The Columbia Gorge STEM Hub Announces Recipients of the 2023-2024 Microgrants
Wesley Mitchell
From Columbia Gorge STEM Hub:
By Nicole Tolmie
The Dalles, Ore. January 22, 2024 — The Columbia Gorge STEM Hub recently announced the recipients for the 2023-2024 Microgrants. This year, 20 educators and community partners across four counties and five school districts received grant funding to support STEM-related projects and initiatives happening in the Gorge. This year’s microgrants are estimated to impact over 4,330 students and 148 classrooms or teachers.
Each November, PreK-college teachers, administrators, out-of-school educators, and community organizations from all five Oregon counties in the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub service area are invited to apply for one-time microgrant funding requests of up to $1,000. New for this year’s applicants, microgrants were available in three categories: General STEM-Related Projects, Robotics-Specific, and Career Connected Learning Field Trips.
Winning grant recipients demonstrated a commitment to equity, expanding access to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) or STEAM (STEM plus Arts) education, cost-effectiveness, and the potential to create a lasting impact for local students.
The STEM Hub’s mission is to ensure that all learners in the region are STEM literate and future-ready, and year after year, microgrants have proven to have a broad and lasting impact on our local communities. Teachers are continuously tasked with operating classrooms with a limited budget, and the supplemental funding provided by microgrants allows many beneficial STEM projects to take place. Microgrants help to ensure all students have equitable access to STEM education throughout the 5-county region that includes Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam & Wheeler counties.
Lisa Albrecht
The STEM Hub’s microgrants are primarily supported by the Oregon Department of Education and the generosity of local donors including the Gorge Technology Alliance and Google.
This year’s projects ranged from expanding hands-on STEM experiences in the classroom to increasing access to out-of-the-classroom STEM learning and expanding equitable access to STEM resources.
Janell Geary, a 5th-grade teacher at Colonel Wright Elementary in The Dalles, received support to partner with Gorge Ecology Outdoors to offer a day-long snowshoeing experience for 5th graders. Geary described in her application, “Guided by expert naturalists and educators, the students will venture into the winter landscape of our public lands, gaining a hands-on understanding of winter ecology and the critical importance of snow to our local environment and communities. The program is carefully tailored to be inclusive, teaching valuable snowshoeing techniques that will enhance participants' confidence in this accessible and low-cost winter sport. With this newfound access to winter activities, our goal is not only for students to learn a fun, new recreational skill but also to promote year-round physical activity, deepen the connection with the natural world, and develop a sense of responsibility towards environmental conservation.”
Ashley Macnab, a first-grade teacher at Sherman County School District, received funding to bolster her STEAM Stations and shares, “We currently do 40 minutes of STEAM stations every day! These STEAM Stations not on bring FUN learning to our classroom. My students beg me every time we are transitioning to go to STEAM Stations.”
Jeremiah Paulsen, a Child Development Specialist at Colonel Wright Elementary will be able to integrate books about engineers from under-represented backgrounds paired with non-consumable building materials into programming at the counseling department. They state, “Skills taught through these sessions have the potential to improve a child’s social and emotional well-being alongside the development of their awareness of the engineering design process.”
Brian Anglin, a science teacher at Wheeler High School, was awarded a microgrant to hold a 3-day, 2-night snowshoeing field trip at Anthony Lakes. He shares in his application, “Snow School isn’t just a matter of survival, though the kids do learn about surviving in cold weather—best ways to dress and stay warm in the cold, how to start a fire with limited resources, how to build a snow cave that can protect in freezing temperatures—it is also a great opportunity for the kids to experience the beauty and formidability of our home, Eastern Oregon. Their challenges require teamwork, problem-solving, and perseverance… Some students have never been camping. They all get to pitch tents, help with packing supplies in and out, and snowshoe.”
Jenni Bergemann
Congratulations to all of this year’s STEM Microgrant recipients:
Bonneville Dam/Gorge Interpretive Center Trip - Kristi Vandooren, May Street Elementary (Hood River County SD)
2023-24 VEX Robotics Program - Chuck Webber, The Dalles High School (North Wasco County SD)
STEM Mobile Classroom - Sally Anderson, Hood River County School District
Mystery Science Extensions, Food Chain Research Project & Oregon State Park Field Trip - Wesley Mitchell, Dry Hollow Elementary (North Wasco County SD)
Snow School 2024 - Brian Anglin, Wheeler High School (Fossil SD)
Robotic Arm - Ryan Bahn, Hood River Valley High School (Hood River County SD)
Tadpole Habitat & Growth - Claire Gilchrist, Hood River New School
Cubelets Sets for Library Circulation - Annelisa Gebhard, Hood River County Library District
Building STEM Competence at CES: Empowering Through Exploration - Ajay Rundell, Chenowith Elementary School (North Wasco County SD)
STEM-SEL - Jeremiah Paulsen, Colonel Wright Elementary School (North Wasco County SD)
Digital Story Telling - Peter Lawson, Hood River Valley High School (Hood River County SD)
Gorge Ecology Outdoors Snowshoe Field Trip - Janell Geary, Colonel Wright Elementary School (North Wasco County SD)
Lend Me a (Robotic) Hand - Sonia Schatz, Colonel Wright Elementary School (North Wasco County SD)
Taking it to the Extreme - Destin Ramsey, Colonel Wright Elementary School (North Wasco County SD)
Mosier SECRETS Field Trip - Sarah Grace Bendinger & Ann Marie Wagar, Mosier Community School (North Wasco County SD)
Race Car Track Building - Dyani Moore, Mid-Valley Elementary School (Hood River County SD)
STEM Stations - Ashley Macnab, Sherman County School (Sherman County SD)
Math Manipulatives for Everyday Learning - Amy Huffman, Dufur School (Dufur SD)
Circuit Exploration - Lisa Albrecht, Colonel Wright Elementary School (North Wasco County SD)
Housed within the Columbia Gorge Education Service District, the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub is a collective impact organization that partners with local schools, businesses, and non-profits to expand STEM opportunities for all students in the Columbia River Gorge. You can find out more about the STEM Hub, join the coalition, or donate to support similar grants, by visiting www.gorgeSTEM.org.
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