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.

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The BPS Grants Management Process

All grants applied to and received by the Boston Public Schools, including grants applied to by individual teachers, staff, schools, and programs, adhere to the 4-phase grant process outlined below.

Through these phases, the Office of Grants and External Funding works with grant applicants and program managers to provide constant support and training. This allows the Office of Grants and External Funding to assure that all programs are receiving support and that all grants best serve students while meeting compliance requirements.

Note: Management differs slightly for private grants housed in the Boston Educational Development Foundation (BEDF), though the Application Process remains the same. Please go through the Application Process and BPS will work with you to determine where the grant will be housed.

Click for more information on Phase 1, the Application Process at BPS

Click for more information on Phase 2, obtaining School Committee approval and grant setup at BPS

Click for more information on Phase 3, program implementation at BPS

Click for more information on Phase 4, grant closeout and reporting

Phase 1: The Grant Application Process

All grants applied to by BPS - including those applied to by individuals, schools, departments, or programs - must follow the grants application process. This process ensures 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 as well as provides support to applicants.

Please visit our Applying to Grants page for more information on how to apply for a grant at the Boston Public Schools.

Click to visit the application process page for BPS grants

Once a grant has been submitted and the funder has granted the award, you will move into Phase 2.

Phase 2: School Committee Approval & Grant Setup

Once a grant has been received and the funder issues an award letter, the grant moves onto the School Committee approval and Setup phase. Before any program implementation or spending may begin, the grant must obtain approval from the School Committee. Once a grant has School Committee Approval and an award letter from the funder, the grant is set up in BPS' financial systems.

Obtaining School Committee Approval for a Grant

All grants awarded to the Boston Public Schools must first obtain approval by the School Committee before any dollars may be accepted into the district. Click for more information on the School Committee and how to obtain School Committee approval.

Setting Up a Grant in BPS

Once an award letter has been issued from the funder and the School Committee has approved the grant, the grant is ready to be set up in BPS' financial system. A member of the Office of Grants and External Funding team will set up the grant according to the submitted budget and work with you to understand your funding and how to compliantly spend.

Phase 3. Program Implementation

Once the awarded grant has been set up in the BAIS Financials system, the Program Manager may carry out the grant-funded program according to the funder-approved budget and narrative. The Office of Grants and External Funding provides assistance and support in grant program implementation. Please see below for some of the tools and resources for program implementation, or contact us with any questions.

Amending Your Grant Program or Budget

Grant amendments, submitted to the funder, are necessary when there is a modification to the scope or the finances of the approved grant program or budget. Amendments must be approved by the funder prior to being implemented.

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Sign up to receive our quarterly newsletter for important announcements, upcoming School Committee dates, changes to policies and practices, and tips for managing your grant.

Tools and Resources for Managing your Grant

The Office of Grants and External Funding has many tools available to assist you in managing your grant. These tools and resources include: helpful how-to guidance documents for working with your budget, contact lists for key BPS staff, guidance for assuring compliance, key facts and figures, and detailed processes/procedures for every step of managing your grant.

Phase 4. Closeout and Reporting

As the grant end date approaches, the Office of Grants and External Funding will work with you to determine if a final amendment is needed and the additional actions required in order to assure compliant spend-down by the grant end. There are a variety of actions that must occur after the grant has ended. Please see the below for more information on grant closeout and reporting.

Final Amendments

Most Federal and State grants require an amendment to be filed no later than 30 days prior to the end of the grant. Grant amendments are necessary when there is a modification to the scope or the finances of the approved grant program or budget. The Office of Grants and External Funding will work with you to determine if an amendment is needed and to complete the amendment.

Final Reports: Fiscal Reporting

All final fiscal reports will be completed and submitted by the BPS Accounting Coordinator. Please contact us for more information on final reports.

Final Reports: Programmatic Reports

It is the responsibility of the grant Program Manager to complete and submit all programmatic reports. Please send the Office of Grants and External Funding a copy of the final programmatic report.

Goal Outcome Reporting

At the conclusion of every grant, Program Managers are to report on the level of attainment of their goals. This information is used to inform the district of initiatives that are working, areas of progress, and level of attainment of greater categories of objectives.

Grant Clean up in Preparation for Close Out

It is the responsibility of the Program Manager to clean up the grant in preparation for grant close out. The Office of Grants and External Funding will work with the Program Manager to assure that dollars have been compliantly and entirely spent down, that all purchases have been completed, and that necessary amendments have been submitted.