Mount Ayr Schools Awarded $50,000 STEM BEST Grant for New Regional CTE Center
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Mount Ayr, Iowa – The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council at the Department of Education announced Mount Ayr Community Schools as one of the 31 school districts to receive the 2026-27 STEM BEST® (Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers) Program award. The STEM BEST® Program brings schools and businesses together to provide students with real workplace experiences, introduce businesses and career opportunities in Iowa and gain career-ready skills. The STEM BEST ® Program encourages teachers and industry professionals to work side-by-side to develop a work-based learning model that incorporates STEM subjects like mathematics and science with experiential learning opportunities to emphasize future focused skills for the workplace. The STEM Council’s investment of up to $50,000 for professional and financial support can be used for curriculum development and coordination, educator training and development in workplace-classroom integration and preparing work-based learning environments. The $50,000 STEM BEST Program award will be utilized to support Mount Ayr’s new Career and Technical Education (CTE) building program. This program partners with Southwestern Community College (SWCC) to offer a regional CTE Center. This center will offer SWCC courses in Automotive Repair, Autobody, Health Sciences, Welding, and Education. Students from Lamoni, Central Decatur, Diagonal, Bedford, and Mount Ayr will have the opportunity to enroll in courses at the CTE Center. Principal Josh Vanderflught of Mount Ayr High School stated, “The new CTE Center in Mount Ayr will open new opportunities to Mount Ayr students, as well as our neighboring districts. Having a regional center in Mount Ayr will provide our students with Career Academy programs that were previously unavailable to most students. Providing training in these CTE areas will help build a workforce that will serve this region for years to come. In addition to high school students, it will also open opportunities for adult education, providing a pathway for non-traditional students to change career paths or further their education.”
The 2026-27 STEM BEST ® Program awardees are:
● North Central Iowa STEM Region
● Lake Mills Comm School District – new
● St Ansgar Comm School District – new
● Mason City Comm School District – returning
● South Hamilton Comm School District – returning
● Northeast Iowa STEM Region
● Clayton Ridge Comm School District – new
● Denver Comm School District – new
● Monticello Comm School District – new
● Sumner-Fredericksburg Comm School District – new
● Cedar Falls Comm School District – returning
● Oelwein Comm School District – returning
● Waterloo Comm School District – returning
● Northwest Iowa STEM Region
● Harris-Lake Park Comm School District – new
● Pocahontas Area Comm School District – new
● MMCRU (Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn-Remsen-Union) Comm School District – returning
● Storm Lake Comm School District – returning
● South Central Iowa STEM Region
● Clarke Comm School District – new
● Des Moines Independent Comm School District – returning
● Newton Comm School District – returning
● North Polk Comm School District – returning
● Pella Comm School District – returning
● Southeast Iowa STEM Region
● Lighthouse Schools – new
● Mediapolis Comm School District – new
● Sigourney Comm School District – new
● College Comm School District – returning
● Iowa City Comm School District – returning
● Keokuk Comm School District – returning
● New London Comm School District – returning
● Southwest Iowa STEM Region
● Diagonal Comm School District – new
● Mount Ayr Comm School District – new
● Harlan Community High School – returning
To be considered for a STEM BEST® Program award, applicants were required to submit a comprehensive proposal that incorporates rigorous and relevant STEM curriculum, includes valuable partnerships with community businesses or organizations, aligns with STEM goals, addresses sustainability of the model program and evaluates the program’s effectiveness.
The STEM Council is co-chaired by Lt. Governor Chris Cournoyer and Foundation Analytical Laboratory Owner and Director of Technical Services Diane Young. For more information, visit educate.iowa.gov/STEM.
