STEM Education Weekly — 2026-03-22

Top Stories

1 sources

the74million.org

the74million.org

One Teacher's Mission: Getting More Black Girls Into STEM

• What happened: Alia Pope, a science and math teacher at eSTEM Public Charter School in Little Rock, Arkansas, is spotlighted in a new profile by The 74. Pope, who grew up without seeing people who looked like her in STEM fields, has made it her personal mission to ensure her students do — building classroom culture and role-model visibility for Black girls in science and math.
• Who it affects: Black female K–12 students, particularly in Arkansas and similar underserved communities, as well as educators looking for models of culturally responsive STEM teaching.
• Why it matters: Representation gaps in STEM remain one of the field's most persistent equity challenges. Pope's story illustrates how individual teachers can shift outcomes by centering students' identities — and signals growing national attention to the "who teaches STEM" question as much as the "who learns STEM" one.

MSU's Girls in Math and Science Day Hits Post-Pandemic Attendance Record

• What happened: The Mid-Michigan Graduate Women in Science (GWIS) chapter and a campus RSO hosted their annual Girls in Math and Science Day on March 14, 2026 — the first day of this week's coverage window. The event drew an estimated 150 kids, 150 volunteers, and 80 parents, the highest attendance since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Who it affects: Young scientists — primarily girls at the K–12 level — in the Mid-Michigan region, along with graduate student volunteers who benefit from outreach experience.
• Why it matters: Sustained, community-based events like this have an outsized impact on early STEM identity formation. Reaching pre-pandemic attendance levels suggests renewed public enthusiasm for in-person STEM outreach, a meaningful signal for program organizers and funders nationwide.

1 sources

ncsmt.org

NC STEM e-Update (March 19, 2026)

McCoy College Launches STEM Pathways Mentorship Program

• What happened: Midwestern State University's McCoy College of Science, Mathematics and Engineering has launched the STEM Pathways Mentorship Program — a new initiative designed to make STEM education more accessible and engaging for local students in Wichita Falls, Texas.
• Who it affects: Local K–12 students, particularly those from groups underrepresented in STEM, as well as university students who will serve as mentors and gain leadership experience.
• Why it matters: University-based mentorship pipelines directly connect higher education resources to local communities. Programs like this help bridge the gap between early STEM curiosity and college enrollment, addressing a persistent leaky pipeline at the secondary-to-post-secondary transition.

Tools & Resources Spotlight

NC STEM e-Update (March 19, 2026 Edition)

• What it does: A twice-monthly newsletter from the NC STEM Center sharing the latest STEM education news, programs, events, and resources happening across North Carolina.
• Grade level / audience: K–12 educators, school administrators, and STEM program coordinators in North Carolina and beyond.
• What's unique: The e-Update functions as a curated, state-level aggregator of STEM education developments — a relatively rare model that gives educators a single trusted touchpoint for regional news, professional learning opportunities, and upcoming deadlines without requiring them to monitor dozens of sources independently.

NSF EDU Programs Portal — April 14, 2026 Deadline Approaching

• What it does: The NSF Directorate for STEM Education (EDU) maintains a continuously updated portal of funding opportunities for improving undergraduate and K–12 STEM education, including programs under the IUSE umbrella.
• Grade level / audience: Higher education faculty, K–12 researchers, curriculum developers, and institutional grant officers.
• What's unique: With a next required due date of April 14, 2026 now visible on the portal, educators and researchers have a narrow window to submit proposals. NSF's EDU directorate also has a live event scheduled for Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at 2:30 p.m. — likely an informational webinar worth monitoring for grant seekers.

Research & Data

• Finding: A systematic review and meta-analysis published in Frontiers in Psychology found that STEM education has a meaningful but nuanced impact on student learning outcomes, with effect sizes ranging from 0.14–0.17 (Fixed Effects Model) to 0.38–0.54 (Random Effects Model) — effects that remained stable even when individual studies were removed from the analysis. Impacts varied significantly by outcome type and academic level.
• Study/Source: Published in Frontiers in Psychology (article 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1579474), this peer-reviewed systematic review synthesized findings across multiple studies of STEM education interventions.
• Takeaway: Not all STEM programs deliver the same results — and the type of outcome being measured (knowledge, skills, engagement, etc.) and the grade level both matter significantly. Educators and administrators should look beyond headline claims about STEM effectiveness and ask specifically what outcomes a program has been shown to improve, and for which students.

What to Watch Next Week

• NSF EDU Webinar (March 24, 2026): The NSF Directorate for STEM Education has a publicly listed event on Tuesday, March 24 at 2:30 p.m. Check the NSF EDU portal for registration details — this is likely tied to upcoming grant cycles and could include guidance relevant to the April 14 deadline.

• Oklahoma Free STEM Summer Academies — Application Window Open: Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education announced that applications are now being accepted for free 2026 Summer Academies in Science, Technology, Engineering, and related fields on college campuses for middle and high school students. With competitive programs filling early, students and families should act before slots close.

• NSF IUSE Grant Deadline — April 14, 2026: Educators and researchers pursuing NSF funding for undergraduate STEM education improvement have less than four weeks remaining before the next required due date for the IUSE: EDU program. Teams that haven't finalized proposals should prioritize this week.