April/May 2016
 
Jeff Beneke
NE STEM Regional Manager 


Upcoming Events

     
   May 3
2:00-3:00 pm
Howard-Winneshiek Community School District  


May 26
NE STEM Advisory Board Meeting
Dubuque


May 30
Scale-up Evaluations Due


June 12-14 
 Iowa Family  and Consumer Sciences Educators Conference
Cedar Falls


June 14-16
Iowa Family  and Consumer Sciences Educators Post Conference Workshops
Cedar Falls


June 29
Iowa STEM School + Business Innovation Conference 
Des Moines


August 21
STEM at the State Fair



Have an event coming up? Submit it here!  
 
 
Northeast Iowa 
 Region Governor's STEM Advisory Council

 Advisory Board

 Jane Bradley
 Hawkeye Community  College

Kendra Crooks
 Chickasaw County Extension and Outreach

 Kelly Cooper
 Dubuque Area
Labor- Management Council

 Scott Fortune
 Northeast Iowa
Tool & Die and Innovations

 Scott Greenhalgh
 University of
Northern Iowa

 Chad Heinzel
 University of
Northern Iowa

Ellen Heuer
 Bay Valley Foods

Bill Holland
JB Holland Construction

 Mason Kuhn
 University of
Northern Iowa

 Jason Martin-Hiner
 Keystone Area
Education Agency

Marcia Powell
Oelwein Community School District

 Norma Thiese
 Keystone Area
Education Agency

 Mark Wagner
 National Mississippi River  Museum & Aquarium



The Northeast Iowa Region Governor's STEM Advisory Council, located on the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) campus, believes it is important to bring our community together to advance the STEM movement that is transforming the nation.

  

EvaluationReminder to 2015-2016 STEM Scale-Up Educators: Evaluate Your Program 
 
While the 2015-2016 implementation of your STEM Scale-Up Program winds down, evaluators are winding up to capture effects of your work bringing high quality STEM programming to students across Iowa.
 
ALL schools and organizations awarded a STEM Scale-Up Program are expected to complete the 1) Educator Survey and 2) Student Participant List.
 
In addition, SOME schools and organizations were randomly selected to complete the 3) Student Survey.  Selected schools were notified in the Fall 2016 to complete a "Beginning of the Year", i.e. pre-program, and "End of the Year", i.e. post-program, student survey.  If you completed the "Beginning of the Year" survey with your students, please remember to complete and submit the "End of the Year" survey.
 
Instructions for all parts of the evaluation can be found here: Iowa STEM Scale-Up Monitoring.


PLEASE REMEMBER to evaluate your STEM Scale-up Program

The final DEADLINE for submitting all evaluation
tasks is May 30, 2016.

 
Please direct questions to:
 
 
  
Mitch Avery      
319-273-7451
[email protected]
  

Evaluation is key to our future success. THANK YOU for helping us evaluate our work together! 
  
 
DirkDirk Homewood, Cedar Falls High School, Receives the 2016 I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award

The Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council and Kemin Industries have announced the recipients of the 2016 I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award sponsored by Kemin Industries.
  
The Northeast STEM Region's awardee is Dirk Homewood, Project Lead The Way and mathematics teacher at Cedar Falls High School. His creative, collaborative learning environments and project based-curriculum help bring real-world STEM to the classroom for his students. Homewood also connects his STEM content to STEM careers by leveraging local business partnerships to enhance his students' learning and answer the question, "When will I ever use this again?" for his students.

This award recognizes and celebrates one teacher from each of the six STEM regions who goes above and beyond to increase their students' interest in STEM. Each recipient was recognized for their dedication in representing I.O.W.A.; by being Innovative in their methods, Outstanding in their passion for education, Worldly in the way they help students see that STEM is all around them, and Academic through engaging students in the classroom to prepare them for higher education and high-demand careers. Each recipient was selected by a panel of judges after being nominated for the award by a colleague, school administrator, parent, student or community member and completing an application showcasing their contributions to STEM education. Each recipient received $1,500 for personal use and another $1,500 for their classroom.

Homewood and the other five recipients have each been honored with surprise ceremonies in their classrooms with their students and peers, and have also been recognized together at the Iowa Governor's Mansion by Gov. Branstad, Lt. Governor and STEM Council Co-Chair Kim Reynolds and Kemin Industries President and CEO, and STEM Council Co-Chair, Dr. Chris Nelson the evening of April 18
 
  

ConferenceIowa STEM School+Business Innovation Conference
 

SAVE THE DATE: June 29
 
The Iowa STEM School+Business Innovation Conference will highlight the partnerships across Iowa that are connecting schools to local businesses and other employers. Best practices in aligning education to workforce will be shared by practitioners on the front edge-both industry and school leaders. Among the models to be profiled are the STEM BEST (Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers) and STEM RLE  (Redesigned Learning Environment) partnerships of the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council. 

The goal of the conference is to equip attendees with the knowledge, connections, and resources to build school+business partnerships in their home communities.  

TOPICS featuring...
  • Best practices in school+business partnerships;
  • Surmounting challenges to school+business partnerships;
  • Roles for business alongside educators in courses and instruction;
  • Work-based learning at the secondary level;
  • Showcasing STEM BEST and STEM RLE partners.

WHO should attend...

  • Community Business Leaders
  • K-12 Leaders, Administrators, Principals, Educators;
  • Workforce and Economic Development Professionals;
  • School-to-Work Advocates;
  • Higher Education Professionals;
  • Informal Education Partners;
  • Policy Leaders;
  • Teacher-Preparers and Professional Developers;
  • Others interested in school+business partnerships.
 
REGISTRATION (free) and Latest Updates:  
 
More details about this event will be provided on the webpage below and e-mailed to those who register for the event.

 http://www.iowastem.gov/School-Business-Conference 

  

TamaAn Engaging Day at the TAMA County Family STEM Festival



The Tama County Family STEM Festival held in Tama on April 3 attracted 261 people representing 20 communities.

Thank you to the planning committee, volunteers and South Tama County Elementary School for making it a wonderful day.

To learn more about the event, please visit our website. 
 
  

NortheastNortheast Iowa Family STEM Festival Rocks Attendance


The Northeast Family STEM Festival held in Calmar on April 7 attracted 556 people representing 32 communities.

Thank you to the planning committee and all of the volunteers for a great evening.


To learn more about the event, please visit our website. 
 
  

DubuqueInspiration Fills the Air at the Dubuque Area Family STEM Festival


The Dubuque Area Family STEM Festival held at Loras College on April 16 attracted 1,321 people representing 54 communities.

Thank you to the planning committee and all of the volunteers for a fabulous day.


To learn more about the event, please visit our website. 
 
  
Creating STEM Connections 

The Hub is 
guided by the Governor's STEM Advisory Council and is dedicated to creating greater student achievement in STEM subjects and a stronger STEM workforce.

Thank you for joining us in advancing STEM education in Iowa.
 
Sincerely,
Jeff Beneke 
Northeast Iowa Regional STEM Hub