Overview

Our mission is to increase STEM awareness, skills, and impact for all students. We engage with community, education, government, and industry to foster a STEM skills learning pipeline for the 21^st Century workforce that supplies businesses with local talent and drives opportunity and prosperity for all in our county.

Currently, our Network has three strategies for increasing access to STEM learning experiences:

• Promote interest in and access to STEM
• Build educator capacity in STEM
• Increase STEM learning opportunities directly for students

STEM by the Numbers

Washington STEM’s annual STEM by the Numbers reports let us know if the system is supporting more students, especially students of color, students living in poverty and/or rural backgrounds, and young women, to be on track to attain high-demand credentials.

View the Snohomish regional STEM by the Numbers report here.

Programs + Impact

RURAL HIGH NEED GRANTS FROM CAREER CONNECT WASHINGTON

The North Puget Sound Regional Career Connect Washington Network proposal is a collaboration between Snohomish STEM Network, NW Washington STEM Network, and the NWESD189 Career Connected Learning (CCL) Coordinator. The grant of $50,000, funds two programs serving rural communities across our five-county region: Rural Career Connections: Develop and implement an operational model to be replicated for rural districts that seamlessly joins community and the school district to career connected learning. In partnership with the CCL Coordinator at Northwest ESD189, initial work with the Darrington, Concrete and Blaine school districts is underway.

Virtual Career Connected Learning: The grant will allow us to research and adopt a set of best practices for providing virtual CCL in rural communities that are lacking resources to implement CCL within their own school districts. This grant is funding “STEM like ME! to GO!” and “Live Here. Learn Here. Work Here.” virtual career connected learning programs in Snohomish County.

INCREASING FINANCIAL AID COMPLETION IN SNOHOMISH COUNTY

Regional data shows us that Financial Aid Completion correlates to post-secondary and credentialed program enrollment. In 2020 we have joined a statewide effort to improve Financial Aid Application Completion (FAFSA, WASFA & College Bound Scholarship) in Snohomish County.

We are accomplishing this through the identification of local community partners, high school success and career counselors, and community and technical college outreach coordinators, thereby supporting 13 school districts and approximately 120,000 students in Snohomish County. The Snohomish STEM Network will share training opportunities, data resources, and student/parent resources to support successful application completion. We will also provide support to Everett Community College and the Department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to broaden programs focused on support for students and families furthest from opportunity.

EARLY LEARNING IN SNOHOMISH COUNTY

ChildStrive, a Snohomish County Early Learning Coalition partner and leader, implemented Math Anywhere and Vroom early learning programs primarily in Marysville, Monroe, and South Everett. Math Anywhere is a community-based project that gives families tools to build positive math experiences outside of school. Vroom is a set of brain building tools and resources families can use to build learning and development into everyday activities. Together we reached 1,018 families and provided training for 47 early learning professionals, who went on to share their knowledge with an additional 102 colleagues in Snohomish County.

OUR PIVOT TO VIRTUAL LEARNING

Snohomish STEM Network partnered with rural school districts to identify virtual learning specific supports needed to deliver meaningful career connected learning programs for middle and high school students. Darrington School District engaged to contribute input and shape the program which will be implemented in early 2021 for 7th and 8th graders. Students are assessed on their STEM awareness, learn about regionally relevant STEM careers, hear from local mentors, and receive resources to further explore these career options. Live Here. Learn Here. Work Here. is an entirely virtual resource, scalable for all Snohomish County students with the ability to access from a school issued computer or mobile devices meeting current High School and Beyond Plan (HB 1599) requirements.