Five Statewide Afterschool Networks Win STEM Planning Grants

The Noyce Foundation  and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation have embarked on a new partnership to help the statewide afterschool networks (SANs) incorporate STEM into their ongoing efforts. 

Five SANs have just received new STEM Planning Grants: 
Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania. These grants will prepare the networks to be intermediaries for infusing STEM into expanded learning, afterschool and summer programs and build systems to promote collaborations and partnerships within the state.  The winning networks will work over the next six months to plan their system building efforts.  This partnership between the two foundations also includes the creation of a STEM Technical Assistance (STEM TA) Group to help the SANs with their efforts. 

 

As afterschool programs around the nation step up their efforts to increase and improve their STEM offerings, there is a great need for developing infrastructure and systems that will support them in their work.  Currently, statewide afterschool networks operate in 40 states around the nation and focus on state policy, building partnerships, and promoting quality and sustainability.  Many of the state networks are already very active in promoting afterschool STEM education in their states.  This new partnership will provide them with more resources to pursue a state afterschool STEM agenda.