STEM Pipeline Blog / April 23, 2020

GREAT LAKES BAY REGION LAUNCHES STEM ACCESS & EQUITY GRANT AWARDS

Thousands of students will have access to high quality STEM programs thanks to the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance and funding by Nexteer Automotive, The Charles J. Strosacker Foundation and East Central Prosperity Region MiSTEM Network.

The STEM Access and Equity Project provides learning opportunities that go beyond standard classroom activities. The primary goals of the project are to mitigate STEM access and equity challenges for at-risk students across the region, increase family engagement in STEM, and to improve math and science outcomes aimed at growing talent within our cradle-to-career framework. The following projects will take place across the region:

Bay City Public Schools

Simply Science: Explore, Learn, Create

Partnering organizations: Mid-Michigan Children’s Museum, Hampton, Kolb, MacGregor, McAlear-Sawden, Washington Elementary Schools

Chippewa Nature Center

Understanding the Nature of STEM in Kindergarten

Partnering organizations: Bay City Public Schools and a second district to be determined.

CMU Center for Excellence in STEM Education

Library STEM Literacy Workshops

Partnering organizations: Coleman, Clare, Harrison and Farwell area library branches

Clare-Gladwin RESD

SPARKS Summer STEM Camps

Partnering organizations: CMU Center for Excellence in STEM Education along with Beaverton Elementary School, Clare Primary School, Coleman Elementary School, Farwell Elementary School, Harrison Elementary, and Meridian Elementary

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Saginaw Alumnae Chapter

PowerPlay Saturday

Partnering organizations: Mid-Michigan Children’s Museum and Saginaw ISD Head-start students and students of the City of Saginaw

Clare-Gladwin RESD

SPARKS Collaborating to provide extended engineering and STEM opportunities to Meridian Elementary School youth

Partnering organizations: Meridian Elementary site, Snapology of Tri-City Area

Greater Michigan Construction Academy

PowerUp Event

Partnering organizations: Midland Daily News, Propel Promotions, Self Love Beauty, Power UP Inc., contractors and suppliers across the Great Lakes Bay Region

Mt. Pleasant Discovery Museum

Little STEMmers for Field Trips

Partnering organizations: CMU Center for Excellence in STEM Education

Saginaw ISD

Equitable Access to Math in the Mail Kits for 3-Year Olds

Partnering organizations: Bay Arenac ISD, Bay Area Women’s Center, Good Samaritan Rescue Mission, Great Start Collaborative of Bay & Arenac Counties, Northeast Michigan Community Service Agency, and the Bay Arenac Pregnancy to Preschool Partnership

Saginaw Valley State University STEM@SVSU

Diving Deep Into STEM

Partnering organization: First Ward Community Center, Saginaw, MI These programs are the latest result from the STEM Impact Initiative, an effort led by the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance (GLBRA) to create a roadmap for building a STEM talent pipeline.

“There is a talent war being waged across the United States and across the globe,” said Matthew Felan, President & CEO of the GLBRA. “The Great Lakes Bay Region needs to have the most robust STEM talent pipeline possible to meet the growing needs of our current employers and to attract new business and jobs to the region.

Lori Flippin, STEM Initiative Leader of the GLBRA indicated that, “The programs are an important next step in bringing equitable access to fun and engaging programs aligned with the STEM curriculum taught in schools.” One key component of the programs involves collaboration between organizations that serve students and out-of-school time programs that offer high quality STEM programming.

The Early Childhood Access and Equity Project has been made possible by financial support from Nexteer Automotive, The Charles J. Strosacker Foundation, and the East Central Prosperity Region MiSTEM Network.