STEM.org is an American
multinational education company
["Nixa's JTSD receives STEM accreditation"]
''Christian County Headliner News'', Ozark, MO, 28 January 2015. Retrieved on 25 March 2015. based in
Southfield, Michigan
Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618.
As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its ...
. The organization was founded in 2001 by Andrew B. Raupp
under the name "Initiative Science," despite conducting outreach programs in all
STEM fields
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...
(previously SMET).
[https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42642.pdf ] By 2014, STEM.org had been recognized by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
for having worked with over 100,000 students, through partnerships with schools involving collaborative educational activities.
In
K-12 education
K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...
, STEM.org has worked with
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
,
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
, and
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
schools.
[Rahman, Raad]
"Revolutionizing STEM Education: One Detroit Man’s Extraordinary Story"
''The Stewardship Report'', Detroit, MI, 4 January 2016. Retrieved on 17 August 2016.
Services
STEM.org’s services include
curriculum
In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...
evaluation and development,
STEM-credentialing of people and programs,
[Dybis, Karen]
"Innovation at Core of 2015 DiSciTech Award Winners"
''Corp! Magazine'', Southfield, MI, 26 February 2015. Retrieved on 22 August 2016. and production of various STEM-related content through public-private consulting partnerships.
The organization has STEM-
accredited
Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...
schools through
professional development
Professional development is learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences, and informal learning
Informal learning is characterized "by a low degree of planning and ...
training events,
[Hetrick, Katie]
"McCollough-Unis first public school to be STEM certified"
''Press & Guide'', Dearborn, MI, 27 March 2014. Retrieved on 25 March 2015. which involved school educators learning
pedagogical
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and Developmental psychology, psychological development of le ...
methodology
In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bri ...
.
History
Origin (2000-2001)
STEM.org began as a science-based field trip in southwest
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
.
Returning to the neighborhood where he lived as a child, Andrew B. Raupp took part in a community cleaning and gardening project in the summer of 2000.
In doing so, Raupp connected with his old classmates’ younger siblings, whom he taught how to grow vegetable gardens while they joined him in the project.
As a reward, Raupp rented a bus and took the children on trips to a local natural area, where they learned about various science concepts.
After the summer project ended, schools in southwest Detroit hired Raupp to conduct more educational programs.
Growth (2001-2014)
Andrew B. Raupp founded the organization in 2001, originally working with 50 K-12 students.
By December 2014, STEM.org grew to having worked with over 142,500 K-12 students.
Evolution (2014-2016)
As of 2016, STEM.org is a multimillion-dollar
pedagogics
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...
firm that has worked with international schools in Jordan and Jamaica, as well as over 1,700 schools in the US.
The organization has shifted focus from direct student programming to creating sustainable change in education by employing experts in
curriculum
In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...
development and working with policymakers on vertical and horizontal platforms.
Awards
* 2015 – Corp! Magazine, "DiSciTech Award Winner"
* 2014 – Southfield Chamber of Commerce, "Southfield Company to Watch"
* 2014 –
Small Business Administration
The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and stren ...
, "Emerging Leader"
* 2013 – Michigan Career Educator & Employer Alliance, "Employer of the Year"
"Employer of the Year Award"
''Michigan Career Educator & Employer Alliance'', Lansing, MI. Retrieved on 30 March 2015.
References
External links
*{{Official website, http://stem.org
Education companies of the United States
Teacher training programs