The Official STEMscopes Blog

Kathy Blanton’s instructional experience is vast. Before joining STEMscopes, she taught math, health, and science to several different grade levels, and is now entering her eighth year of teaching seventh-grade science at Rodeo Palms Junior High at Alvin ISD, a large suburban district south of Houston. It’s her extensive experience and passion for teaching that’s made her the perfect fit for writing science curriculum at STEMscopes, where she currently works a second full-time position.

When protests erupted across the country last spring, I was confused as to what they were about. Naturally, I was horrified by the murder of George Floyd. But I didn’t understand the Black Lives Matter movement, or the anger behind the protests and where it was coming from. The only information I was getting were news stories, but they weren’t very informative.

To date the federal government has designated funding for COVID-19-related expenses through two major federal bills intended to provide relief to all U.S. states and territories: the CARES Act and HR133/ESSER. A substantial portion of each type of funding is available to education, both K-12 and higher education, through the state, territory, tribal, and in some cases individual city government. Most school districts are eligible for this funding, some of which can be used for programs like STEMscopes.

It’s no surprise that STEMscopes sought Jennifer Donovan to join the company’s team of curriculum writers. Donovan’s experience in teaching spans several subjects, grades, and districts. She taught all third-grade subjects while at Galveston ISD, in addition to teaching both math and social studies to fourth through sixth grades at Galveston and Dickinson ISD. She was also team leader, mentoring teacher, and department lead. To say she is apt at juggling several topics and subjects at once would be an understatement.

Carri Bevil saw firsthand how effective STEMscopes Science was in her district. So when asked to join the new STEMscopes Math team as a curriculum writer, she knew she’d be helping to create a quality learning experience. Bevil has been a key writer in the development of STEMscopes Math since 2018, and is actively involved as the team prepares to craft the company’s first middle school math curriculum.