Copyright Chicago Tribune
A 15-year partnership among Baxter International, Northwestern University, Round Lake Area Schools District 116, and Lindbloom Math and Science Academy in Chicago has helped train nearly 4,000 teachers and educate 260,000 students for potential STEM careers. Veronica Arroyaze, Deerfield-based Baxter’s vice president of corporate responsibility and global philanthropy as well as director of the Baxter Foundation, said the aim is to prepare young people for careers focused on science, technology, engineering and math. “We’re building a talented workforce for the entire Chicago area,” Arroyaze said. “We need a supply of talented professionals to serve the community. They may not all be in the healthcare field. They may be mathematicians or engineers.” Known as the Baxter Center for Science Education, the partnership is comprised of the Baxter Foundation, Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy, Lindbloom and the Round Lake schools, it is receiving a financial boost for the next three years. The Baxter Foundation announced a $2.6 million grant to the partnership on Friday, the eve of National STEM Day Saturday, to provide professional education for STEM teachers and educational tools for students in the Chicago area, bringing the overall investment to $9 million. Announcing the grant ahead of STEM Day, Arroyaze said it is the perfect time to tout the partnership’s contributions to both teacher development and how educating teachers through Northwestern creates more students who can establish careers in the STEM field. “The partnership is making a difference for the entire Chicago area,” she said. “We can tell the amazing way this has helped build a fabulous healthcare workforce. We’ve created a ready supply of talented professionals, and this is a benefit to the whole community.” Jen Richards, a research assistant professor at Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy, also said the partnership provides STEM education to the entire area through the training of teachers to add to the tools they have for their classrooms. “We support teachers with preparation, and they can take (it) back to their classrooms,” she said. “The research experience the teachers receive here enables them to collaborate with their peers and do further research.” Richards said field trips are arranged for students from Round Lake High School, enabling them to spend time at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, getting an up-close look at potential careers in the medical field. “They can share information about a medical career with near-peer mentoring,” Richards said, referring to a program where high school students get to learn about potential opportunities with people close to their age. “They get to see what it’s like.” Baxter also provides a “Baxter Box” to high school classes. Arroyaze said it contains materials to conduct sophisticated experiments, which are generally not available to high schools. When the experiments are complete, the box is returned for another class elsewhere. Among the supplies in the Baxter Box are lab coats, goggles, blood-typing kits, pipettes, incubators and more. During a protein synthesis workshop at a professional development program offered through the partnership, Christina Moore, then a teacher at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago, developed a program at the Baxter Center, according to information provided by Baxter. Moore developed a program for high school freshman biology classes where students explored questions about the mRNA vaccines used to combat the coronavirus pandemic. They developed public service announcements to share learning with their communities. Among programs offered to teachers is an annual symposium, according to a news release from Baxter. It offers “Chicagoland educators hands-on experience, real-life laboratory practice and collaborative settings.”
