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What is STEM Bridges?

STEM Bridges is a Rochester Engineering Society initiative to put engineers and other STEM professionals inside classrooms.

We place STEM Experienced Professionals into actual classrooms, bringing a career's worth of application examples and related hardware, to make STEM- Learning hands-on.

In the hope of putting new volunteers at ease, we have four Seasoned Coaches who have agreed to serve as Mentors, and accompany new Volunteers for as many Classroom visits as the volunteer wants, to become comfortable with their role in STEM Bridges.

What is the time commitment for a Volunteer STEM Coach? You can "work" anywhere from multiple visits per week to one hour a month. We have teachers who are supported by as many as three volunteers, in any given week.

Stem Bridges Coordinator


About STEM Bridges

STEM Bridges is an initiative to place Engineers and other STEM Career Professionals (Entrepreneurs, Manufacturers, Doctors, Skilled Trades People, etc.) inside classrooms as Volunteer STEM Coaches .

Coaches apply their technical background and career-related experience to work with a 2 -12 teacher as a valuable resource for navigating STEM topics. The Volunteer STEM Coach brings real world applications, hands-on hardware and enumerable Project Based Learning opportunities into the classroom to help engage students in our ever-changing world of technology.

No new training is required to become a Volunteer STEM Coach. We match the existing skill-set of the professional with the STEM objectives of the requesting teacher, then they work together to meet the teacher's STEM objectives.

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics are supported by professionals from any number of technical backgrounds. This includes Retirees, college students, the self-employed, and professionals whose employer supports STEM.

Our History:

Beginning in 1987, the Kodak 21st Century Learning Challenge placed 1,500 engineers and technicians into more than 700 Rochester City School​ classrooms. This was long before the Federal Government coined the​ STEM acronym.

The initiative consisted of three prongs: Classroom Visitation, mentioned above, One-on-One​ Mentoring, (a 10 year commitment), and a Worker/Teacher Job Exchange where 75 teachers went to Kodak every day for five​ weeks during the summer, and took over the job of his or her Kodak counterpart. "On Monday Ms. Johnson, from School #9, will be running the jobs scheduled for the Electron Beam Microscope, at the Kodak Research Lab." The premise was that hands-on, real-world experience enabled teachers to deliver STEM more effectively.

Whether Kodak is still involved or not, doesn't mean the classroom-visitation effort wasn't a good idea. STEM Bridges is focused on re-kindling the placement of STEM-Experienced Coaches into K-12 classrooms, supporting Teachers in all things STEM.

More Information

  • Click here to open the September 2017 RES Magazine The Rochester Engineer Feature Article on this STEM Initiative
  • Click here to open the August 2016 Cover Story on this STEM Initiative
  • Click here to see Frequently asked Questions from both Volunteers and Teachers
  • Click here to open previous News Releases on this STEM Initiative
  • Click here for an article on STEM by 2017 RES President Jon Kriegel
  • Click here to open our Initial Feature Article (2015)

Contact us!

STEM Bridges Contact Form for Teachers

Dear Teacher: Thank you for your interest in collaborating with a STEM Professional. After you fill out and submit section one and two of this form, you will be contacted by the STEM Bridges Coordinator to discuss your classroom opportunity. Once we have identified a volunteer STEM Coach, he or she will contact you to arrange a one-on-one planning meeting with you to discuss details (Current STEM topic, day-of-the-week, class time, etc).

We also do one-time STEM Events - contact STEM Bridges at 585 281-5216 for scheduling options.

PLEASE NOTE:  New teachers/classes will be honored in the order of application, by the next available Volunteer.

Google Form for Teachers

STEM Bridges Contact Form for Volunteers

Dear Volunteer STEM Coach: Thank you for your interest in bringing your professional expertise into collaboration with a classroom STEM teacher. After you fill out and submit this form you will be contacted by a STEM Bridges Coordinator to capture your interest, and availability, and to discuss current STEM opportunities.

Please Note: Classroom opportunities occur Mon-Fri during the school day.

Google Form for Volunteers

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