BPS celebrates STEM Learning at Annual Region VI Boston STEM Fair

Boston Public Schools (BPS) celebrated the creativity, innovation, and passion of our students at the 79th annual Region VI STEM Fair!

Students presented projects that spoke to the social and scientific issues currently impacting them and their communities.

BPS celebrates STEM Learning at Annual Region VI Boston STEM Fair

Boston Public Schools (BPS) celebrated the creativity, innovation, and passion of our students at the 79th annual Region VI STEM Fair! The Region VI STEM Fair is a wonderful opportunity for students to develop skills, such as collaboration, problem-solving, critical thinking, developing and testing hypotheses, and data analysis, which all play an important role in our students’ overall success.

STEM is all around us in nearly every aspect of our lives. The City of Boston is home to pioneers in the fields of robotics, biotech, and medicine. Our young people should be immersed in all that our great city has to offer and the Region VI Boston STEM Fair allows our students to express their creativity and learning of key science concepts outside of the classroom.

Students presented projects that spoke to the social and scientific issues currently impacting them and their communities. Among the projects were Planetary Lunar Landing Devices, Wastewater Treatment, Color Choice & Identity, Fire Alarm Safety, Academic Stress & Mindfulness in Seniors, Light Pollution in East Boston, and Cuffless Blood Pressure Devices.

This year, the STEM Fair included:

190 Student Participants
12 Participating Schools
118 Projects submitted for Judging

BPS is grateful to all of our STEM educators who are working every day to foster critical STEM skills in our students and inspire them to apply those learned skills to classroom work and to real-world situations. The STEM Department is committed to continuing to provide programming opportunities for our K-12 students and families throughout the district.

The Region VI Boston STEM Fair Awards Ceremony took place on March 11 at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School. The ceremony featured musical performances from students at the O’Bryant School of Math & Science along with a Presentation of Colors by the Community Academy of Science and Health (CASH) JROTC program.

Matolah Dankoff, a Grade 7 Student at Boston Latin School won the Christa McAuliffe Grand Prize for the Junior Division & Cabot Corporation Grand Prize for her project: An Introduction to Hand-Eye Coordination.

Shuting Zhu and Louis Chiu, Juniors at the John D. O’Bryant School of Math & Science won the Christa McAuliffe Grand Prize for the Senior Division, and Sanofi Specialty Care Grand Prize for their project: Cuffless Blood Pressure Measurement Monitor via Pulse Transit Time Analysis and Arduino. They will now represent BPS as the Nominees for the Massachusetts State Delegation for the International Science and Engineering Fair in Columbus Ohio in May.
BPS will also have 23 Middle School projects that will move on to compete at the Massachusetts Science and Engineering Fair in May at Clark University, and 14 High School projects will move on to the Massachusetts Science and Engineering Fair at Gillette Stadium in April.
The Boston STEM Fair team is grateful to the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center for hosting the 79th Region VI STEM Fair, to the Madison Park Community for hosting the STEM Fair Awards Ceremony, and to the Madison Park Culinary Arts and Hospitality programs, which helped to cater and set up the ceremony.

< Back to the Newsroom

The Grants Application Process

All grant proposals must obtain internal approval before being submitted. The grant application process is mapped below:

Step 1: Applicant identifies the grant opportunity they would like to apply to and reviews with department/school

Step 2: Applicant submits the online Intent to Apply Form with details about the proposed grant program

Step 3: the BPS Grants Review Team - a cross-functional team - reviews the submitted Intent to Apply and makes a recommendati

Step 4: Once the BPS Grants Review Team reviews and approves the applicant, the Applicant completes the proposal

Step 5: BPS reviews the proposal, obtains necessary signatures, and submits to the funder

Internal approval is required for every grant application, whether submitted by an individual, school, or department. Internal review and approval assures that applicants have the necessary information to complete the proposal, that the proposal is aligned to district priorities, that competing proposals are not being submitted, and that the proposal is a strategic decision for the district.

More information about each step of the process can be found below. Please contact us with any questions.

Finding Grants

The Office of Grants and External Funding encourages schools and departments to actively prospect and apply for grant opportunities.

Click to view the BPS Current Grant Opportunities listing

The current grant opportunities that the Boston Public Schools is aware of can be found in our constantly-updated document of Current Grant Opportunities. This listing contains grant opportunities from multiple different sources, as well as additional resources to assist you in locating a grant that may be right for you, your school, or department.

Intent to Apply

If you wish to apply to any of the below opportunities, please read through the RFP completely to assure you are eligible to apply, then complete the online Intent to Apply as soon as you have made the decision to apply. We will contact you within 10 days with next steps and will be able to support you in your application process.

BPS Internal Grant Review

The Grants Review Team is comprised of members from multiple departments who come together to review and make decisions.

The purpose of the Grant Review Team is to review grant requests to ensure alignment to strategic priorities, positive impacts on students, sustainability, matching fund requirements, technology, facility, and staffing requirements, assessment,

research and evaluation requirements, and BPS/City of Boston/State policy compliance.

Before any grant is submitted, it must obtain approval from an internal Grants Review Team.

Once the Intent to Apply Form has been completed, your submission will be sent to the Grants Review Team. The Grants Review will review your proposal and make a decision as to whether the proposal should move forward. You will be notified of the Grant Review Team's decision within 10 days of submitting the Intent to Apply form.

Completing your Grant Proposal

The Office of Grants and External Funding can assist with grant proposal completion by providing key information, assisting with budget building, budget review, and proposal review.

Below are some resources to assist you in your proposal creation:

	The BPS Grants Circular provides details about grant management in the Office of Grants and External Funding.
	This internal grants library provides step-by-step guidance around all grant-management activities, BPS procedures, best practices, contact information, common grant application materials, and commonly asked questions.

Obtaining Signatures, Letters of Support, and Submitting your Proposal

Once your grant proposal is complete, and no less than one week before the grant proposal is due, submit your proposal to the Office of Grants and External Funding.

The Office of Grants and External Funding will facilitate obtaining any necessary signatures, review your proposal, and work with you to determine next steps for submitting.

Superintendent's Signature on a Proposal: The Office of Grants and External Funding will obtain all signatures. All documents requiring signature must be submitted at least one week (7 days) before they are due. All proposals must be submitted through the Intent to Apply form and obtain approval to move forward from the Grants Review Team before signatures will be obtained.

Letters of Support: The Office of Grants and External Funding will facilitate obtaining all signatures on Letters of Support from the Superintendent and Mayor (for Federal Grants). Once the Intent to Apply has been reviewed and approved by the Grants Review Team, please draft a Letter of Support for signature. All letters requiring signature must be submitted at least one week (7 days) before they are due.

If you are requesting a Letter of Support from BPS not tied to a BPS grant application, please complete the online Letter of Support Request Form and the Office of Grants and External Funding will follow up with next steps.