A five-year $1,250,000 grant from the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Partnership will allow the Bellevue Public School District to expand STEM opportunities across the district by providing elementary teachers access to STEM resources, curriculum, activities and professional learning.                             

“Project STEM” (Student, Teacher, Engaging Minds) will increase K-12 military/federal affiliated student achievement in math and science and increase college and career readiness of military/federal affiliated students by establishing classroom-based STEM Labs at nine military-connected elementary schools.  Participating schools will select four teachers and an administrator to participate in a three-year professional learning series from Discovery Education to develop STEM Teacher Leaders. Professional learning will be supplemented with Discovery STEM Connect and Discovery Streaming Plus resources for the entire school.  Schools will also be provided math intervention software and coding robotics equipment to integrate in-class,  afterschool, and during summer school sessions.              

“These dollars will support professional learning for our teachers as they integrate STEM practices through project-based activities and transdisciplinary STEM lessons,” stated Dr. Robert Moore, Assistant Superintendent.  “The STEM Leader Corp teachers will support and expand our current efforts to improve math and science achievement and develop a STEM culture in our district. While the grant targets increasing military student achievement, all students in the Bellevue Public Schools will benefit. We are honored to have been chosen for this grant opportunity.”    

The grant directly supports the elementary schools with at least 15% military-connected students which include Belleaire, Bellevue, Fairview, Fort Crook, LeMay, Leonard Lawrence, Peter Sarpy, Two Springs, and Wake Robin.  The district will fund to expand Project STEM to the remaining elementary schools prior to the first year of grant implementation in 2019-20.  The school district serves students whose parents are assigned to Offutt Air Force Base.

“This grant will boost our continuing effort to improve STEM learning in the district and provide many students access to STEM resources and curriculum,” Superintendent Dr. Jeff Rippe.                                               

This is the second grant this school year that Bellevue Public Schools has received with funding provided by the Department of Defense Education Activities (DoDEA) program.  In August, the district received a $1,400,000 grant to support rigorous course taking at Bellevue East and Bellevue West through the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) Military Families Mission program.  The NMSI grant provides teacher training, materials, exam fees, study sessions, and incentives to increase participation and performance in the districts Advanced Placement program.