Education United States Project #11050

Leveraging STEM for Social Change

by Washington STEM

Project Report | Nov 20, 2014
Thanksgiving for Your Amazing Support this Year

By Gillia Bakie | Corporate and Foundation Giving Manager

Mike Wierusz and student

This holiday season, Washington STEM is thankful for YOU.

Here are just a few examples of what you've made possible this year:

INNOVATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM

Teachers are the most important element of any classroom. Now, due to your support, more than 400 teachers serving 15,000 students in 51 schools across Washington are using innovative teacher-learning technology and have access to a video library of high-quality teaching examples aligned to our new state education standards.

Using this technology, some of our best STEM teachers are allowing educators across Washington to watch their classrooms LIVE! One example is our inaugural STEM Pioneer: an Allen Distinguished Educator. His teaching process is inquiry-based and student-centered.

“I ask [my students] to trust me in this process; by the end of the year, they have a different sense of who they are and what they are capable of. They are managing their own time and solving their own problems. It’s a paradigm shift.” - STEM Pioneer

SERVING MORE STUDENTS

Our statewide network of STEM Networks has grown! We now have SEVEN powerful partner networks, serving over 490,000 students and 15,000 teachers across our state. STEM Networks work regionally to address the STEM education needs of their areas in unique ways. In Bremerton, that took the form of raising awareness through a STEM Showcase at the Kitsap mall with an array of hands-on STEM activities.

"We're trying to get kids interested in STEM and show the relevancy of what they might be learning in school to the real world." - Corinne Beach, West Sound STEM Showcase Coordinator.

BUILDING A STEM FUTURE

Our vision is for every student in Washington to have access to a high-quality STEM education. But we can't do it alone. This year, we've developed a comprehensive guiding strategy for our state that will align community, education, policy, and industry activities toward common goals. This full Framework for Action and Accountability will be made public at our upcoming STEM Summit on December 2.

"STEM is critical to our student’s success and state’s economic future by ensuring a high-quality, homegrown workforce." - Governor Jay Inslee

THANK YOU for your commitment to teachers, students, and communities around the state.

West Sound STEM Showcase - Circuit Activity

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Aug 20, 2014
STEM for All!

By Gillia Bakie | Corporate and Foundation Giving Manager

West Sound STEM Showcase - Bremerton, WA

How do you make great STEM education accessible to EVERY student in Washington? By building a STEM movement with great partners and supporters like you. Here are some highlights of what we've been able to accomplish together over the past quarter:

A STEM Showcase (see photo) run by the West Sound STEM Network in Bremerton attracted 68 participant organizations and hundreds of kids. On the other side of the state, Spokane STEM Network, in partnership with their chamber of commerce, took part in an annual DC Fly-in, and made the case for more comprehensive STEM education policy with legislators in the nation’s capitol (see photo). In April and May 2014, we received 3-year business plans from each our seven networks to ensure their continued work.

An enthusiastic statewide response to STEM-PD technology. 54 schools across Washington applied to our Request for Proposals for grants of STEM-PD technology, which gives teachers access to examples of great teaching and tools for great professional learning. This type of response supports our early research on the appetite for scalable, effective teacher learning technology.

Washington STEM identified five exemplary teachers who are implementing Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards-aligned teaching as ‘STEM Innovation Pioneers.' These teachers, such as Mike Wierusz in the Northshore School District, exemplify what it means to teach innovatively. Mike uses project-based learning to ground his high school classes, such as the on in the photo attached. These teachers will be granted the STEM-PD video technology in order to share their practices through live feed with other classroom teachers and those who are learning how to teach.

Strong, regular, and trusted media presence across the state is establishing Washington STEM as the state’s go-to source for information on STEM education. Washington STEM has been involved or quoted in six news articles in the past quarter.

Finally - we've grown! We've added a new team member to help support and sustain our work: in April, 2014 we hired on a new Chief Development Officer, Alex Johnston.

Please help us keep the work going by considering a regular monthly gift to Washington STEM. With a monthly pledge, you can help us continue give students in Washington a bridge to opportunity. Thank you, again, for being a STEM supporter.

DC Fly In

STEM Pioneer Student Projects

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May 14, 2014
Springing into the Year

By Gillia Bakie | Development Manager

Washington STEM is springing into 2014 with many activities across the state and nation. Results from our pilot teacher technology project were so promising, we're expanding to up to another 50 schools. We've also been busy lifting up the work of our seven STEM Networks across Washington and shining the light on the need for the very best policy to support STEM education.

Knowledge Generation: Now STEM Innovation!

Knowledge Generation is now STEM Innovation, a new title to better reflect its ongoing catalytic activity. The STEM Innovation team is excited to expand its technology-enabled professional development project, STEM-PD, with grants of technology and staff support to an additional 50 schools. The Request for Proposals (RFP) for this project were sent to elementary, middle, and high schools around Washington. Announcements to the school awardees will be made in June.

STEM Networks

Our seven regional STEM Networks gathered in February for a successful convening in Olympia, followed by a day of advocacy where 11 Network leaders met with key state policymakers to highlight the need for strong STEM legislation in Washington. On April 26, the West Sound STEM Network showcased STEM education at the Kitsap Mall with activities for kids and parents alike at booths presented by area businesses and schools. The showcase featured a robotics competition, as well. Spokane STEM participated in Greater Spokane Inc's annual Washington, D.C. fly-in. The attendees spoke with members of the Washington federal delegation and President Obama's administration about key issues to their community, one of those being STEM education.

STEM Policy

Washington STEM CEO Patrick D'Amelio and Chief Policy Officer Caroline King represented Washington at the 2014 STEM Solutions conference in Washington, D.C. Patrick participated on a panel with national STEM partners from STEMx (a national consortium of state STEM organizations) who see the need for strategic statewide leadership in STEM education. In March, we continued to support others leading this important work when we participated in a two-day learning event with Colorado Legacy Foundation, an organization growing into a statewide STEM role, to share best practices and provide expertise.

Thank you for your ongoing support of Washington STEM's work in the state. You are making the difference in the future of our students' education.

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