Education news around Idaho

Idaho STEM educator award deadline extended

The Idaho STEM Action Center has extended the nominations deadline for the 2018 STEM educator of the year award to 11:30 p.m. MDT, June 17.

The Industry’s Excellent Educators Dedicated to STEM (INDEEDS), is an annual awards program that honors teachers who champion science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and connect students with industry leaders to mentor projects and provide invaluable career guidance.

The STEM Action Center and program sponsors will select two winners — an educator who works in grades K-6, and another in grades 7-12. Both winners will receive a check for $2,000 and up to $2,000 in funding to attend any STEM-related national conference. Plus, their schools will each receive $2,000 to fund science, technology, engineering, and math initiatives.

The Idaho Technology Council will bestow the INDEEDS awards at its 2018 Hall of Fame gala Oct. 17 at Boise Centre.

Click here to nominate an educator.

Idaho STEM Action Center wins national competition

The Idaho STEM Action Center is one of eight groups from across the country named by US2020 as a winner of the 2018 STEM Coalition Challenge, a competition for communities across the country to bring hands-on STEM mentoring and maker-centered learning to underrepresented students. The winners were announced at the Maker Faire Bay Area in San Mateo, CA. The Idaho STEM Action Center will share $1 million in cash and support to implement bold strategies and build STEM learning partnerships in Idaho.

The prize was made possible by Schmidt Futures and Arconic Foundation, Discovery Communications, Genentech, Fidelity Investments, Tata Consultancy Services and the Corporation for National and Community Service.

“The Idaho STEM Action Center represents the very best of organizations dedicated to bringing STEM to students who might otherwise not have access and insight into how STEM can positively shape their futures,” said Esra Ozer, President of Arconic Foundation, a sponsor of the STEM Coalition Challenge. ”

Working out of the Governor’s Office, the STEM Action Center was created by the Legislature in 2015 because Idaho citizens are not entering the STEM pipeline fast enough to meet current and future workforce needs, according to executive director Angela Hemingway.

The Idaho STEM Action Center was selected from 92 applications from 82 communities across 35 states, representing more than 1,900 nonprofits, companies, school districts, and local government partners.

The seven other winners in the US2020 STEM Challenge are:

Allendale, S.C.: The Promise Zone Coalition/ SRS Community Reuse Region
Buffalo, N.Y.: Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Partnership (ISEP)
Chicago, Ill.: Project Exploration
Cincinnati, Ohio: Greater Cincinnati STEM Collaborative
The Dalles, Ore.: Columbia Gorge STEM Hub
Pittsburgh, Pa.: Remake Learning
Washington, D.C: DC STEM

Winners were selected based on a number of factors including their potential for impact, approach to partnership building, creative engagement strategies and sustainability planning. All eight winners will share the $1 million prize, which will provide financial support, consulting and staff support for two years.

SDE announces grants for peer-based suicide prevention programs across Idaho

Students at 17 middle and high schools across Idaho will team up with adult advisers to fight against teen suicide by decreasing risk factors and building positive influences, thanks to state Sources of Strength grants.

“Given the devastating effect suicide has on our school communities, it is vitally important that students have trusted, caring adults and peers in their lives,” said Matt McCarter, student engagement director for SDE and project administrator for the Idaho Lives Project.

Each school gets $2,400 to support adult advisers in the schools and to help fund peer leader activities for students to imbed the ideas and messaging of Sources of Strength throughout the student body in the coming school year. The program is part of the Idaho Lives Project, a joint effort of the State Department of Education and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s Suicide Prevention Program.

Schools selected for grants include:

Gateways Secondary School in Nampa
Skyview High School in Nampa
Payette High School
Idaho City Middle-Senior High School
Meridian Middle School
Lewis-Clark Middle School in Meridian
Meridian Medical Arts and Technical Charter High School
Victory Middle School in Meridian
Kootenai Junior-Senior High School
Timberlake Junior High School in Spirit Lake
Lakeland Junior High School
Mountain View Alternative High School in Rathdrum
Orofino Junior-Senior High School
Salmon River Junior-Senior High School in Riggins
Butte County Junior-Senior High School in Arco
South Hills Middle School in Twin Falls
Blackfoot Charter Middle School

Governors cup scholarship recipients announced

Gov. Butch Otter announced the recipients of the 2018 Governor’s Cup Scholarships to Idaho colleges and universities. The 43^rd Governor’s Cup fundraising drive brought in enough money for 36 new scholarships to be awarded this year.

Students were chosen from among more than 1,000 applicants by the Idaho Governor’s Cup Scholarship Fund Inc.’s 16-member board of directors. Selections were made based on each applicant’s commitment to public service, academic achievement, leadership and community involvement.

The award is $3,000 per year, per student, renewable for up to four years, or two to three years for career-technical programs, contingent upon the availability of funds. This year’s awards include the first recipient of the new Cecil D. Andrus Excellence in Education Scholarship. It will be awarded annually to a student who intends to major in education and pursue a career in teaching.

Scholarship recipients:

Academic Scholarships – four-year programs

Kaleb Arnold, Cascade – Idaho Distance Education Academy – attending Boise State University
Anna Gamino, Caldwell – Caldwell High School – attending Boise State University
Odalis Garcia-Loza, Ammon – Hillcrest High School – attending Idaho State University
Lydia Gross, Hayden – Coeur d’Alene High School – attending Boise State University
Rachel Houle, Horseshoe Bend – Horseshoe Bend Middle-Senior High School – attending Idaho State University
Elaine Huang, Boise – Renaissance High School – attending the College of Idaho
Genaro Huitron, Caldwell – Caldwell High School – attending Northwest Nazarene University
John Koenig, Salmon – Upper Carmen Charter School – attending Boise State University
Gyandarshika Koirala, Twin Falls – Twin Falls High School – attending the College of Southern Idaho
Jacob LaMay, Meridian – Rocky Mountain High School – attending Boise State University
Kamryn Larsen, Gooding – Gooding High School – attending Brigham Young University-Idaho
Sydney Maloney, Weiser – Weiser High School – attending the University of Idaho
Maura Merrill, Rupert – Minico High School – attending Idaho State University
Sydney Miller, Fruitland – Fruitland High School – attending the University of Idaho
Dylan Miller, St. Maries – St. Maries High School – attending Lewis-Clark State College
Virginia Monk, Genesee – Genesee High School – attending the University of Idaho
Godavari Murphy, Kooskia – Kamiah High School – attending Boise State University
Wyatt Naillon, Challis – Challis Junior-Senior High School – attending Boise State University
Kendall Nash, Homedale – Homedale High School – attending the University of Idaho
Nicholas Pancheri, Moscow – Moscow High School – attending the University of Idaho
Adriene Pavek, Pocatello – Century High School – attending Idaho State University
Hope Watanabe, Nampa – Nampa Christian High School – attending Northwest Nazarene University
Donovan Wright, Boise – Centennial High School – attending Boise State University
Brielle Young, Jerome – Jerome High School – attending Boise State University

Cecil D. Andrus Excellence in Education Scholarship

Camryn Layer, Boise – Capital High School – attending the University of Idaho

Career Technical – two- or three-year programs

Kiarie Ballard, Boise – Borah High School – attending the College of Western Idaho
David Claiborne, Boise – Bishop Kelly High School – attending Lewis-Clark State College
Antonya Clemence, Boise – Timberline High School – attending the College of Southern Idaho
Samuel Hahn, Meridian – Home School – attending the College of Western Idaho
Sheldon Jones, Meridian – Rocky Mountain High School – attending the College of Western Idaho
Kalvin Kelley, Rexburg – Blackfoot High School – attending Brigham Young University-Idaho
Emily Kominek, Emmett – Emmett High School – attending the College of Western Idaho
David Mathson, Caldwell – New Plymouth High School – attending the College of Western Idaho
Emily Skiles, Kamiah – Clearwater Valley Junior-Senior High School – attending Lewis-Clark State College
Cierra Stump, Jerome – Jerome High School – attending the College of Southern Idaho
Sheldon Trogden, Mullan – Mullan Junior-Senior High School – attending North Idaho College

The Ambrose School to build new classrooms

The Ambrose School of Meridian broke ground on a new expansion. This summer the school will add five classrooms, a dedicated orchestra music room, additional bathrooms and a “great hall” which will be used for community service gatherings, neighborhood meetings, performances, and as a lunchroom with commercial kitchen for its 550 students. The school first occupied its building in 2009.

“We are blessed and grateful beyond measure to announce the groundbreaking today of the next phase of our campus master plan,” said Kirk Vander Leest, head of the school.

Construction is set to begin in June.

Boise State Partners with NexCOBOT

Boise State University, in partnership with Taiwanese company NEXCOM, will implement robotics education into its engineering curriculum with the opening of a new robotics innovation space in the College of Engineering.

The space will feature four robots from NEXCOM, with more likely to be added in the future. Leaders from NEXCOM, a company in the advanced manufacturing industry, and its subsidiary, NexCOBOT, are focused on advanced robotic solutions. Headquartered in Fremont, Calif., NexCOBOT believes Boise is an ideal location to provide robotics education and workforce development training, specifically in regard to automation and manufacturing and keeping up with industry trends.

“NexCOBOT advocates the idea that education comes first,” said Clement Lin, NexCOBOT chairman. “We will work with Boise State to provide educational robots with integrated software and establish a training center to educate students and the current workforce. We believe that adopting an industry-university cooperative project will reap benefits for both industry partners as well as universities.”

Boise State will incorporate the robots initially in teaching graduate mechanical engineering courses, with the hopes to expand the course offerings to include undergraduate students, workforce training and more, said JoAnn Lighty, dean of the College of Engineering.

“With more interest in advanced manufacturing, there is a need to ensure our engineering students are prepared to enter this new era of automation, supply chain management and big data analysis for manufacturing,” Lighty said.