The Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council is a proud contributor to the mission of Future Ready Iowa.
Since 2014, the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council, now at the Iowa Department of Education, has partnered with Kemin Industries to honor outstanding teachers who inspire a passion for STEM in young Iowans. Now in the tenth year, the Iowa STEM Teacher Award is accepting nominations of deserving teachers through Oct. 10.
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The STEM Council is partnering with the Iowa Area Education Agencies Online (AEA) to provide Design Days – six 30-minute mini-sessions through October and November and a one-day session in early November to share information and provide STEM BEST Program design support.
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In 2022, nine Iowa school leaders came together under a partnership of Iowa STEM and the Iowa Department of Education to fashion a model for district-wide, K-12 work-based learning plans.
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Customized professional development, sharing of best practices and networking defined the 2023 BEST STEMposium. Approximately 75 of Iowa’s leading educational innovators gathered in Okoboji for two days to collaborate, learn from the experiences of others and plot the disruption of school-as-usual.
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STEM education goes beyond science, technology, engineering and mathematics; it provides durable skills for the future and curiosity for life. What started as curiosity in technology and human connection led to the launch of a successful podcast for students from Boone High School.
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Thirty-seven Iowa school districts will join or expand offerings in the STEM BEST® (Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers) Program to provide students with real workplace experiences. Since STEM BEST launched in 2014, 155 partnerships have been created or expanded to help introduce students to businesses and career opportunities in Iowa, while also gaining high-demand skills.
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Work-based learning is a phrase coined by the U.S. Department of Labor to label learning experiences for students in a workplace setting. The STEM BEST Program is one of many work-based learning, or what STEM leaders call career-linked learning, opportunities available through the STEM Council.
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The application period is quickly approaching for the STEM BEST + HD (High-Demand) Program. Beginning October 3, public and non-public K-12 school districts and school buildings can submit an application to launch or expand a business partnership model to provide students with career-linked learning experiences.
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The STEM BEST (Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers) Program of the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council drives partnerships of K-12 schools and community employers.
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More than 70 educators, administrators and business partners of STEM BEST Programs across the state attended the first-ever BEST STEMposium, held at the University of Northern Iowa. The event fostered meaningful conversations with STEM BEST Program leaders to enhance career-linked learning in communities across Iowa.
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Re-envisioning recyclable materials into usable products, developing entrepreneurial skills through student-run storefronts, taking on leadership roles at community and live events, simulating advanced manufacturing and healthcare experience through school business partnerships. These are a few of the many career-linked opportunities the STEM BEST Program is creating in Iowa.
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