STEM Scale-Up Program to Open a World of Possibility for 113,000+ Students This Fall

Storytime STEM-packs is one of twelve STEM Scale-Up Programs that will be implemented in classrooms across Iowa this fall.
Storytime STEM-packs is one of twelve STEM Scale-Up Programs that will be implemented in classrooms across Iowa this fall.
Now in its tenth year, more than 113,000 Iowa students will benefit from STEM Scale-Up Programming with nearly 2,000 educators across the state implementing the newly selected programs for the 2021-2022 academic year. Educators were able to apply for one or more programs with topics including coding, genetics, medicine, agriculture and mathematics. 
 
“The Council designed Scale-Up as a means for bringing the best of STEM education to every young Iowan,” said Jeff Weld, executive director of the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council. “Each year about one-fifth of all preK-12 learners take part, both in and out of school, with results that prove the concept works.”
 
To create the annual STEM Scale-Up Program menu, the STEM Council reviews applications from programs that serve students from preschool to high school. There were 12 high-quality programs selected for the 2021-2022 menu. 
 
The Regional STEM Advisory Boards, guided by the respective Regional STEM Manager, review Scale-Up Program applications and base Program recipient selection upon criteria such as need, student diversity, geographic distribution and sustainability plans, among other factors. Since 2012, funding from the Iowa legislature has enabled more than 900,000 PreK-12 Iowa students to participate in STEM Scale-Up Programs. 
 
According to results of the annual Iowa STEM Evaluation Report, students who participate in STEM Scale-Up Programs score higher on annual, statewide tests. Program participants in grades 6–10, scored five points higher in mathematics and four points higher in science on average. 
 
Educator training for this year’s STEM Scale-Up Program recipients will begin this summer. Find a complete list of 2021-2022 STEM Scale-Up Program recipients at iowastem.org/scale-up.
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