 A dozen Iowa schools with existing STEM BEST Program models will bring summer opportunities to their students through the STEM BEST Explore pilot.
The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council at the Iowa Department of Education is pleased to announce 12 STEM BEST Program partner schools have been awarded over $200,000 in competitive grants as part of a pilot program this summer. STEM BEST Explore will allow existing STEM BEST Program model partner schools to extend work-based and career-connected learning opportunities for students throughout this summer.
“Our STEM BEST educators have been asking for a summer opportunity,” said Tanya Hunt, STEM BEST Program coordinator for the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council. “The STEM Council is pleased to offer the STEM BEST Explore pilot this summer to allow existing models to reach students who may not have been available for these work-based learning opportunities during the traditional school year or to incorporate new experiences for their students.”
Through an application and review process, 12 STEM BEST Program models have been awarded up to $20,000 to put toward their experience for students over the summer.
 Young learners at Kids World Daycare and Preschool in Centerville learn basic concepts of programming and work on their problem solving skills with materials awarded through the 2024-25 Iowa STEM Scale-Up Program.
The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council at the Iowa Department of Education is awarding more than 500 STEM Scale-Up Program awards to Iowa educators for the 2025-26 school year. This amounts to over $3 million in awarded STEM materials, curriculum and professional development training to boost STEM education opportunities for PK-12 learners in Iowa.
“Since 2012, the STEM Scale-Up Program has helped more Iowa educators access high-quality, evidence-based STEM materials and curriculum to use in their classrooms,” said Justin Lewis, Iowa Department of Education’s bureau chief for Iowa STEM. “Through the Scale-Up Program, the STEM Council is proud to have a hand in expanding student learning in STEM and connecting it with key industries in Iowa like agriculture, advanced manufacturing, medical science and more.”
More than 1,000 educators are signed up to deliver one of 13 selected programs offering exemplary STEM education and experiences for PK-12 students and educators in-school, afterschool and in other educational settings.
A complete list of 2025-2026 STEM Scale-Up Program recipients can be found on the Council’s Scale-Up Program webpage.
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Randi Endriss is a Talented and Gifted teacher for Treynor Community Schools in southwest Iowa. She has been an Iowa STEM Teacher Extern for 3 summers and is taking on a new role this year as the Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program southwest region mentor.
Randi’s previous summer Externship experiences have taken her to work with Pottawattamie County Conservation where she helped to update the Concertation Center’s visitor gallery, spotlighting the Loess Hills. Additional Externship experiences put her behind the scenes of well known Omaha area attractions like Lauritzen Gardens and Henry Doorly Zoo’s Wildlife Park.
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Her commitment to being a lifelong learner and the diversity of her Externship experiences have earned her the role of Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program southwest region mentor. As a mentor, Randi has already been helping to match interested educators and workplace hosts for this coming summer’s round of Externships. |
"I look forward to helping other teachers learn from new experiences and better themselves in their teaching," Endriss said. "I want to help spread the word about the Externships Program and get other teachers to take away from the experience their own learning and new ways to help their students grow."
Over the last several years, Nathan Van Zante has mentored southwest region externs. He now teaches in central Iowa and will continue his role as a mentor for the North Central STEM region.
“Randi’s commitment to ongoing professional development and her knowledge of southwest Iowa make her a great fit for the position of southwest regional mentor,” said Ann Gritzner, Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program coordinator. “Nathan Van Zante did a wonderful job of growing the program in southwest Iowa and under Randi’s guidance it will continue to flourish.”
 Over the course of the Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program, long-time hosts Kemin Industries and Accumold have hosted over 50 Iowa STEM teacher externs.
The Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program is entering its seventeenth summer! This program relies on exceptional workplace host partners to provide a window into STEM business and industry careers right here in Iowa. Two of the longest-standing partners in this space are Kemin Industries Inc. and Accumold.
Kemin Industries Inc., a biotechnology company headquartered in Des Moines, has hosted an extern every summer since the program began in 2009. They will host their 35th extern this summer, Caitlyn Lucht, an earth and physical sciences teacher at Winterset High School. Caitlyn aims to use this Externship experience to inspire her students to pursue science careers by demonstrating the exciting, hands-on aspects of the field and by showcasing career opportunities they may not have otherwise considered.
Accumold, based in Ankeny, has hosted an extern every summer since 2012. The company specializes in manufacturing high-precision plastic components. They have hosted 19 externs and will host two more this summer: Avery Wolfkill and Barb Burns. Wolfkill teaches Introduction to Engineering Design for 9th graders at Timberline School in Waukee and learned about the program through a session offered at last year’s Iowa Classrooms + Workplaces Summit. Avery sees this Externship as an opportunity to help her students see the connection between what they are learning and the career opportunities available to them, especially local to their community. Burns is a mathematics teacher at Dowling Catholic High School in Des Moines. Barb previously participated in the Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program in the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City areas and looks forward to learning more about STEM businesses in her new community through her Externship experience with Accumold.
“Accumold is an enthusiastic sponsor of the STEM Teacher Externships Program,” said Roger Hargens, Accumold CEO and president. “Accumold is a strong supporter of Iowa youth and believes that supporting the business exposure of teachers is a great way to continue that commitment to students. Teacher externs bring what they learn back to students and help the students vision a future in Advanced Manufacturing helping Iowa and Accumold grow.”
If you are interested in becoming an Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program workplace host, please email program coordinator Ann Gritzner at ann.gritzner@IowaSTEM.org.
 Congratulations to our Iowa STEM Youth Ambassador seniors! We've been fortunate to work with these incredible individuals from the class of 2025 and are cheering them on as they continue their paths into the professional STEM world!
Special shoutout to Gabriela, Ella and Shreyas for their leadership of the group this past year!
Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council
Iowa Department of Education
214 East Bartlett Hall
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0298
515-335-1531
info@IowaSTEM.org
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