Hoehne science teacher Keith Berry earns national STEM research grant

A Hoehne Schools science teacher is bringing a national STEM research grant back to Las Animas County, and the award could change what students do in the lab long before they leave high school. Keith Berry was named among 41 educators selected across 16 states for Society for Science’s 2026 STEM Research Grants.

For Hoehne students, the grant matters because it is built around hands-on research, not just classroom theory. Society for Science says the program is designed to expand inquiry-driven STEM learning in middle and high school classrooms, with priority given to schools that have limited access to research equipment and resources. In a rural district like Hoehne School District RE-3, that kind of support can mean the difference between reading about science and actually doing it.

The 2026 grants were divided between 21 classroom research kits valued at $1,000 each and 20 awards of up to $5,000 per teacher. Society for Science said the funded projects can include DNA analysis, solar engineering, water-quality monitoring, bacterial growth studies and sustainable gardens, giving teachers tools to build student-led work that often requires specialized materials many small districts cannot easily buy on their own.

Berry is listed by Society for Science as a recipient representing Hoehne Schools in Trinidad, and the district’s staff directory identifies him as a science and English teacher. That combination puts him in a position to reach students in both lab-based and academic settings, while the grant gives him a new avenue to build advanced science experiences in a school system where those opportunities can be harder to assemble than in larger districts.

The national scope of the award also matters for a community like Hoehne. Being selected from a field of educators in 16 states signals that Berry’s classroom work stood out beyond Las Animas County and beyond Colorado. For local students, that recognition can translate into more than a line on a résumé. It can open the door to research skills, problem-solving habits and college or career pathways that usually require traveling to bigger districts or outside institutions.

Society for Science said the 2026 program was sponsored by Regeneron and Centurion Foundation. The organization said the grants help students build confidence, think critically and develop STEM skills, reinforcing the idea that serious scientific inquiry can start in a small county classroom and grow into something much larger.