STEM Scale-Up Program Demand Sets Record

Elementary students from Storm Lake Community School District build computational thinking and problem-solving skills through the Scale-Up Program Tiny Techies.
Elementary students from Storm Lake Community School District build computational thinking and problem-solving skills through the Scale-Up Program Tiny Techies.

A new milestone was reached for the STEM Scale-Up Program, which will have significant impact for in-school, after-school programs and other settings for Iowa youth in the 2023-2024 academic year. The STEM Council received 1,382 applications for the 2023-2024 STEM Scale-Up Program, a 27 percent increase from the 2022-2023 application period. Those applications included 2,356 Iowa educators seeking programs for incorporation into their curriculum for the coming academic year, a 12 percent increase from the previous year.

“In our eleventh year, demand for STEM continues to increase,” said Jeff Weld, STEM Council executive director. “A concept hatched by a committee of the Council in 2012, Scale-Up continues to bring world-class lessons, kits, software and curricula to educators and students at a record pace, producing higher test scores and heightened interest in STEM across grade levels and demographic subgroups, year after year.

Since 2012, more than one million preK-12 grade Iowans have participated in STEM Scale-Up Programming facilitated by in-school and out-of-school educators. The program impacts both students and educators. Educators who take part in the STEM Scale-Up Program agree that they have more confidence to teach STEM topics and increased their STEM knowledge.

Thirteen exemplary STEM programs were selected for the 2023-2024 STEM Scale-Up Program menu. Selected educators will be notified in April. For more information about the STEM Scale-Up Program, visit www.IowaSTEM.org/scale-up.

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