North Idaho College hosts Idaho teachers for hands-on STEM training

Great teachers are lifelong students, and that was on display at North Idaho College as educators from across Idaho gathered on the Coeur d’Alene campus for the 2026 i-STEM Summer Institute. The four-day program put teachers into hands-on workshops meant to connect classroom lessons to real jobs, new technologies and the kinds of problems Idaho employers are trying to solve.

The institute was one of six i-STEM sites across the state, part of a program built for PK-12 educators in both classroom and informal learning settings. State program materials say the goal is to connect teaching and learning to Idaho’s in-demand careers and industries, turning professional development into something teachers can carry straight back to students.

That payoff was part of the appeal for teachers like Jenny Meline of North Idaho Christian School, a sixth-grade teacher who said she is learning to love math while trying to get her students excited about something they can be passionate about. The classroom focus matters because it reaches beyond teacher jargon and into what students actually notice: more hands-on lessons, more chances to build, test and problem-solve, and more reasons to see math and science as useful instead of abstract.

The week’s strands covered engineering design, computational thinking, project-based learning, artificial intelligence and career-connected STEM education. Teachers also left with kits of materials they can use in their own classrooms, giving them ready-made tools for fall lessons rather than ideas that stay on paper. Idaho Education News reported that participants receive a STEM materials kit worth nearly $300 and continuing education credits, which helps explain why the institute draws such strong interest from educators.

Sherawn Reberry, the Idaho Workforce Development Council’s director of education and careers, said the goal is to equip educators with meaningful hands-on learning experiences that inspire innovation in the classroom and help prepare the next generation of Idaho innovators, leaders and skilled professionals. That workforce link is central for Kootenai County, where schools, families and employers all have a stake in whether students leave high school ready for technical training, apprenticeships or college programs.

North Idaho College’s role in the institute also fits its broader workforce mission. The NIC Workforce Training Center says it works closely with industry and business partners to develop high-demand training and serves more than 5,000 students annually. For teachers, that connection offers a direct line between lesson plans and local career pathways, from the classroom to the training center to the jobs Idaho needs filled.

Troy Wassink said the institute also gives teachers community, a chance to bounce ideas off one another and a reminder that they are not working alone in a difficult profession. Nearly 100 educators attended NIC’s local i-STEM sessions in 2024, showing the campus has already become a regional hub for STEM training that is meant to change what students see when they walk into class this fall.