FAQs: Educators

• Any offerings from our ASAP partners attended between August 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024. See list of ASAP partners listed on the website: http//stemteachers.asu.edu
• If you attended or plan to attend PD outside this network and would like to have it approved, let us know. PD provided by State and Federal STEM agencies (e.g., NASA, AZ Game and Fish), PD provided by ASU, NAU, U of A or GCU, as well as college-level coursework that is STEM specific and taken from an approved accredited in-state university or community college counts.

• Anything Non - STEM related. All PD must be STEM related. 
• PD from websites and platforms like LinkedIn Learning and Masterclass will 

• not be accepted. 

• Out of state science PD that is not prior approved. For example if you attend a state science conference for New Mexico. It would need prior approval. 
• National major organizations like NSTA are approved as long as they have local affiliates. For instance if you attend the Air Force Association national STEM conference in Virginia that would be allowed. The Air Force Association has local affiliates in all parts of Arizona. 
• Your district may provide STEM PD only if they are working with the ASAP team then yes- it counts. If it is not affiliated with ASAP - then you would need to send us the info on that PD for approval. 
• Say for instance your district purchases a new science book and the folks from the book company come to do a PD training with your department, that kind of PD does not count towards the 30 hrs.

• Approval for PD from for-profit providers will be on a case by case basis.
• As mentioned above, national and state reputable organizations are fine in most cases. 
• There are numerous organizations that are not part of the project, but have excellent PD such as the Maricopa County STEM Office, Arizona Department of Education, multiple community colleges, and others for example. Organizations in Arizona who have proven track records for good STEM PD will be accepted. We ask that you just use your best judgement when selecting opportunities for hours. 
• If you are interested in PD from outside of our network, please email stemteachers@asu.edu with a description of the course, number of hours, link, and a short explanation of how it aligns with your STEM project plans/professional development plans and we can tell you if you are unsure if that PD counts.

• It is highly encouraged to take in-person STEM PD whenever possible.
• If you are looking for virtual hours because of your location, please contact us to see if we can arrange in-person PD in your area.
• Participants must have at least 20 of their 30 hours be in person unless you have mitigating circumstances. Please contact us at STEMteachers@asu.edu as soon as possible if you need to discuss this approval.
• If you are interested in Virtual PD from outside of our network, please email stemteachers@asu.edu with a description of the course, number of hours, link, and a short explanation of how it aligns with your STEM project plans/professional development plans.
• There are multiple PD partners participating with ASAP that will travel to your location. It is highly advised to reach out to PD partners who you are interested in teaming with and see what can happen. Most PD partners just need a location and place to meet. That is why it is encouraged to reach out to folks and see what is possible.

• Teachers participating in the program will receive: $2,000 for materials (please provide receipts in the end of year report due )Jun 30, 2024 $500 for incidental expenses incurred by participating in the program (does not require receipts), and a total of $4,500 stipend for completing all milestones.
• For year 2, you have completed your first milestone as part of your application. Teachers can receive their $2500 to use for supplies and incidentals once their 1st milestone is completed. 
• As a fellow in this program you will be working as a ASU contractor. ASU contractors are paid via milestones. In other words once you complete certain tasks you are eligible to be paid by the university for your work. 
• ASU and our office cannot give tax advice, however as a contractor you will receive a 1099 tax form at the end of the year. 
• All deliverables (total of 4 lesson plans, total of 30 hrs of PD, and an End of Year Report on your project or program) are due no later than June 30th 2024. Please ensure you can complete all the requirements of the program prior to this date.

Completing Milestones:

Milestone 1:  Email with ASU paperwork information 

Step 1: 

Register as an individual supplier in the ASU system. Once you are registered in the system, you will receive a supplier number. You have already submitted your fellowship plan as part of your application.

Completion of Milestone 1 - $2000 + $500 = $2500 

Milestone 2 : Two lesson plans and 10 hours of PD

Step 1: Complete your first 10 hours of professional development. You must include attendance certificates. 

Fill out this form

STEP 2: Two approved lesson plans to Jonathan Perrone, our ASAP Lesson Plan Coordinator. Submit your lesson plans on the website here. 

Completion of Milestone 2 - $1000

Milestone 3: Two additional lessons, 20 additional hours of PD

Step 1: Complete 20 additional hours of professional development (30 hours total). You must include attendance certificates.

Step 2: Two additional approved lesson plans (4 total) to Jonathan Perrone our ASAP Lesson Plan Coordinator. Lesson plans must follow proper format and guidelines for acceptance. Submit your lesson plans on our website. You will receive $3000 for PD and lesson plans. 

Step 3: Complete your end of project report and reflection surveys $500. (Approximately 3 pages of writing, we will send the template by March 2024.) 

Completion of Milestone 3 - $3,000 + $500 = $3500

• We want you to do STEM with kids! This can come in many forms and we hope to see a great deal of diversity in everyone's projects. 
• Anything that serves students in the name of STEM is fair game. For example:
  • New project-based learning curriculum that was created/implemented
  • Activities with students in afterschool program or club
  • School-wide STEM activities (e.g., contests, fairs)
  • Other (based on your amazing ideas!)
• If you are struggling with ideas for a program or project, we encourage you to reach out to any of our PD partners and attend one of their workshops or events to learn more about what is possible.

• Lesson plans need to be submitted using the google slides template that will be provided by ASAP
• Lesson plans should be a description of the project you are doing with students. It is a record of what you have done or would do with students and a guide that other teachers could use to apply to their program at their school
• Lesson plans need to be submitted by June 30, 2024

• The End of Year Report will have the questions listed on the “Project Report Template”. Feel free to make a copy and fill this out on your own if you finish before the Report is released later in 2024 on airtable. It needs to include: 
  • A summary of the student facing STEM project
  • Receipts for materials
  • How materials were utilised
  • Results of your work with students 
  • Minimum 4 Photos of the project. No identifiable student information.
• If the teacher includes a video link - please ensure no students' faces are captured in the media submitted. Or include a waiver from your district to use their images.

• We are ready to work with you to help you complete the project. Please let us know if you require more time to complete the project or professional development hours. We will do our best to work with all fellows. 
• The sooner you contact us, the more options we have to help you. Do not wait until May or June to contact us!
• Materials and equipment purchased with ASAP money are intended to stay with the school or district whenever possible. However materials are being granted to the teachers during year one of the program and not to schools or districts. If you intend to leave early, please leave your supplies with folks who will use them.

• Student facing materials. This means materials that students will use as you do projects/activities.
• Materials from PD Partner Suggestion Lists (if applicable).
• Durable goods that do not have to be purchased frequently.
• Materials for hands-on projects.
• Please consider only a limited amount of consumables in your purchases
• ASAP’s goal is to provide students, teachers, and schools materials that can benefit them for years to come. However, we understand that the needs of each school and community are different. ASAP knows teachers are the experts on their communities. So please think of your purchase as a long term investment in your classroom. 
• Personal electronic devices such as iPads and laptops are not within the bounds of the grant, and it does not cover the cost of such devices.
• You cannot use the funds for field trips or subscriptions.

• Connect with PD Organizations for ideas.
• There are many professional development organisations partnering with ASAP that are happy to help teachers create projects, provide ideas for projects, or connect teachers with others to act as mentors for your projects. 
• Connect with other Fellows through professional organisations, conferences, and our Facebook page for ideas. 
• View a number of successful projects and stories from year one of ASAP on the ASAP Instagram
• You are the expert on your students, your classroom, and your community. Our objective is to support you with the materials, community, and training to meet your STEM teaching goals.

No, however, a few of the PD Partner programs may have an option for this.

Yes - however that credit must be taken between August 1, 2023-June 30, 2024.

• Please connect with us on social media! We can be found on…
  • Facebook: facebook.com/groups/azstemaccelerationproject
  • Instagram: instagram.com/azstemacceleration
  • Website: stemteachers.asu.edu
  • Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/ASAPYoutubeVideos 
• Our goal is to support your efforts and that means celebrating with you whenever your kids shine. Let your local newspapers know when you host an event. Share any news articles about your successes!
• Our team would love to get as much info and feedback from folks as their projects progress over the year. Please do not hesitate to reach out. 
• Let us know if you would like a representative from ASAP to video or take photographs at your event/project.

• Your help in this project will be incredibly valuable. Know that you as the teacher are not being evaluated, nor is your school, or your students. We will want to know the number of students impacted. However, no personal identifiable data will be collected in the research. Participation in this program is not contingent upon agreeing to participate in research. 
• A part of this project is academic research. The goal being to make a case for further funding in STEM education statewide. Our team in the coming years will be looking at how much impact this program has on kids as well as teachers. We encourage folks to complete surveys and participate in roundtables whenever possible. Every little bit helps. Thanks for your support.

YES! It is our hope that as a STEM Fellow you would invite others to the amazing opportunities forming across the state. It's our dream to see teams show up for events.

Upon completion of the fellowship fellows will also receive a certificate of completion from Arizona State University that they have completed the year as an Arizona STEM Fellow in the Arizona STEM Acceleration Project.

If you have accepted the fellowship, you have given consent to participate in the evaluation study. You can change your mind at any time and reach out to UoEEE who will help you work that out. They can be emailed at uoeee@asu.edu .

• We understand that there are many reasons that teachers might not be able to complete their plan by the end of this school year. If you are not able to receive funds and materials in time to implement the project with your students we will not hold that against you. The plan you turned in at the beginning of the year is just a plan. It is possible that you will purchase materials and get set up to implement next year, and that is perfectly reasonable. You can purchase your materials, turn in your receipts, and discuss your implementation plan in the final report. 
• You just need to complete the milestones listed above to complete the fellowship.

The most common struggle we had with delayed checks last year was name and address discrepancies between our records and Workday. If your address or name has recently changed, please communicate with Supplier Admin at SupplierAdmin@exchange.asu.edu  and update this change as soon as possible to prevent delays in your payments. Please also cc Shahla Naraghi at snaraghi@asu.edu  and Tiffany Farr at tafarr@asu.edu in your communication.