On October 23, the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council announced awards for 19 new STEM BEST partnerships in Iowa.  The STEM Council's Executive Committee voted unanimously to award and support 19 of 31 proposed partnerships including Cedar Falls, Oelwein and Turkey Valley/Riceville community school districts.  Each awarded program will receive $25,000 from the STEM Council and must provide at least $25,000 in match funds.  

 

STEM BEST partners transform typical K-12 classroom environments and methods by uniting the workplace with the classroom and developing clear pathways from STEM education to STEM careers in the state.  From 2014-2016, the STEM Council established 18 STEM BEST programs that tie STEM classrooms with the skills, knowledge and behaviors needed at local companies.

 

Each awardee demonstrated through a rigorous proposal process substantive commitments on the part of school and business stakeholders to bridge these two cultures through education programs deeply interwoven with business applications. Working side-by-side, teachers and industry professionals will craft curriculum and projects that prepare students for exciting career pathways in the STEM fields of manufacturing, information technology, bioscience (agriculture and medicine), finance, and more. 

 

"Iowa companies must be able to hire enough skilled workers so they can grow and innovate and more Iowans deserve to have the skills needed for rewarding careers," said Gov. Kim Reynolds, co-chair of the STEM Council.  "Through STEM BEST, educators and business leaders work together with students to strengthen Iowa's talent pipeline and close the skills gap.  STEM BEST is one of many programs that promise to help reach our Future Ready Iowa goal of 70 percent of Iowa's workforce having education or training beyond high school by 2025."