The Iowa Department of Education opened applications for the 2026-27 STEM BEST program in September. The program offers up to $50,000, with a required matching contribution, to help K-12 schools build long-term partnerships with businesses and create authentic learning experiences.

The program is designed around collaboration rather than a one-time guest visit. Teachers and industry professionals work together to shape curriculum and projects, then use a 17-month planning and implementation period to build the partnership. Funds can support equipment, facility improvements, professional development, travel, and time for program planning.

That structure recognizes a common problem in career education: students may hear about a profession without seeing how classroom knowledge connects to its daily work. A project with an outside partner can make the connection more visible. Students might design a process, analyze a real constraint, or explain how their solution would be tested in a workplace.

The approach can also help schools avoid treating STEM as a single subject. A manufacturing project might involve geometry, writing, safety, computer science, and materials. A health-related project could require biology, data analysis, communication, and ethical reasoning. The partner supplies context, while the teacher keeps the learning goals clear.

STEM BEST is therefore news about infrastructure as much as funding. When schools have time and support to build relationships, students are more likely to see STEM as something people use to solve problems with others, not simply a list of classes to complete.

Source: Iowa Department of Education STEM BEST announcement

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