Investment deepens partnership with STEM Council to expand STEM programming
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Iowa Governor’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Advisory Council has received more support from an industry partner this month.
The Monsanto Fund has pledged $10,000 to the state’s STEM initiative that builds student interest and achievement in STEM career fields. The Monsanto Fund has a long and distinguished history of support for programs with emphasis on STEM education and youth development and has played a pioneering and sustaining role with the STEM Council since its launch in 2011.
“The Monsanto Fund is happy to support the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and the work they do to educate and engage students in STEM”, said Kim Schaaf, Site Lead in Ankeny, Iowa, adding “we are pleased that the work they are doing continues to make an impact in the community where Monsanto employees live and work.”
A priority for the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council for 2017-2018 is to expand the community of innovative, replicable STEM education models, known as Iowa STEM Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers (BEST®). A total of 18 Iowa STEM BEST models have been established over three years that are now on the developmental spectrum.
The overarching goal of STEM BEST is to unite the expertise of educators and employers to strengthen the continuum from school to careers. The STEM Council has supported the establishment of up to 15 new Iowa STEM BEST models, distributed across each of Iowa’s six STEM regions.
The company’s gift will help support future STEM BEST® models across the State of Iowa, being driven at this time by a request for STEM BEST® proposals. Awarded applicants will become an Iowa STEM BEST model of the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and receive up $25,000 to be matched 1:1 with local cost-share. The funding period is from October 2017 to June 2018.
"The Governor's STEM Advisory Council is a powerful example of how public-private partnerships are ensuring the future success of our children," Gov. Kim Reynolds, STEM Council co-chair, said. "Monsanto is one of our longstanding corporate partners. We're grateful for the value they place on quality STEM education for Iowa students. Our future depends on it, their future depends on it and so do the futures of all young Iowans."
It is the leadership across industry and education sectors that enable the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council to deliver on the promise of STEM-literate and post-secondary ready graduates. The Council oversees the scale-up of high-quality STEM education programs to students across the state, as well as a public awareness campaign, a new STEM teaching license, model classrooms focused on STEM and school-business partnerships in applied STEM learning and more. Additional information on Council programs is available at www.IowaSTEM.gov.
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