Sharing Impact at STEM Day at the Capitol

STEM Council team members were in the Capitol Rotunda sharing STEM’s return on investment as part of STEM Day at the Capitol.
STEM Council team members were in the Capitol Rotunda sharing STEM’s return on investment as part of STEM Day at the Capitol on February 17.

A scaled-back, health-secured STEM Day at the Capitol was held on February 17. While the Capitol Rotunda was not filled with exhibits showcasing STEM Council programs as in the past, STEM Council team members were available to safely share return-on-investment evidence of effects and highlights of the people and programs who make up Iowa’s edu-nomic development initiative, transforming education.

Despite the challenges faced during a pandemic year, the STEM Council managed to fulfill commitments to learners, educators and communities, as well as expand skillsets to the virtual, digital and online service platforms, much of which will continue to define the new normal.

Video footage was shared of STEM in action in classrooms and community centers throughout the state, including:

  • School + business partnerships re-defining class time.
  • Teachers in industry aligning what and how they teach to what awaits their students on-the-job.
  • Hands-on and minds-on learning about computers, agriculture, medicine, energy and high-demand careers scaling to almost one-fifth of all the preK-12 students of Iowa.

The STEM Council mission is to increase interest and achievement in STEM studies and careers through partnerships engaging preK-12 students, parents, educators, employers, non-profits, policy leaders and others. The Council provides opportunities that inspire Iowa’s young people to become innovative, enterprising contributors to Iowa’s future workforce and the quality of life in our communities across the state. Through on-going bi-partisan support from the Iowa Legislature, the STEM Council continues to gain momentum and demonstrate impact across the state. That impact, the return on investment, is measured and reported annually by an independent evaluation consortium of Iowa State University’s Research Institute for Studies in Education, the University of Iowa’s Iowa Testing, and the University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Social and Behavioral Research, lead organization.

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