Delivering engaging and effective science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs for K-12 students takes a step forward through a new partnership between Mi-STAR and Kendall Hunt K -12, a division of Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.
Michigan Technological University and Kendall Hunt announced the new partnership on Feb. 1, with Kendall Hunt confirming its expansion of science offerings at the college to include the new “Anchored Science by Mi-STAR” program.
Mi-STAR was led by Michigan Tech faculty and staff and launched in 2015 with a $5 million gift from the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation. Mi-STAR has since evolved, growing exponentially into a partnership of universities, school districts, and professional societies developing new curriculum, assessment, and professional learning to support teachers implementing implements the new Michigan Science Standards.
“We are grateful for the support of the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation and our partnership with Kendall Hunt,” Michigan Tech President Rick Koubek said. “Our partnerships align with Michigan Tech’s mission to educate and innovate in ways that improve our communities. It is also another way for us, as the state’s flagship technology university, to help promote STEM education and excellence in our state.
The “Anchored Science by Mi-STAR” program enables students to become problem solvers, addressing and working through the challenges of each of the program units. Each unit’s challenges promote learning by engaging students’ interest at the start of the unit and providing a framework for each lesson. The program incorporates next-generation science standards and enables students to use science and engineering practices to solve relevant, real-world problems.
“Our K-12 team is extremely excited to add this all-new, student-centered science curriculum to our middle school curriculum offerings. With this new addition, our curriculum options will continue to provide teachers and students the right tools and resources they need to succeed year after year,” said Charley Cook, vice president of Kendall Hunt K-12.
Previously, Mi-STAR documents were only available online. The partnership with Kendall Hunt responds to the desire expressed by teachers and students in Michigan to have printed materials. School districts and teachers can purchase the materials from Kendall Hunt if they wish. Michigan teachers who subscribe to Mi-STAR can continue to do so and will have access to online materials through the password-protected Mi-STAR portal.
“This partnership is an important step in securing the investment that many have made, including the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Michigan Department of Education, and schools and districts across the state, in developing Mi-STAR into the nation’s most innovative middle school science program,” said Marianne Semones, Mi-STAR program director.
Launched with the help of 16 teachers in Michigan schools or districts, Mi-STAR is now a recognized leader in the middle school science curriculum market. More than 750 Michigan middle school teachers, or about one-third of the total number of science teachers in the state, from 113 different school districts, use Mi-STAR.
Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and enrolls more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the top universities in the nation for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate programs in science and technology, engineering, computer science, forestry, business and economics, health, humanities, mathematics, social sciences and the arts. The rural campus is located a few miles from Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, providing year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.