Our Story

Growing the STEM is a local nonprofit that organizes and supports math and science programs for students in Coeur d’Alene Public Schools, with an emphasis on developing youth leaders and encouraging underrepresented groups to pursue STEM education and activities. The organization was founded in 2017 by two local youth. The program for which we are seeking funding support is an after-school program called Math is Cool, in which high school and middle school students who excel at math and love working with kids coach 4th-5th graders or 6th-8th graders in an after school, team-based math competition program supervised by a public school teacher. Students spend time playing math games, solving problems, learning new math skills, and working as a team. Our programs focus on fun and building relationships, as well as math skills, are open to students of all abilities, and are located in Title One schools, which serve a high percentage of students in poverty who may not have access to fee-based extracurricular programs. With support from the Coeur d’Alene ImpactClub, we would be able to fund a teacher stipend to plant a new Math is Cool program to provide this opportunity for more kids in our community.