Bureau of Services for Blind Persons
Michigan Career & Technical Institute
Michigan High-Speed Internet Office
Michigan Rehabilitation Services
Workers' Disability Compensation Agency
Black Leadership Advisory Council
Michigan Community Service Commission
Michigan Council on Future Mobility
Executive Order 2020-107 established Michigan Workforce Development Board
MiSTEM convenes a statewide network of leaders in education, business and local communities to empower the next generation of innovators.
Unemployment Insurance Appeals Commission
formerly MI Compensation Appellate Commission
Search is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer.
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University receives $500,000 grant to improve STEM education for children within the Greater Kalamazoo area.
Western Michigan University (WMU), located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serves nearly 24,000 students in over 150 academic majors. WMU’s INSPIRE program, which stands for Integrated Network of STEM Partnerships Investing in Resources for Equity, aims to provide high-quality STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning experiences for young children, especially those who have been traditionally excluded from such activities due to intergenerational poverty. Led by Dr. Meredith Reinhart, the INSPIRE program connects WMU with Kalamazoo and Comstock Public Schools, area community centers, and local informal science organizations with the shared goal of improving STEM education for children within the Greater Kalamazoo area.
INSPIRE will provide culturally relevant STEM professional development for preschool through 3rd-grade teachers each summer, support inquiry-based learning within their classrooms during the academic year, and help to facilitate meaningful connections between home and school learning environments. In conjunction with in-school interventions, this program will also provide monthly educational events for the families of students in INSPIRE classrooms. With this program, over 1,800 families will have free access to these exciting science-themed events, including transportation to and from the community partner locations.
In addition to STEM events held at Western Michigan University, other community partnerships include collaborations with the Kalamazoo Nature Center, Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Air Zoo Aerospace and Science Museum, Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery, and Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary. This program will serve all families within the Kalamazoo and Comstock public school districts through their interactive website, providing access to STEM resources and opportunities to win educational prizes through online contests (including memberships to informal science organizations, children’s books, and other STEM-related materials).