SummerSTEM

Connecting Educators with STEM Professionals to Enhance Instruction in Wake County Public Schools

SummerSTEM is a collaboration between WakeEd Partnership, the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), and numerous businesses and organizations in North Carolina. This award-winning program enriches educators’ understanding of the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in the workplace using Project-Based Learning (PBL) with an emphasis on STEM businesses and careers.

During SummerSTEM, one-hundred K-12 educators from WCPSS schools engage in hands-on experiences designed to bring real-world lessons to the classroom.

For one week during the summer, educators participate in immersive experiences with local companies exploring targeted career fields and experience college-level applied STEM instruction a Wake Technical Community College. Throughout the following school year, experienced educator mentors coach SummerSTEM participants in lesson design and project-based learning.

In the spring, as the school year comes to a close, educators and their students present the impact of the PBL work completed in the classroom at a public STEMposium event.

What is SummerSTEM?

Professional Development for Educators

Direct instruction in project-based learning
Investigation in community college instruction in applied STEM fields
Immersion in STEM work settings with STEM professionals
Coaching in lesson design using feedback protocols
Leadership experiences aligned with National Teacher Leader Model Standards

Community Engagement for Businesses

Create interactive immersion experiences for educators that demonstrate the relationship between the classroom and the business world
Support educators as they implement their SummerSTEM experiences into their classrooms
Become a program sponsor so that more educators can attend SummerSTEM

SummerSTEM 2021 Business Partners

SummerSTEM Impact

of Wake County Public Schools

Participated in SummerSTEM

Wake County Students

Directly Impacted by SummerSTEM Teachers

Wake County Schools

Participated in SummerSTEM

Professional Development that Changes Teaching and Improves Learning

In December 2018, Amy Germuth published an article in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Teacher Leadership, describing WakeEd Partnership’s SummerSTEM program as a model for effective professional development for educators in North Carolina’s largest school district.

Read Report

STEMPOSIUM 2021

Explore our Virtual STEMposium

WakeEd’s SummerSTEM program empowered 100 K-12 teachers to bring real-world lessons to the classroom through partnerships with leading STEM organization in the Triangle. Join us online to “meet” some of the inspired educators and dedicated business partners who are going above and beyond for Wake County students.

Virtual STEMposium

Presented By

In Partnership With

SummerSTEM News

Inside the Triangle’s STEM Event of the Year

May 9, 2018

During SummerSTEM 2017-2018, 100 Wake County Public School System educators were embedded in 20 STEM companies to experience first-hand the workplace they are preparing students to enter. The impact is seen each year at STEMposium, the culminating event of our...

A-maize-ing PBL at Weatherstone Elementary School

Apr 30, 2018

While participating in WakeEd’s SummerSTEM program, Mrs. Sautro and Mrs. Rhyne from Weatherstone Elementary School were embedded in leading STEM companies and received coaching in the implementation of project-based learning.

SummerSTEM: Changing School Culture Through Project-Based Learning

Feb 26, 2018

This past July, Teresa Pierre led our SummerSTEM group to Red Hat, where we were immediately hooked by the presentation about their work process. I cannot imagine where else I would have been exposed to the Agile-based work management system called Scrum; yet, in the business world, it is practiced every day in many fields. The appeal of bringing this process to our school hit me, but was problematic to implement; changing the culture of a school is not a job for a few personnel alone.

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Teachers

Teams of two educators apply to participate. School administrators complete a portion of the application to demonstrate support for their teams. Applications open in early to mid-spring.