The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council has awarded 118 STEM BEST® Programs since 2014 with an opportunity to grow a series of community collaborations involving school+business partnerships. Working side-by-side, teachers and industry professionals will craft curriculum and projects that prepare students for exciting career pathways in the STEM fields of manufacturing, information technology, bioscience (agriculture and medicine), finance, and more.
“The STEM BEST satellite model will allow students to experience the industry or business environment firsthand. That experience is vital to prepare students for STEM success in college or career training after high school, and it allows business and industry to introduce students to outstanding career opportunities.” –Governor Kim Reynolds, co-chair of the STEM Council.
The STEM Council is working to dramatically expand STEM BEST® (Business Engaging Students and Teachers) via a Request for Proposals. The STEM BEST Request for Proposals offers:
-
Award amounts up to $40,000.
- The timeframe for expenditure is 16 months – February 2024 to May 2025.
- Cost-share requirement is 2:1 match required, or $40,000 state to $20,000 awardee.
The goal of the STEM BEST+ H.D. fund is to support the launch of new or expanded STEM BEST K-12 models specifically focused on creating work based learning opportunities that allow students to develop future focused, high demand skills through authentic real world experiences (Future of Jobs Report 2020, World Economic Forum).
Application and Program Timeline:
- October 2, 2023- Application Opens
- December 13, 2023 - Application Deadline
- February 2024 - Awards announced
- February 2024 - May 2025 - Implementation
Congratulations to the 2023-24 STEM BEST grant recipients in Northeast Iowa;
- Hempstead High School
- Wahlert Catholic High School
- Waterloo Career Center
- Waukon Middle School
| District | School | Name of Program | Award Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allamakee Community School District | Waukon High School | 2018-2019 | |
| Allamakee Community School District | Waukon Middle School | 2023-2024 | |
| Bosco Catholic School System | Don Bosco High School | 2021-2022 | |
| Cedar Falls Community School District | Cedar Falls High School | CF CAPS | 2017-2018 |
| Cedar Falls Community School District | Cedar Falls High School | CF CAPS | 2018-2019 |
| Cedar Falls Community School District | Cedar Falls High School | CF CAPS | 2020-2021 |
| Cedar Falls Community School District | North Cedar Elementary School | 2016-2017 | |
| Cedar Valley Catholic Schools | Columbus High School | 2020-2021 | |
| Central Community School District | Central Elementary School | 2021-2022 | |
| Central Community School District | Central Middle School/High School | Clayton Co. BEST | 2018-2019 |
| Dike-New Hartford Community School District | Dike-New Hartford High School | 2021-2023 | |
| Dubuque Community School District | Dubuque Senior High School | 2021-2023 | |
| Dubuque Community School District | Hempstead High School | 2023-2024 | |
| Eastern Allamakee Community School District | Kee High School | 2021-2022 | |
| Holy Family Catholic Schools | Wahlert Catholic High School | 2023-2024 | |
| Howard-Winneshiek Community Schools | Crestwood High School | 2021-2022 | |
| Jesup Community School District | Jesup High School | Jesup CAPS | 2019-2020 |
| MFL MarMac Community School District | MFL MarMac High School | 2021-2022 | |
| MFL MarMac Community School District | MFL MarMac High School | 2021-2023 | |
| New Hampton Community Schools | New Hampton High School | Iowa BIG North | 2015-2016 |
| New Hampton Community Schools | New Hampton High School | 2019-2020 | |
| North Fayette Valley Community School District | North Fayette Valley High School | 2020-2021 | |
| North Tama County Community School District | North Tama Elementary School | 2021-2022 | |
| Oelwein Community School District | Oelwein High School | Huskies Project One | 2017-2018 |
| Riceville Community School District | Riceville High School | Iowa BIG North | 2017-2018 |
| Starmont Community School District | Starmont Elementary & Middle School | 2022-2023 | |
| Turkey Valley Community School District | Turkey Valley Jr-Sr High School | Iowa BIG North | 2017-2018 |
| Turkey Valley Community School District | Turkey Valley Jr-Sr High School | 2022-2023 | |
| Wapsie Valley Community School District | Wapsie Valley High School | 2021-2022 | |
| Waterloo Community Schools | Waterloo Career Center | 2019-2020 | |
| Waterloo Community Schools | Waterloo Career Center | 2021-2023 | |
| Waterloo Community Schools | Waterloo Career Center | 2023-2024 | |
| West Delaware County Community School District | West Delaware High School | DelCo BEST | 2016-2017 |
To learn more about Iowa STEM BEST, please visit www.IowaSTEM.org/STEMBEST