Texas EcosySTEM Newsletter
Education Service Center Region 11 - August 2021
What is STEM?
STEM is not a commodity to be bought, sold, earned, or awarded. It is an awareness, recognition, and acceptance of reality. A symbol of a way forward with confidence and hope!
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National Academies Summit Explores Persistent Lack of Diversity in STEMM and Approaches Needed to Drive Change
To see the complete article, please follow this link.
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Summer 2021 STEM Trainings Available for Summer 2022 !
K-12 State-wide STEM Training Opportunities:
- K-12 State-wide STEM Leadership Training- 2 Days (Administrators Only)
- K-12 State-wide STEM Teacher Training- 3 Days (Teachers Only) Instructional Coaches and Content leads are encouraged to attend the teacher training days.
- STEMulating Design Challenges in Science, Grades 9-12 - 2 Days (Book for 9-12) (Books provided by TEA- Limited seating.
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STEM Comics Available in English and Spanish
The TAME Science Squad™ Comic Books are a professionally produced series showcasing the adventures of five TAME students who use their abilities in STEM to save the day. Aimed at grades K-5, older kids will enjoy reading the story and completing puzzles while younger kids color in the fun illustrations.
Available for sale at the cost of $2.50/copy (English or Spanish). See sample pages on our website!
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STEM Club Funding & Toolkits for Texas
Want a free STEM club toolkit and funding? Register for free with the Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering (TAME) to have face masks, t-shirts, curriculum, workbooks, stickers, and more shipped right to your school or home. Toolkits are designed for grades 6-12 and are available on a first-come, first-served basis for TAME Clubs serving Title I campuses and community groups across Texas. Learn more about TAME in this video and register today: https://www.tame.org/news/entry/stem-toolkits-funding/.
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Texas STEM Toolkit and Instructional Video Series
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Texas Mobile STEM Lab Announcement
Federal STEM Spotlight- STEM Innovation Spotlights
Technology can be a robust tool to transform STEM learning. To help school and district staff implement new, research-based approaches for using technology effectively in STEM learning, the Office of Educational Technology, in partnership with Digital Promise, conducted a systematic review of the research literature on the impact of integrating innovative digital technology in STEM and computer science curricula and classrooms. They used the resulting research synthesis, in conjunction with information about school demographics, geographic locations, and markers of success or needed improvement, to identify ten school sites that are “spotlighted” in short videos below. Both the research synthesis and the video spotlights are available to help teachers, curriculum specialists, and other schools and district staff learn about effective uses of technology for deepening students’ STEM experiences.
Click here for video spotlightsDISTRICT STEM SHOWCASE
FWISD Students Help Launch 2021-22 Mobile STEM Lab
The Fort Worth ISD introduced its new Mobile STEM Lab educators and engage students in hands-on activities, including flying drones, programming robots, and more, at its 2021-22 kickoff, Monday, August 23.
Activities got underway at 10:30 a.m. on Monday at D. McRae Elementary School, 3316 Avenue North in Fort Worth.
The FWISD STEM trailer offer students hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) activity modules, including Building Materials, Alternative Energy, Robotics, and 3-D Electronics (ZSpace). Students also met the District’s new Mobile STEM Teachers, Joshua Grizzelle and Lila Lecuyer.
Funded by Lockheed Martin and a grant awarded to the District in 2020 from Facebook, the 32-foot mobile learning labs offer FWISD elementary and middle school students an interactive introduction to STEM-related career fields. Through ZSpace, an augmented and virtual reality technology, students learn STEM subjects using immersive images that they can move and manipulate.
Mr. Grizzelle and Ms. Lecuyer will be responsible for taking the mobile labs “on the road” to District campuses throughout the school year and engaging students in STEM-related activities and modules.
Starting August 23, one trailer will be dispatched to one campus per week, Monday through Thursday. Following the Labor Day holiday, two trailers will be dispatched to District elementary and middle school campuses weekly. The mobile STEM labs will also be part of FWISD’s Saturday Learning Quest programming, launching on September 11.
The trailers will first visit campuses in the Polytechnic High School pyramid before venturing out to other pyramids across the District throughout the school year. The Mobile STEM Lab unit increases STEM learning and awareness in elementary and middle schools districtwide and allows students to explore STEM career-related fields.
Showcase your Campus/District STEM
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Texas EcosySTEM - Region 11
Newsletter Signup: From the dropdown, select TEXAS ECOSYSTEM!
Visit our Site: https://www.esc11.net/STEM
Vision: To provide quality solutions that build the capacity in STEM learning opportunities.
Mission: To educate, promote, and prepare our students, parents, and educators with equitable STEM opportunities and STEM skill-sets necessary to be future-ready.
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Texas EcosySTEM Resources
The Texas Education Agency has developed tools to help districts engage with families through STEM Education programming and build awareness throughout the community by expanding learning beyond the classroom.
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TEA STEM Toolkit
Planning Tools:
- STEM Model Identification Guide
- STEM Education Program Planning Guide
- STEM Leadership Roles and Responsibilities
- STEM Sustainability Tool
- STEM Family Companion Guide (NEW 4-13-21)
Implementation Tools:
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Contact Us! Region 11 STEM Lead - Faith Schwope
Each Education Service Center will provide free membership for districts to join the local STEM EcosySTEM.
EcosySTEM membership includes:
- Monthly STEM communication, including information from the state and federal level
- Regional STEM goals developed by a local STEM Design Team and aligned to the local STEM labor market data
- Regular STEM ecosySTEM meetings to share local STEM opportunities and address local concerns
- All districts will have access to the free TEA STEM planning and implementation tools as well as family engagement tools.
Email: fschwope@esc11.net
Website: https://www.esc11.net/Domain/1338
Location: 1451 South Cherry Lane, White Settlement, TX, USA
Phone: 817-740-7550
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/esc11science/?ref=bookmarks
Twitter: @ESC11Science
NS 8.30.2021