Being smart is cool

“It’s OK to be smart, and it’s actually really cool,” Jeanne Norris says. The curriculum coordinator with the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University is sitting at a table typing away on her laptop adorned with a sticker that says, “Be The Nerd.” “I consider myself a standards wonk,” she says. “Nothing makes me […]

Monsanto Fund awards $200,000 grant to Institute for School Partnership

The best way to develop STEM-capable students is to develop STEM-capable teachers. Instilling awareness of science, technology, engineering and math education needs to happen in elementary school – when it matters most. The Monsanto Fund has awarded the Institute for School Partnership (ISP) at Washington University a $200,000 grant to support the STEM Teacher Quality […]

Closing the STEM skills gap in St. Louis

STEM TQ facilitator Leon Sharpe (center) listens to Ameren renewable energy expert Patrick Justis explain the science behind electric vehicles.

If the St. Louis region is to close the gap between what its workers know, and what its businesses need, it must play the long game. That’s why St. Louis’ leading employers, school districts and Washington University in St. Louis united to form STEMpact, an organization dedicated to improving science, technology, engineering and math education […]

Engaging students in exploration

His fans call him Mr. Roco, and he may be the most famous member of the Institute for School Partnership (ISP) team at Washington University. Each week Mr. Roco visits local schools with the MySci Investigation Station, where he is often met with screams from his adoring, or slightly terrified, fans. Mr. Roco is, after […]

ISP joins national network to grow STEM teaching force

The Institute for School Partnership (ISP) at Washington University in St. Louis commits to advancing the goals of recruiting, preparing, and retaining 100,000 science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teachers by 2021. New York, New York, February, 2016 —100Kin10, a national network coordinating and accelerating efforts to bring 100,000 new excellent science, technology, engineering, and […]

Leading the way in science education

Debbie Spiezio has taught in Rockwood School District for nearly 30 years, and today, her students will learn about the digestive system. However, the curriculum that will guide this lesson was not something that she found online, that her district provided her, or that was written by someone at an education corporation on the other […]

Continuing education: for the love of learning

For three weeks this summer, 18 teachers from across the country came to Washington University in St. Louis to take the next step on the path towards excellence in teaching. The Institute for School Partnership (ISP) at Wash U offers teachers a specialized Master’s in Biology that caters specifically to the needs of educators. The participants […]

mySci takes on middle school

The Institute for School Partnership (ISP) at Washington University has partnered once again with the Monsanto Fund to bring high quality science education to students in St. Louis.The Monsanto Fund awarded the ISP with a $1,935,000 grant, beginning July 1st, 2015. Over the three-year grant, the ISP will create a hands-on, inquiry and project-based science […]