McCulley to participate in STEM program for rural communities

A White County High School teachers is among a select-group of educators that will be participating in a program sponsored by Tennessee STEM (Science, Technology,  Engineering, Math) Innovation Network.

Angela McCulley, a teacher at White County High School, joins several other teachers across the state who will participate in a year-long professional opportunity for rural educators.

The Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, a public/private partnership between the Tennessee Department of Education and Battelle Education, announced the 2022-23 cohort of the Tennessee Rural STEM Collaborative (TRSC), which is designed to share promising practices in STEM education, seek solutions to local education challenges, and encourage the development of a targeted STEM solution for each community or school represented. This year, 45 educators representing 28 counties across Tennessee were competitively selected for the Collaborative. 

In neighboring Putnam County, Suzanne Goolsby, of Burks Elementary School, will also participate in the collaboration.

“All communities, regardless of zip code, possess local assets that can support quality STEM instruction and workforce development initiatives,” said Brandi Stroecker, Director of the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network. “The Collaborative model is intentionally designed to connect rural educators with community partners and facilitate co-learning about STEM teaching strategies, promoting immediate impact at the local level and collective impact statewide.” The TRSC was recently profiled in an EducationWeek whitepaper titled, Expanding STEM Learning Opportunities in Rural Schools, that highlights several educator experiences and programmatic data.

Within the Collaborative, there are three regional cohorts that will map the STEM resources unique to the educational landscapes in West, Middle, and East Tennessee. The Collaborative provides a stipend for teachers to engage with the program and implement a targeted STEM initiative within their own communities. For more information, visit https://www.tsin.org/tennessee-rural-stem-collaborative.  

The Tennessee STEM Innovation Network is a public-private collaborative between the Tennessee Department of Education and Battelle Education, emphasizing a “kindergarten through jobs” philosophy by promoting the teaching and learning of STEM education and integrating real-world and hands-on learning in K-12 public schools across Tennessee. Visit: www.TSIN.org