STEM Integration Grant: Science Community of Practice Opportunity

On Friday, the Indiana Department of Education released the application for the STEM Integration Grant, which is due August 21st. This grant provides between $12,500 - $50,000 depending on the number of students served.

For the last two years, SkyBound has helped schools draft grant application materials and facilitated STEM-Mathematics communities of practice that fostered cross-district collaboration, resource sharing, and refined instructional systems. We’ve consistently heard that leaders enjoy learning from the challenges, opportunities, and successes of other districts and schools.

In light of the new accountability rule (e.g., A-F letter grades) that includes science assessment results (ILEARN grades 4 and 6, Biology) as student success indicators, we’re launching a STEM-Science Community of Practice for grades K-12. Our vision is to guide leaders and educators from multiple LEAs through the selection and implementation of citizen science projects (e.g., NASA, National Geographic, SciStarter) as vehicles for accelerating learning on selected science and math standards. This should have two effects: (1) increasing science assessment results – especially for those not yet proficient in ELA or Math – positively impacts a school’s letter grade, and more importantly (2) citizen science projects develop the durable inquiry, analytical, and communication skills vital to many secondary and postsecondary pathways.

SkyBound would welcome the opportunity to collaborate with your team in a STEM-Science Community of Practice throughout the 2026-2027 school year. To share more details about the grant application process and SkyBound’s supports, we’ve scheduled two webinars.

Interested in learning more? SkyBound is hosting two webinars, August 4 & 5, to share details about the grant application process and SkyBound’s supports. Please register for a session using the link below. You may also indicate interest if unable to attend either one.

Register for the Webinar Here

Project Kind for 2026-27

Teachers across the country from kindergarten through high school have used some of Steve Hartman's "On the Road" segments to incorporate stories of kindness, often during advisory classes. There is even a Facebook group and a Character Counts "Kindness 101" website with organized lessons. A teacher in Kentucky has created a slide show for every day of the school year; you can find it here. Some recent highlight stories include this one including Shaq, and this followup about a young piano prodigy.

nextech Introduces GenAI Fellowship Program

nextech, sponsor of many educational opportunities for educators, has a 12-week gamified fellowship program starting in September. It has been created with teachers new to GenAI in mind, though anyone – with or without experience – is welcome. Learn more and register here.

Lilly Teacher Creativity Grant and More

The Lilly Teacher Creativity Grant applications for this year are due September 8. They have a webinar August 6 to help you with the application and answer questions. In addition, there is this resource from IPS teacher Frances Rivera, who has earned many grants, including travel opportunities. She has tips you can use for writing your proposal, as well as ways to find out what other grants are available.

Free Printable Escape Room for Back to School

While there are many paid digital and printable escape rooms on this site, there is also a free sample that you can use without technology. Everything you need to print is in the download. You can sign up for the free example here.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES

TIMES ARE EDT; FREE UNLESS NOTED

Many are available via recording, especially if you pre-register.

August 4- SkyBound Webinar on DOE STEM Grant, 10 am

August 4- Second, Limited Call for Presentations for AMLE Opens

August 5- SkyBound Webinar on DOE STEM Grant, 4 pm

August 5-8- Made for Math Free Summit

August 6-8- Global Math Intervention Summit

August 6-Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program Information Session #3, 3:30 pm

August 13- DOE Beyond "More Work": Differentiation for High Ability Learners in Grades 5-8, 3 pm

August 20- IMLEA Board Meeting, 4 pm

August 18- Snorkl Webinar with Leslie Fisher, 7 pm (Snorkl is free for individual teachers)

August 26- Accelerating Students in Math Classes: What Schools & Teachers Need to Consider as They Plan for These Classes, (Emphasis on Middle School), 12:30

September 8-Lilly Teacher Creativity Grant Proposals Due, 6 pm

September 14- Deadline to Submit Proposal for AMLE

November 4-7- AMLE in Nashville, TN $

ONGOING EVENTS

Indiana Learning Lab Workshops (Requires Sign in for Registration, Also Access to Archived Events)

Teachers First OK2Ask Online Workshops ; (Past on-demand sessions)

Keep Indiana Learning (KINL); Live Events (some $) Past Recordings/Digital Content

edWeb.net Webinars (Can watch at later date; if sponsored, "commercials" are at the end)

Leslie Fisher Webinars

AMLE Podcasts: Walk and Talk & Research to Practice

AMLE Events (some free, some paid)Corwin Webinars, Additional Free Corwin Resources, Including Past Webinars

Please note: Webinars and events mentioned in this space are not an endorsement of commercial products; on the contrary, we try to avoid listing events that appear to be commercial in nature. Every effort is made to strip social media/tracking data from provided URLs. In many cases, you can register and receive a recording later.