In an effort to make teaching  Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects a fun experience for teachers, Raleigh-based STEM for Kids has announced 98 percent scholarships for 10,000 teachers to access its structured course and training material. The program is part of the ambitious project designed by the successful entrepreneur Moni Singh, the founder and CEO of the company.

Singh started STEM for Kids 12 years ago after quitting her corporate job to chase her passion of making science and engineering topics interesting and fun for middle school and elementary school kids. STEM for Kids works on a franchisee model and is present in six countries and has around 170 franchisee centers across the world. In the US Stem for Kids franchisees operate in about 15 states, said Singh, an IIT Roorkee graduate, who is the first female engineer in her community.

Singh’s mission to impact a million students in the STEM field in one year, and she plans to collaborate with teachers all over the world to achieve this goal.  The scholarships are being offered in order for teachers to be included in her mission. 

Singh will share her company's rigorous course material with teachers who can use it in their daily lesson plans as part of the scholarship. Previously, STEM for Kids provided scholarships to students, but this is the first time that they are being extended to teachers.

When Singh started STEM for Kids, the word STEM as an acronym was not popular. Not many schools had their focus on STEM. “Today we see a sea change happening in the field. I've seen the progression right from the beginning. But I also see a vacuum in equipping teachers to handle these subjects, delivering complex information and still making it interesting. Teachers are left to try to figure it out all by themselves,” she said. 

The scope of STEM education is too wide, requiring teachers to have expertise in fields as diverse as biomedicine, engineering, aerospace, artificial intelligence, etc. These are advanced fields of study in engineering and science to which most teachers have no exposure. Bringing concepts to a child's level of understanding and making them interactive for students remains a challenge, according to Singh. 

Teachers will benefit greatly from the curriculum developed by STEM for Kids over the past 12 years of research and successful implementation. “The curriculum that we have is proven to give results.” she asserted adding that teachers will have to  pay $180 after applying for the 98 percent scholarship.

The course material includes over 300 hours of instruction, representing over ten years of work by subject matter experts with hands-on experience. Teachers who are chosen for the program are free to use the materials for a year and are eligible to reapply for the scholarships. The scholarship is open to all teachers working in public schools, private schools, or other educational settings, including daycare centers.

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