News

Iowa Classrooms+Workplaces Summit: Forging Work-Based Learning Partnerships

The Governor’s STEM Advisory Council (Iowa STEM) at the Iowa Department of Education produced the Iowa Classrooms+Workplaces Summit on April 10 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.

Teacher Leaders huddle over STEM

Now that teacher leaders and instructional coaches dwell in schools throughout the state, an ideal partnership is in the making between Iowa STEM and building-level lead instructors. A robust roster of 440 such pivot-point educators in the areas of mathematics and science, as well as in the applied fields of technology and engineering, were accrued with the help of superintendents across Iowa.

Photo of Boone High School Student Jake Gourley

STEM Quality Pre-Apprenticeships to stoke Iowa’s workforce pipeline

For the majority of Iowans who did not enjoy an apprenticeship enroute to employment, the concept might conjure memories of Johnny Tremain from high school history class.

Legislature processing computer science bill

Programming enthusiasts are watching the Iowa legislature, hoping they boot up a Computer Science bill (SF274) this session, but it will come down to a binary up or down before long.

Family STEM festivals connect communities

A robust statewide STEM effort requires the support of all Iowans from parents, students and educators to city leaders, higher education experts and business and industry professionals. Creating an avenue for this wide array of audiences to intersect and collaborate on STEM is one mission of the STEM Council.

National Science Foundation funded state STEM evaluation wraps up

When the National Science Foundation (NSF) issued a request for proposals from across the country for states to compete for funds to design an evaluation system for STEM, the STEM Council was just a year into operation and poised to be the laboratory rat for other statewide STEM initiatives.

Mary Trent to serve as northwest regional STEM manager

Starting in mid-March, Mary Trent will serve as the northwest regional STEM manager headquartered at Iowa Lakes Community College (ILCC).

Bringing STEM to the Capitol

Executive branch leaders and state legislators took more than a moment on February 16 to pause from the weighty matters upstairs in the Senate and House chambers to celebrate something they created and continue to generously support—Iowa’s statewide STEM program.

MVP for Iowa STEM: Kwizera Imani

The Iowa STEM community first met Kwizera Imani as a senior at North High School in Des Moines. He told his story on how STEM changed his life at the 2015 Iowa STEM Summit. In the short time since then, Kwizera became an official member of the STEM Council, leading efforts to bring youth and diversity perspectives to the effort. Now because of this, he is February’s MVP for Iowa STEM.

Measuring STEM awareness

The Iowa STEM effort is all about improving student interest and achievement, as well as helping connect those passions to STEM careers in Iowa, in partnership with higher education, PreK-12 schools, business and industry, nonprofits, governmental agencies and more.

Five ways Iowa’s STEM Scale-Up Program works

Drop in to just about any school across Iowa this week and somebody’s bringing a world-class STEM experience to students through the five-year-old STEM Scale-Up Program initiative of the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council.