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August 2024 Newsletter

Big things are happening behind the scenes! While the team is busy facilitating professional development and community programming, The MILL is getting a summer makeover. We are implementing some exciting upgrades to the space, so stay tuned for fresh and enhanced experiences in the new school year.

As STEAM advocates in our region, we'd like to remind our subscribers that the Hub website is a wealth of resources for in and out-of-classroom learning for both educators and families.

News From the Hub

Oregon Math Project Grant Award for 2024-2025

We are thrilled to announce that Mid-Valley STEM-CTE Hub has been awarded an Oregon Math Project grant from the Oregon Department of Education. This grant will enable us to collaborate with 6th-grade mathematics and special education teachers to foster inclusive and equitable heterogeneous 6th-grade math placements.

Our project will leverage Khan Academy's new AI-powered teaching assistant, Khanmigo, which offers educators a wealth of tools and resources for differentiation, including lesson plans, quiz questions, student groupings, hooks, exit tickets, rubrics, and more. The grant also provides funding for student access to Khanmigo's one-on-one AI tutoring tools, ensuring tailored support and enrichment to help learners achieve mastery. Importantly, these tools are designed to safeguard student privacy, safety, and data.

Districts and teachers interested in learning more about this exciting opportunity should contact our Hub Director, Sarah Whiteside, for further details.

Five Inexpensive STEAM Projects You Can Do This Summer

Check out these five play-based STEAM learning projects your learners can do this summer to keep them engaged and their curiosity piqued. This list features projects that use items that are either commonly found at home or are easily obtained at your local public library and other community resource centers.

Learn more

Newsletter Round-Up!

Want to reread a great article about a Hub event or try a STEAM project featured in a newsletter but can't find it in your inbox? Visit our newsletter archives where we have the last four years' worth of newsletters available to click through.

Visit the Archives!

The Power of Experimentation

As educators, we understand the unmatched learning power that comes from allowing students to safely take risks, experiment, and use their hands to learn and iterate on complex topics.

Bookmark this fun and inspiring video featuring MythBuster's Adam Savage and the NerdForge duo for when your students need an example of real-world applications of STEAM learning.

Trust us, they’ll be inspired as the trio dives deep into the design and building process of a 3D-printed prosthetic finger.

Partner Spotlight

Building a Strong STEAM Ecosystem!

Educators spent over 4,235 hours in Hub professional development and programs during the last year!

The 2024 Teacher Externship program included 30 Linn and Benton county educators and created connections with nearly a dozen local employers. Participants were able to learn from industry leaders while touring their facilities and were given opportunities to discuss how they can collaborate to prepare students with the skills they will need to succeed in obtaining positions and flourishing in these industries.

“Without this opportunity, I would have never known about these career options for my students.”

-Molly Schulz, Philomath School District

2024’s industry tour

lineup included:

Knife River Training Center
Central Electrical Training Center
Institute for Applied Ecology
Baldwin General Contracting
Softstar Shoes
Hewlett Packard
Alyrica
Entek
Calopooia Brewing
NW Natural

Special thanks to the following supporters for making this program possible:

John and Ginger Niemeyer Foundation
Oracle STEM Education Grants Fund of Oregon Community Foundation for Career Connected Learning
CCL Oregon via the Linn-Benton Community College CCL Systems Navigator, Deron Fort

Please consider making a donation today to help sustain STEM-CTE programming efforts in our region.

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