The goal of increasing student access in STEM fields is a shared vision that unites Oregon Tech and the South Metro-Salem STEM Hub, and is attracting lots of attention from grant-makers. Just in the last few months, total grants awarded to the Oregon Tech-sponsored Hub total $1 million with the addition of four more grants awarded in April and May.
This month, the South Metro-Salem STEM Partnership, which is hosted at Oregon Tech’s Wilsonville campus, once again was recognized for its successful program outcomes with an award from the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to broaden participation in STEM accelerated credit programs for high school students. The award amount is $106,721 to fund activities for a year that will help prepare more students academically for college.
This award is in addition to two others this month totaling $259,777 from ODE to expand and sustain a cadre of teachers and community partners to share and expand effective STEM teaching practices; and to expand access to the South Metro-Salem Hub’s industry-educator matching platform, Oregon Connections, to include all Oregon K-12 school districts, STEM Hubs, and workforce boards in Oregon. The platform matches up companies with schools in a number of ways, from classroom visits to industry internships to company tours. More than 500 educators and nearly 400 industry volunteers currently use Oregon Connections to connect thousands of students to real applications of learning in their environment and future career possibilities.
“Our partners have worked so hard over the past several years to establish strategies and programs that change how kids learn STEM,” said Melissa Dubois, Executive Director of the South Metro STEM Hub. “It is an honor to work with such dedicated people from education, industry, and the community whose partnering is helping Oregon students prepare for college and the world of work. We are thankful to our funders for the vote of confidence to support that work moving forward to more students and in more communities every year.”
The South Metro-Salem STEM Partnership catalyzes Oregon students to achieve STEM degrees and certificates, and reach Oregon's education goals by increasing the access, excitement and engagement of students in STEM courses and experiential learning. Partnering with 16 school districts who serve more than 125,000 K-12 students, and six higher education partners serving thousands more post-secondary students, the partnership also includes nearly 30 industry and community organizations who collaborate to building systemic solutions to serve all learners. Earlier this year the Oregon Space Grant Consortium, led by Oregon State University, renewed their support of STEM Hub outreach efforts through a $24,000 award which has previously allowed Oregon Tech students to participate in activities such as the NASA Student Symposium. The consortium is a group of institutions and individuals committed to promoting science, technology, engineering and math and to help train NASA’s next professionals.
These four awards, along with others received in this fiscal year, amount to more than $1,000,000 in grants awarded to the South Metro-Salem STEM Hub.
For more information regarding the South Metro-Salem STEM Hub at Oregon Tech, visit www.oit.edu/stem.
