all, STEM Day at the Iowa State Fair). New
STEM BEST® Program
awardees will be recruited. New
Computer Science is Elementary
schools will roll out. Scores of educators will immerse in
Externships
. And countless
business
and education partners will be brought into Iowa’s STEM community.
Each of these undertakings hatched as a policy solution to achieve STEM Council goals, and each depends on translators who turn policy goals into practical programs. That (and more) is the job of Iowa’s six Regional STEM Managers. They are each housed at competitively selected and cost-sharing Regional Hub Institutions and are deeply embedded in the matrix of schools, businesses, nonprofits, colleges, libraries, Extensions, AEAs, local and state government offices and others that make up Iowa’s STEM community. Each year they drive more miles, shake more hands, build more connections and influence more young lives than most Presidential candidates during Caucus season. They all assemble and maintain Regional STEM Advisory Boards to help steer activities, and each ultimately serves the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council well.
|
|
Tenth Year a Record-Setter for Teacher Externships
|
|
Tristan Sikkema, technology teacher at Easton Valley High School, externed at Rockwell Collins (now Collins Aerospace) in Bellevue, working on kiosk displays to more effectively manage departmental output and production.
|
|
Ten years ago, ten Iowa workplaces took a leap of faith, inviting high school STEM teachers into shops, plants, labs, worksites and offices for six-week externships. Powered by an exploratory grant from Iowa’s Economic Development Authority to the STEM Council’s precursor the
Iowa Mathematics and Science Education Partnership
, employers including Kemin Industries, Pella Corporation, Allen Hospital, DNR and Polk County Conservation helped forge a potent model for teacher professional development.
The National Science Foundation invested $1.2 million in the concept to expand and research its impact from 2011 to 2014, when evidence compelled the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council to pick it up as a public-private partnership. Today, participation by the business sector and applications from educators are at all-time highs thanks to ever-increasing private sector cost-sharing.
This summer, hundreds of educators applied for about 80 placements at 58 workplaces, ranging from manufacturing (Collins Aerospace, Accumold, Vermeer, John Deere, Rosenboom, Geater, Merrill, Pella and more), to food and health (Kemin, Barrilla, Max Yield, Unity Point, Allen, Bayer and more), to natural resources (DNR, County Conservation, Neal Smith, Omaha Zoo, Hartman Reserve, Des Moines Parks, Tallgrass Prairie Center, Mississippi River Museum and more), to technology (Caseys, IPTV, ACT, POET, Workiva and others).
Iowa’s model has been exported to numerous regions and states across the nation, including Florida, Oklahoma, Idaho and Virginia. Of the nearly 600 Iowa teachers who have taken part, more than 90 percent consider it their most powerful professional development experience. Over 90 percent of workplace hosts benefited from the teachers’ contributions. Additional information about the program participants, projects and impact may be found at
https://www.iowastem.gov/externships
.
|
|
Bridging Business and Education through STEM BEST
|
|
North Cedar Elementary students of Cedar Falls Community School District prepare their custom blend of coffee in partnership with locally owned Sidecar Coffee
.
|
|
Currently, the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council is accepting
applications
for new STEM work-based learning models, known as the
Iowa STEM BEST®
(Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers)
Program
.
A total of 50 STEM BEST® Programs have been awarded throughout Iowa over the past five years. These programs are providing meaningful work-based learning experiences and activities in the K-12 educational arena.
The challenges faced by today's educators are numerous and complex. Effective partnerships are a successful educational strategy and can bring relevance and rigor to students' learning environments.
As the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce states, “The business community is the number one consumer of the public education system and, therefore, must be an involved and engaged stakeholder in the education of America’s children.” Successful businesses often depend on a well-educated and adaptable pool of young talent emerging from America’s high schools and colleges to maintain stability and growth. As it might be expected, there is no single framework for a school-business partnership. Partnerships between education and the business community can:
- Provide work-based learning experiences that transfer knowledge and skills between the classroom and the work setting
- Help schools build career cultures that empower students
- Help educators align curriculum to build Iowa’s talent pipeline
- Build meaningful relationships with mentors
- Provide tours, speakers and facilities
- Provide funding and equipment for classrooms and work spaces
The foundation of STEM BEST® Program is the connection between education and local economic and workforce needs. Successful implementation requires districts to identify local workforce needs as a driving force for curriculum, course strands offered and program focus.
|
|
2019 STEM Education + Workplace Partnerships Summit
|
The
STEM Education + Workplace Partnerships: Governor's 2019 Future Ready Iowa Summit
brought together leaders from across the state to
discuss innovative education-workplace partnerships emerging across Iowa.
The day was spent profiling pioneers such as Accenture’s senior managing director, Pallavi Verma, as well as retired NASA astronaut and Iowa native, Peggy Whitson, to equip invitees -- leaders from business and industry, education, nonprofits, elected officials, students and others -- to enact or expand upon early successes that dot the state.
“If you are afraid of failure, you will never succeed. Help students find their passion; create plans to make it happen,” said Peggy Whitson, keynote, retired NASA astronaut and Iowa native.
Eight general sessions were offered to hear from on-the-ground panelists and speakers from around the state focused on overcoming obstacles and the "How To" advice on bridging the realms of business and education. Attendees felt inspired about the future readiness of Iowa and enjoyed hearing from those who are the boots on the ground in facilitating work-based learning opportunities.
Twenty models across the spectrum were showcased, including rural and urban, elementary and secondary, technical and pre-professional, public and private, autonomous and collaborative, global companies and local employers.
“There are unlimited opportunities in Iowa for Iowans willing to obtain training and develop new skill sets. The future of Iowa is STEM,” Governor Kim Reynolds stated during her closing remarks at the Summit.
With over 1,000 seats sold, all attendees were charged by Governor Kim Reynolds to bring home the take aways and start implementing them in their communities today. Such a timely message with the 2019-2020 request for proposals for our STEM BEST Program to bring business and education together and grow our workforce and increase economic development in Iowa.
|
|
Contact the Iowa STEM Operations Center by phone at (319) 273-2959
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
