The STEM Networked Improvement Community is a group that is focusing on exploring how we might develop students’ identities as collaborative problem-finders/solvers and innovators.

We want to design experiences that result in students believing “We can solve problems collaboratively right here in my community, right now using what we know.”

The group originated with a desire to explore how the intersection of these five areas might accomplish this:

• STEM content and skills
• Design thinking
• Project-based learning
• Business/community partnerships
• Place-based education

This Google Doc, Our Story, provides the Theory of Action as well as links to our meeting agendas, notes, recording, the assessments we created for students, educators, and business/community partners as well as additional resources.  This Mural, Our Journey, is a visual history of the development of the group over the last 2 years. Participating programs include:

• futurePREP'd program at Ottawa Area ISD
• Groundswell
• Homegrown and Ferry/Voyager program in Grand Haven
• Outdoor Discovery Center
• STEM Academy at Muskegon Area ISD
• West Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (WMGLSI)

Post-secondary institutions and employers desire that today's students to be prepared for the challenges of the 21st Century. Whether it's a career-based track or a college-bound pathway, Ottawa Area Intermediate School District (OAISD) provides students with the resources and training they need to become responsible and productive members of their communities. Through their comprehensive futurePREP'd Program, they offer innovative tools and experiences to help students make decisions that will positively impact not only their career decisions but also their quality of life for decades. 

futurePREP'd offers an array of innovative tools and experiences that help students not only invest in their education, but also creates a desire for further training and helps prepare them for life (and a career) after high school. With tools such as Skills4Success (S4S), Project Based Learning (PBL), and The Creative Sequence becoming implemented in more schools, the program is seeing positive outcomes with students that share in one or all of the processes.