It has been four years since my last post on this blog. I had recently been chatting with my students in our Technology class and they encouraged me to get back to it. Apparently, I have a lot to say!
Once again, I just got back from the 2026 SD STEM Ed conference in Huron, SD. This conference was very different for me because I am currently serving as President of SDCTM, so I had a lot more responsibilities. While I was nervous, everything went well, and I stayed on script (mostly).
Some of the highlights for me were:
- Meeting RunningHorse Livingston and getting to interact with him and hear his story! Storytelling is so important for our students and I think we need to share our own stories more.
- Getting to see John Golden, one of my Twitter friends, and participate in one of his sessions, with my students and alumna.
- Hosting important conversations about the Proposed SD K - 12 Math Standards. A shout-out to the Department of Education for bravely showing up to listen to awesome math teachers.
- Watching alumni present and shine--we had three of them present. Colin Marsh had a session on Building Thinking Classrooms, where people could share their journey, asking for advice, and give tips. Leanne Holdorf did a session on how she uses Breakout Boxes in her classes--with a breakout for everyone to solve. Emily Siemonsma shared lessons that she is creating from her experience working at SURF, where students have to determine airflow at certain places underground based on the information given.
- Presenting awards to some awesome people and getting to witness awesome teachers get recognized for all they do every day!
- Hanging out with some of the best math, science, and STEM teachers in South Dakota!
I stayed an extra night so that I could watch project pitches by teachers in the STEM Leadership Cohort, funded by the E-CORE project. I am involved in the E-CORE project and I wanted to hear about projects these awesome teachers had decided to lead. And, let's just say, I was so inspired by them! They were vulnerable, creative, and so passionate about their projects. It is going to be on my list of things to do after the conference every year!
One of the teachers wanted to acknowledge others for their hard work, dedication, and inspiration, so she had one of our friends, Kevin Smith, create a thank you card. I don't think it is on the website yet, but he has some amazing items!
I want to thank all educators and exhibitors who attended the 2026 SD STEM Ed conference. You are all bright spots, which we desperately need in education right now!
