Columbia Gorge STEM Hub announces Educator Microgrants

Each year, the specific initiatives of STEM Hub evolve; however, the microgrant opportunity remains a constant in the STEM Hub’s overall mission of ensuring that all learners in the region are STEM literate and future-ready.

Not only has the response from local educators increased from year to year (over the past six years), but these microgrants have proven to have a broad and lasting impact in our communities. Microgrants help to ensure all students have equitable access to STEM education throughout our five-county (Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam and Wheeler) region.

Teachers are continuously tasked with operating within a limited budget, so without this supplemental funding, many STEM projects may never come to fruition. The STEM Hub’s microgrants are primarily supported by the Oregon Department of Education and the generosity of local donors.

This year’s projects ranged from expanding on existing STEM “traditions” for local students, to increasing access to hands-on STEM activities that were stalled or absent during the pandemic, to expanding equitable access to new STEM opportunities and resources, especially among many of our rural districts.

For example, Wesley Mitchell, a fifth-grade teacher at Dry Hollow Elementary in The Dalles, submitted a proposal aimed at supporting an in-depth astronomy unit for every fifth grader at Dry Hollow. Mitchell pointed out that by receiving the STEM Educator Microgrant, it “would fund each student to launch a rocket and would help fund a field trip to the Goldendale Observatory.” He also noted that “grants have helped make this a Dry Hollow tradition for fifth graders.”

Ambrielle Feil, a teacher at Chenowith Elementary School in The Dalles, received funding to build a new “Create-Build-Think” space filled with Lego sets and magnetic building ties that will be used by students for years to come. In her application, she said, “This will create a permanent way for students to access these materials. I do not have any of these materials currently. These materials would support diverse learning needs and support their free time.”

Marilee Anderson, out-of-school educator (OSU-Extension 4-H coordinator), serving students in Gilliam County (Condon and Arlington), received a $1,000 grant to ensure that every sixth, seventh and eighth grader in the district has the opportunity to participate in a spring break film camp. After surveying middle school students in Gilliam County about their STEM-related interests, she found that 75% of the students indicated a desire to learn more about video production.

Additionally, Gilliam County 4-H, in partnership with the Condon Arts Council, will host a Spring Break film camp with a focus on claymation led by Wendell Seitz, a local filmmaker. Anderson emphasized that receiving the microgrant funds will “allow a spot for every 6-8 grader in the district” to participate in the camp. She also added that her proposal strongly embodied the core principles of 4-H programming: “Access, equity, diversity, and inclusion are essential elements of 4-H’s goals related to positive youth development and organizational sustainability.”

Furthermore, Condon School District Superintendent Brian Schimel applied for funding to purchase several programmable robots to expand an existing coding elective at Condon High School. He said this funding will “help CHS startup and generate more interest in a future Robotics class to be offered beginning 2023-2024.”

Congratulations to all of this year’s STEM Educator Microgrant recipients:

Fifth Grade Rockets and Field Trip to the Goldendale Observatory State Park — Wesley Mitchell, Dry Hollow Elementary

Basic Science Skills — Monica LaDouceur, The Dalles Middle School

Create-Build-Think — Ambrielle Feil, Chenowith Elementary School

Enrichment — Trista Williams, Fossil Elementary School

Garden Pollinator Habitat Space — CES Garden and Beautification Committee (Jenni Bergemann), Chenowith Elementary School

Hands-on STEAM Museum at Dufur School — Kristin Whitley, Dufur School District

Hydroponics for High School — Daniel Campagna, The Dalles High School

Microgrant for CGCC — Julie Burton, Columbia Gorge Community College

Multi-Disciplinary Field Trips, Spring 2023 — Camden Jones, Condon School District

Perennial Food Forest — Michael Becker, Hood River Valley High School

Robot Coding — Brian Schimel, Condon School District

Spring Claymation Camp — Marilee Anderson, Gilliam County 4H: Condon and Arlington School Districts

Squid and Owl Pellet Dissection — Kay Anderson, Mosier Community School

STEM Enriched Pre-K — Janet DeAnn Baker, Mosier Community School

Virtual Reality Education — Jorma Henson, South Wasco High School

Seventh and Eighth Grade HROA STEAM Lending Library — Lisa Albrecht, Hood River Options Academy

Design and Build Engineering — Kristen Slatt, Sunshine PreK, North Wasco County School District

Heart Math for Teen Resiliency — Emily Martin, Hood River Valley High School

Owl Pellet Dissection — George Braun, The Dalles Middle School

VEX IQ Robotics — Patrick Getchis, Wy’East Middle School

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Housed within the Columbia Gorge Education Service District, the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub is a collective impact organization that partners with local schools, businesses, and non-profits to expand STEM opportunities for all students in the Columbia River Gorge.

Find out more about the STEM Hub, join the coalition, or donate to support similar grants by visiting www.gorgeSTEM.org.