West Sound STEM Network, based in the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas, selected for grant program to help local students pursue education and career training after high school
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is supporting a regional partnership coordinated by West Sound STEM Network that features local school districts, colleges, and community and workforce organizations.
Port Orchard, WA–April 1, 2024–West Sound STEM Network is proud to announce that our region has been selected to be part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Horizons Regional Grant Program, a three-year initiative to help more local students continue their education after high school and achieve their goals.
Other core partners named in the grant are College Success Foundation and Peninsula College, both West Sound STEM Network members. Together, these core organizations and the comprehensive cross-sector partner team are known as the Postsecondary Regional Equity Partnership (PREP) under the Horizons Regional Grant Program.
West Sound STEM Network will coordinate the local partnership that includes 15 local school districts/Tribal schools, two higher education institutions, and nine workforce, government, and community-based organizations in the West Sound STEM Network region. This region includes Clallam, Jefferson, Mason, and Kitsap counties. The partnership will work together to expand programs that are proven to help students transition from high school into postsecondary education – whether that’s an apprenticeship, career certificate, or two- or four-year degree program.
“The time is now. The opportunities provided by the Horizons Regional Grant will be a game changer for our region,” said Dr. Kareen Borders, Executive Director of West Sound STEM Network. “When cross-stakeholder partners come together to center equity and deploy best practices that are locally relevant, pathways for youth to postsecondary are solidified. We are humbled and extremely grateful to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for this opportunity.”
In addition to grant funding, PREP will receive technical assistance to learn more about high-quality advising strategies and other programs proven to help students take the next step after graduation. Washington STEM, a nonprofit dedicated to removing barriers to STEM education and postsecondary credentials, will manage the Horizons grant program and help partners increase their capacity to access, analyze, and apply data so they can refine programs to meet student needs.
PREP received an initial seed grant from the Gates Foundation to work with the technical assistance providers over the next several months to finalize the local partnership’s goals and implementation plan. PREP will receive additional Gates Foundation grant funding when their implementation plan is finalized this fall.
Program goals include expanding postsecondary advising and mentoring specifically for focus populations in rural and Tribal secondary schools, increasing financial aid completion rates and dual credit enrollment for targeted student groups, increasing high school to college transition support services, and providing high-demand industry education opportunities. The cross-sector West Sound STEM Network is committed to increasing postsecondary enrollment and is unique in convening entities that deploy expertise in these best practices along with industry leaders.
“As a Tribal member, the Executive Director of Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe Economic Development Authority (JST EDA), and an Executive Board member for West Sound STEM Network, I am honored to participate on the steering committee for the Gates Horizons project and to actively lead engagement with other Tribal members,” said Joe Allen, Executive Director of JST EDA. “We are excited by the opportunity that this partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provides to work together to improve the education that leads to a vibrant workforce and quality of life on the North Olympic Peninsula.”
Horizons is part of the Gates Foundation’s work in Washington state that focuses on ensuring that young people have access to the opportunities they need to design the future they want. West Sound STEM Network and its partners also participate in the Limitless Learning Network, which is funded by the Gates Foundation and brings 26 local partnerships across Washington state together to help identify strategies that help students see a clear path to success after high school.
Media contact:
Aimee Gordon
agordon@pencol.edu
(360)417-6291