Summer Work-Based Learning Experience Turns into Job Opportunity for Students
For nearly three years, Cedar Falls high school students have had the opportunity to participate in a STEM BEST model they call Cedar Falls Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) during the school year. With the support of a STEM BEST Program award from the STEM Council, a summer course was added to the curriculum.
STEM BEST Program Sparks Success in Iowa Schools
As part of the STEM BEST® Program, Ottumwa High School launched SparkTank in August 2018. This project-based experience connects students with local businesses and organizations, allowing students to solve real problems in authentic learning environments, while becoming immersed in a professional culture.
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Bridging Business and Education through STEM BEST
Currently, the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council is accepting applicationsfor new STEM work-based learning models, known as the Iowa STEM BEST®(Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers) Program . A total of 50 STEM BEST® Programs have been awarded
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STEM BEST Chemistry Lab Makeover
Work-based learning got personal for a West Delaware High School chemistry student. In 2017-2018 the high school offered a new elective, DelCo BEST. This class connects students with local businesses to undertake real-world, work-based projects and create authentic learning opportunities.
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Woodbine is Connecting Students and Business Early On
As one of thirteen most recently awarded STEM BEST models, Woodbine Community School District and its community partners understand the value of engaging students with businesses. They provide their students with a unique opportunity to interact with local businesses through their STEM BEST Lunch Guest Program.
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School + Business STEM Partnerships Reach 37
What began as a hunt for innovative excellence that routed through Kansas City's CAPS (Center for Advanced Professional Studies) and Brooklyn, New York's P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) in 2013 has become a bona fide movement custom-fitted to Iowa: STEM BEST® (Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers).
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STEM BEST: Fort Madison High School
"Our community partners were reinforcing the idea that students needed to learn in a way consistent with the current world of work," said Greg Smith, principal at Fort Madison High School. "They agreed with us that to be successful as adults, students needed to practice problem-solving in group settings.
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STEM BEST: DelCo BEST
STEM BEST® is a win-win-win. It creates projects for students to explore their passions. It opens doors for businesses to contribute to career awareness and shape the future workforce. It presents examples for teachers to connect content areas to the jobs outside school walls.
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STEM BEST® Partners triple in two years
Around this same time in 2014, the STEM Council first welcomed the inaugural five STEM BEST® (Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers) Partners to the team.
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STEM BEST® Partner: “INSPIRE” at Davenport West High School
“Davenport West High School is working to ensure that the coursework offered is reflective of community needs and meant to graduate students into post-secondary programs that further their manufacturing education, with eventual placement in local jobs that strengthen the industry in the Quad Cities,” said Jennifer Boyd, curriculum specialist for Davenport West High School’s “INSPIRE” program.
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