Engineering Fellows program in development

Washington state nonprofits named Washington STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and Washington MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) have received a grant of $400,000 from the national science, technology, engineering and math education group 100Kin10 to develop and launch an Engineering Fellows progam.

The program will pair engineers with 200 Washington fifth-grade teachers to equip the teachers with the engineering skills needed to research, develop and deliver an engaging engineering program for fifth grade classrooms. Teachers and engineers will work with students over the course of the school year to explore and develop real-world engineering challenges. The program is designed to align with new Next Generation Science Standards that define engineering education as crucial to academic success.

“The Engineering Fellows program will provide a much needed solution to a big challenge in science, technology, engineering and math education: How do we increase the reach and quality of engineering in K-12 schools?” said Patrick D’Amelio, CEO of Washington STEM. “We believe the Engineering Fellows will inspire teachers and engineers and engage and interest students in engineering.”

“If we want to give kids – especially girls, kids of color and kids from rural areas – access to great careers in our STEM-rich world, we need to give them access to the basics of engineering early on,” said James Dorsey, CEO of Washington MESA.

The Engineering Fellows program was developed by Washington STEM and Washington MESA as a part of the 100Kin10 STEM Fellowship Program (the Fellowship), designed to build a community of problem solvers to overcome specific challenge areas in the STEM teaching and learning domain. Washington STEM and Washington MESA joined with 100Kin10 and 10 other partners to address the underrepresentation of engineering in K-12 classrooms. The Fellowship focused on collaboration, iteration and improvement of ideas, and Washington STEM and Washington MESA were awarded funding as part of a competitive process.

“We are incredibly proud of the program Washington STEM and Washington MESA have developed to address the underrepresentation of engineering in K-12 classrooms,” said 100kin10 Executive Director Talia Milgrom-Elcott. “We know Engineering Fellows will provide great training to teachers and, ultimately, a strong engineering education for Washington’s students.”

Washington STEM and Washington MESA will spend the winter of 2016 developing the program and will open up applications for teachers, engineers, and engineering students in spring 2016. The first cohort of Engineering Fellows will begin summer 2016, and they will implement the program in the 2016-2017 school year.

Washington STEM is a statewide nonprofit advancing excellence, equity and innovation in science, technology, engineering and math education. Launched in March 2011 with support from the business, education and philanthropic communities, our goal is to reimagine and revitalize STEM education across Washington. For more information, go to http://www.washingtonstem.org.

Washington MESA builds a pathway to college and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics for students who are underrepresented in those fields: African American, Native American, Latino and women students.

As an organization, 100Kin10 is committed to recruiting, training and retaining 100,000 excellent science, technology, engineering, and math teachers by 2021. 100Kin10 encourages multi-sector collaboration and provides the vision and resources to help nonprofits, foundations, academic institutions and businesses meet their ambitious commitments to educate the next generation of innovators and problem solvers. More information is available at http://www.100Kin10.org.