 State agencies, business and industry, preK-12 schools, community colleges, public and private universities, nonprofits and other organizations were represented at the 26th convening of the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council.
Consistency through change was the message delivered by members, friends and allies of the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council at their bi-annual meeting on Monday, November 13, in room B100, Grimes State Office Building, Des Moines. As Jeff Weld steps down from the post of executive director, smooth and swift leadership transition is a top concern among attendees. It is matched by their expectation that current programs, services and communications maintain consistently high quality throughout the re-alignment process in to the Department of Education. Highlights of those programs constituted the early part of the meeting, where STEM at Van Meter and CAL community schools were showcased, followed by updates on the Youth Advisory Board, the STEM-for-All committee and key initiatives including the STEM Scale-Up Program, STEM BEST® Program, STEM Teacher Externships Program and Regional STEM Festivals.
The distinguished history and bright horizon for Iowa’s STEM organization were furnished by Cindy Dietz of Raytheon and Diane Young of Foundation Analytical Laboratory (Council co-chair). Director Weld alongside Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow led a critical conversation regarding STEM vitality in its new home at the Iowa Department of Education. Key takeaway: Council members are confident and optimistic over a strong future for STEM education in partnership with the Department of Education. A warm farewell to Director Weld capped the meeting. He will be returning to the faculty at the University of Northern Iowa and can be reached at Jeff.Weld@UNI.edu.
 Glenwood Community School District educators and STEM BEST Program Manager Tanya Hunt showcase their new greenhouse.
A greenhouse has become a new powerful learning space in some schools across Iowa with the assistance of the STEM BEST® Program.
The Metro Academy High School in Cedar Rapids recently hosted an open house for the community. Citizens were able to plant the first seedlings in this innovative space that will incorporate many STEM learning opportunities. The planning, building and collaborative effort involved student participation along the way with many community partners lending time and expertise as well. A multi-year commitment has paid dividends when former students turned up to see the results of their efforts.
Glenwood Community School District constructed a customized greenhouse with plans to engage students in the 2024-2025 school year. Glenwood, East Mills and Fremont Mills each received a STEM BEST Program award as a consortium to explore and build a collaborative regional center as an additional work-based learning opportunity for students.
Iowa’s agricultural heritage comes alive through greenhouse STEM education. The seeds planted become essential skills such as creativity, problem solving and communication that at harvest time produce the next generation of Iowa innovators.
Applications are now being accepted for the 2024-2025 STEM BEST Program funding period. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, December 13, 2023. Please see www.IowaSTEM.org/STEMBEST for more information.
 Metro Academy instructors Matthew Secl, Shannon Ellis and Chuck Tonelli debut their newly constructed greenhouse.
 Consider hosting a STEM Teacher Extern for Summer 2024. Apply Today!
Last summer 82 STEM teachers from across the state spent their summer embedded in a workplace environment in order to grow their skills and better understand the needs of business and industry while helping strengthen the community workforce. Since 2009, the STEM Teacher Externships Program has made 859 workplace experiences possible for Iowa STEM educators. This program would not be possible without the generous support of our workplace host partners. We are currently seeking workplace hosts for Summer 2024.
STEM Teacher Externs work alongside skilled and knowledgeable professionals for six weeks during the summer for an immersive experience that increases productivity, brings new perspectives and enhances the bottom line of workplace host organizations. Externship workplace hosts consistently monetize the value of the project(s) completed by STEM Teacher Externs between $2,501-$10,000.
Muscatine Water and Power hosted a STEM Teacher Extern in 2023. Here is the value of the program according to MPW Human Resource Manager Kirby Phillips.
Muscatine Power and Water values our collaboration with the STEM Teacher Externship Program for numerous reasons, all of which resonate with our mission, vision and values. This partnership significantly contributes to workforce development by immersing teachers in real-world STEM experiences, it enhances our local educational outreach initiatives, it provides valuable professional development opportunities for our internal staff, it fosters collaboration and innovation, it establishes a potential talent pipeline, and it reinforces our commitment to community engagement and enrichment.
Each STEM Teacher Externship experience is different and matched to the interest of the workplace host and the STEM Teacher Extern. To register interest in hosting a STEM Teacher Extern or simply learn more, visit www.IowaSTEM.org/externships.
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 Iowa’s legislature honors the return on investment of the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council by recommitting state funds annually and so do numerous non-state investors. Businesses, foundations, philanthropic organizations, granting agencies and a variety of public and private sector donors contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to programs (and programs only) aligned to their goals. Raytheon Technologies’ foundation, Benevity, for example, invested well into five figures for support of events including the STEM Summit, STEM at the Capitol and regional STEM festivals in 2023. The same is true for Mid-American Energy, Alliant Energy and Kemin Industries, each donating tens of thousands of dollars to the STEM Council this year for a variety of programs. Google’s donor arm, the Tides Foundation, entrusted a six-figure investment in Iowa STEM in 2023. Fifty total investors have collectively channeled nearly $400,000 to programs including STEM Teacher Externships, STEM at the State Fair, the STEM Teacher Award, the STEM BEST Program and more in 2023.
The additional funding significantly expands capacity for participation in these programs and, as a result, the benefits seen among Iowa youth. Here is a roster of non-state investors in STEM this year, alphabetically: Accu-Mold LLC, Alliant Energy Foundation, Inc.; Barilla America, Inc.; Bayer Fund; Benevity (Raytheon Technologies); Carroll County Conservation Foundation; Clayton County Development Group, Inc.; CNOS; Custom-Pak Design and Blowmolding; Ehrhart Griffin & Associates; Elkay; Freeport Minerals Corporation; Friends of Fontana Park; Friends of Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge; Geater Machining & Mfg. Co.; Google Community Grants Fund/Tides Foundation; HNI Charitable Foundation; Ida County Auditor’s Office; ITC Midwest, LLC; Jackson County; Jasper County Auditor; Johnson County Auditor; Kemin Industries, Inc.,; Le Claire Manufacturing Co.; Lee County Extension Service; M.A. Ford Mfg. Co. Inc.; Mahaska County Auditor; Marshall County Auditor; The Merrill Company, LLP; MidAmerican Energy Foundation; moveero, Inc.; Muscatine County Auditor; Pella Corporations & Subsidiaries; Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.; Polk County Auditor Office; Principal Life Insurance Company; RCS Millwork, LC; Rosenboom Machine & Tool, Inc.; Sac County Conservation Foundation; Siouxland Chamber of Commerce; Stanley Center for Peace and Security; State of Iowa - Department for the Blind; Washington County Auditor; Wetherell Mfg. Co., Inc.; Whiterock Conservancy; Winneshiek County Auditor; and Zoetis.
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Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council
Iowa Department of Education
214 East Bartlett Hall
University of Northern Iowa
515.335.1531
Info@IowaSTEM.org
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