STEM BEST®

 

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:
  1. Award amounts up to $40,000.
  2. The timeframe for expenditure is 16 months – February 2024 to May 2025.
  3. 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

 

STEM BEST Schools in Northeast Iowa

 

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