Serving, Arenac, Bay, Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Isabella, Midland and Saginaw Counties
MiSTEM Overview
Michigan, together with business, education, and community partners, is embarking on a journey to create a MiSTEM Network throughout the state. This opportunity grew out of Governor Snyder’s MiSTEM Advisory Council recommendation to make Michigan a world leader in STEM education.
The Council report lists four pillars as necessary components to establish a system that will produce STEM-equipped students and educators. These pillars are: create a STEM culture, empower STEM teachers, integrate business and education, and ensure high quality STEM experiences. The work of the MiSTEM Network is to build on existing STEM networks to create a STEM ecosystem that supports and implements the components outlined in the four pillars.
The East Central Michigan Prosperity Region MiSTEM group formed in 2018-2019 and has been diligently working to establish goals for each pillar. Strategic planning continues in order to develop programming for the first year (2018-19) including goals, list of planned programs by goal, assessment questions for regional performance effectiveness, and references for data gathering. Like us on Facebook.
Our Work Revolves Around Four Pillars
Create a STEM Culture: by using a systemic approach to enable community engagement, experiential learning, place-based education and by building capacity in our leaders, teachers and learners to create solutions to real-world situations.
Empower STEM Teachers: by creating opportunities for professional development, capacity building and support, and by connecting teachers with community partnerships that enable a diverse array of STEM-related engagement.
Integrate Business and Education: by bringing leaders together, establishing a common language, co-designing multidisciplinary real-world projects, and by providing authentic learning opportunities to help train a robust and diverse STEM literate workforce.
Ensure High-Quality STEM Experiences: that focus on real-world situations, immerses students in place-based, hands-on, experiential open-ended exploration, engages students in productive teamwork and integrates rigorous math and science content where failure is seen as a necessary part of the learning process.
The MiSTEM East Central Michigan Region
The MiSTEM East Central Region is comprised of the following counties and districts:
MiSTEM East Central Michigan Region Strategic Plan
East Central Michigan Region Career Outlook
Contact Us:
Executive Director, State of Michigan MiSTEM Network
- Megan Schrauben
East Central Region MiSTEM Advisory Committee:
- Kristen Wenzel, Michigan Works Saginaw
- Paul Hungerford, Gratiot-Isabella Regional Education Service District
- Tara Mager, Clare-Gladwin Regional Education Service District
- Jon Searles, Midland Educational Service Agency
- Julie Cunningham, Central Michigan University
- Jill Jarvis, Covenant Healthcare
- Lori Flippin, Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance (GLBRA)
- Mike Vieu, Bay-Arenac Intermediate School District
- Jeff Collier/ Eric Rutherford, Saginaw Intermediate School District
- Rich VanTol, Bay-Arenac Intermediate School District/GLBRA Out-of-School Time
- Harry Leaver, Central Michigan Manufacturing
- Raquel Leadsma, Hemlock Semiconductor
- Kelly Wehner, Case Systems
State of Michigan MiSTEM Network
