In fall 2011, the Ballston Spa Central School District opened the Clean Technologies and Sustainable Industries Early College High School (ECHS) at the Hudson Valley Community College TEC-SMART Campus, enrolling the first (25) students. The initial year of the program offered only 11th grade coursework to students in their third year of high school. The ECHS Program was launched by an innovative partnership between the Ballston Spa Central School District with the Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The success of the program is also building on support of a collaborative endeavor bringing business and industry, nonprofits, government, and others in the region together to establish the “Early College High School” model for STEM education.

In June 2010 the PAST Foundation partnered with the Pre-K through 12 Linden Feeder System schools of Columbus City Schools District to transform their educational delivery to problem-based learning using capstone themes and projects connected to the Linden community. This report outlines the vision and results of that year’s work following the steps of the design process.

During June to December 2009, the PAST Foundation participated in a Progressive Dialogue led by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to support a process designed to identify ways to advance PK-20 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in New York State. The Progressive Dialogue included an Inaugural Dialogue, held in June 2009, followed by eight Regional Dialogues conducted during October to December throughout the state.

The first cohort of ninth grade students at the Dayton Regional STEM School (DRSS) participated in projects based on a Global Climate Change (GCC) unit throughout April and May 2010. Eighteen [18] projects based on GCC were designated, and students ranked their first three choices. The 73 students were then assigned to one of the 18 groups coached by the five DRSS teachers, the DRSS principal, other staff members, and volunteers. The unit involved two weeks of cross-curricular instruction in content area classes at DRSS, followed by one week where the school day incorporated morning instruction and afternoon group work time.

The Martha and Josh Morriss Math and Engineering Elementary (MMEE) School was designed and im- plemented as a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) school program through the efforts of the Texarkana Independent School District (TISD) in Texarkana, Texas. The TISD STEM program devel- opers describe their process for creating their first STEM school as one supported by a small, close-knit network established in partnership between the TISD and Texas A&M University at Texarkana (TAMUT). Their focus on K-5 grade levels presents a unique approach to initiating STEM education within a K-12 system, and offers an important perspective to our growing understanding of approaches to STEM design based upon the small number of programs that have been successfully launched across the country.

In the spring of 2006, the PAST Foundation began working closely with the Metro High School in Columbus, Ohio in the areas of curricula design, project-based learning and teacher professional development. Metro was the first STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) High School, in Ohio. We worked with design teams as the educational philosophy for the new STEM school was evolving. Once the doors at Metro opened and the first students were admitted, PAST watched the faculty, students, families and local community embrace the experiment that Metro represented in educational reform.

In the spring of 2006, the PAST Foundation began working closely with the Metro High School in Columbus, Ohio in the areas of curricula design, project-based learning and teacher professional development. Metro was the first STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) High School, in Ohio. We worked with design teams as the educational philosophy for the new STEM school was evolving. Once the doors at Metro opened and the first students were admitted, PAST watched the faculty, students, families and local community embrace the experiment that Metro represented in educational reform.

This report provides a comparative analysis of the pre- and post-questionnaire conducted as part of the Science Alliance Leadership Training (SALT) Program conducted by The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) during the summer of 2017. The five-day training program involved (30) graduate students from fourteen colleges and universities who are pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. The SALT program is designed to build skills in leadership, communication, conflict resolution, and team dynamics. During the five- day training program, the PAST Foundation conducted an online, anonymous pre- and post- training questionnaire, providing SALT fellows the opportunity to voluntarily give input on expectations of the program (pre-training questionnaire), as well as share their experience and impact of the training program at its conclusion (post-training questionnaire).