MiSTEM Advisory Council Awards Over $3 Million to 21 STEM Projects

February 4, 2019

LANSING – Twenty-one educational entities across Michigan are sharing over $3 million in state grants for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) announced today.

The state set aside $3.05 million in the 2018-19 School Aid Act for the MiSTEM Advisory Council to distribute grants for proposals to implement programs listed in the STEMworks database, a repository of high-quality STEM programs that have gone through a rigorous review process.

The Council selected the 21 awardees from 78 applications submitted to MDE that totaled over $11 million. Awards to local and intermediate school districts (ISDs) and universities ranged from $10,703 for a local district implementation plan to $500,000 for a project that will serve teachers from across the state.

Ten different projects were funded including Michigan-developed Cereal City Science, Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative, and Michigan Science Teaching and Assessment Reform (MiSTAR).

Other grants went to projects that have built capacity in Michigan and have a proven track record for improving student engagement and achievement in STEM, including Math Recovery; AP Computer Science Principles and Computer Science Discoveries; Project Lead the Way (PLTW); TESLA/Next Generation Science Exemplars (NGSX); Engineering is Elementary; and Vex Robotics.

The MiSTEM Advisory Council said in a statement:

“These experiences align with the Council’s four pillars of a successful statewide STEM ecosystem. We are very excited that our students will be able to access these experiences. As proud as we may be about this initial success, we are even more encouraged by the widespread potential that will be harnessed and directed toward the further advancement of STEM education for all of the students throughout the state.”

Interim State Superintendent Sheila Alles said the STEM focus of these grants will help Michigan become a Top 10 education state in 10 years.

All the implementation plans selected for funding align with the Top 10 plan’s goal of implementing high-quality classroom instruction through a child-centered instructional model with a strategy to enable public schools’ students to engage in integrated STEM programming.

“Giving Michigan students the opportunity to learn and work at high-quality technical levels improves our ability to be leaders in education and industry,” Alles said.

In weighing the applications, the MiSTEM Advisory Council considered reviewer ratings, program type, and distribution across the MiSTEM Network Regions. Here is the list of applications selected for funding:

 

Organization	Region	STEMworks Program	Amount
Kalamazoo RESA	Region 1 – Southwest Michigan	Math Recovery	$99,747
Pinckney Community Schools	Region 2 – Southeast Michigan	Mi Science Teaching and Assessment Reform (MiSTAR)	$10,703
Washtenaw ISD	Region 2 – Southeast Michigan	Ten80 Education	$100,000
Henry Ford Academy	Region 3 – Wayne	Computer Science Principles	$35,500
L'Anse Creuse Public Schools	Region 4 – Macomb	Math Recovery	$55,398
South Lyon Community Schools	Region 5 – Oakland	Cereal City Science	$69,826
Lapeer Community Schools	Region 6 – Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair Counties	Project Lead the Way (PLTW)	$129,429
Mt. Morris Consolidated Schools	Region 6 – Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair Counties	Math Recovery	$82,276
Waverly Community Schools	Region 7 – Mid-Michigan	TESLA/Next Generation Science Exemplars (NGSX)	$316,595
Otsego Public Schools	Region 8 – Greater West Michigan	Mi Science Teaching and Assessment Reform (MiSTAR)	$19,568
Kent ISD	Region 8 – Greater West Michigan	Math Recovery	$45,992
Wexford-Missaukee ISD	Region 9 – West Central	Math Recovery	$162,884
Saginaw Valley State University	Region 10 – East Central	Engineering is Elementary	$99,672
Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker Schools	Region 11 – Upper Thumb	Project Lead the Way (PLTW)	$135,116
Region 12 will work with Statewide Region Grantees	Region 12 – Northeast Michigan	Educators and Students will participate along with the Statewide Region Grantees	Funds rolled into Statewide Grantees
Suttons Bay Public Schools	Region 13 – Northwestern Lower Michigan	VEX Robotics	$30,502
Eastern Upper Peninsula ISD	Region 14 – Eastern Upper Peninsula	Cereal City Science	$142,725
Breitung Township School District	Region 15 –Central Upper Peninsula	Project Lead the Way (PLTW)	$78,021
Northern Michigan University	Region 14, 15, 16 –Upper Peninsula	Math Recovery	$298,525
Copper Country ISD	Statewide	Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative	$244,123
Michigan Technological University	Statewide	Mi Science Teaching and Assessment Reform (MiSTAR)	$385,136
West Shore Educational Service District	Statewide	AP Computer Science/Computer Science Discoveries	$500,000

 

The state Legislature created the MiSTEM Advisory Council in 2015. It’s made up of 11 voting members serving at the pleasure of the Governor and four ex-officio legislators appointed from the House of Representatives and Senate.

For more information on the MiSTEM Advisory Council and the MiSTEM regions please visit www.michigan.gov/mistem. More information on the STEMworks database can be found at https://stemworks.wested.org.