Utah STEM Ecosystem Chosen to Join Global STEM Ecosystem Initiative
The STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice (SLECoP) announced it has selected Utah STEM Ecosystem to join the global movement of leaders devoted to ensuring that STEM education is priority for all in their communities with an emphasis on the equity envisioned to support a world-class STEM education. The Utah STEM Ecosystem is a partnership between Salt Lake City School District and the Salt Lake Education Foundation.
We are thrilled to be joining the SLECoP and we look forward to learning best practices for mobilizing our community to work to improve STEM opportunities for Utah’s Wasatch Front and beyond,” said Candace Penrod, leader of the Utah STEM Ecosystem and K-12 Science Supervisor in Salt Lake City School District.
The Salt Lake Education Foundation collaborated with SLCSD to bring SLECoP to Salt Lake City. “We are thrilled to be a part of the Utah STEM Ecosystem,” said James Yapias, SLEF Director. “Our Salt Lake Education Foundation is uniquely positioned to provide resources through community and business partnerships to ensure that all students in Salt Lake City School District have access and opportunities related to exemplary STEM education.”
The Utah STEM Ecosystem plans to focus on equitable STEM access and opportunities for all K-12 students and has lined up a series of partners to collaborate, including the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Wasatch Mountain Institute, Natural History Museum of Utah, Salt Lake City Youth Corp Youth and Family Division, Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum, Stadler Rail, Wasatch Community Gardens, Thanksgiving Point Institute, Skill Struck, the University of Utah Department of Mining Engineering, Tracy Aviary and Botanical Gardens, Utah State Board of Education STEM, and the Utah STEM Action Center.
Utah STEM Ecosystem will be joining other new Ecosystems including DO STEM of Dayton, Ohio; NJ-NEST of Bergen County, NJ; the Greater Milwaukee STEM Ecosystem of Southeastern Wisconsin; MiSTEM Network serving the entire state of Michigan; and Silicon Valley STEM Ecosystem in Silicon Valley, CA.
Over 20 different communities expressed interest in joining the SLECoP’s new rolling admission process, however, only these six were selected for this round.