STEM West

The Rotary Club of Lenoir welcomed Dr. Carol Moore, President and CEO of STEM West, as guest speaker at the club’s meeting, August 7, 2026. Dr. Moore shared that STEM West had established nine partnerships across six school districts in western North Carolina. The goal of STEM West is to provide access to high quality STEM education for all students across rural western North Carolina including Caldwell, Burke, Catawba, and Alexander counties.
Dr. Moore shared how the partnership with Google had been very supportive of STEM education. Stem Trek, AI education, hands-on activities and conversations about different STEM skills are provided. AI Education Day and other events have served many students as AI affects people every day. Dr. Moore stated, “AI has been around a long time; it’s just being publicized a great deal more through education, government, health, customer service, finance, social media, and non-profits.” Responsible AI principals include being reliable, safe, fair, transparent, human centered, and secure. Dr. Moore further stated that use of AI should be relevant, personalized, and secure.
Programs established for STEM have promoted high quality education for students. Extreme STEM tours, First Filling the Gap, and Appalachian Entrepreneur Academy are proven examples. Dr. Moore concluded, “Why do I do it?” “It’s the right thing to do.”
In addition,
The Rotary Club of Lenoir meets on Fridays at 12:15 p.m. in the Christian Life Center, First United Methodist Church, Lenoir.

Calling all teachers! Fort Dobbs will be hosting our 2026 Fall School Day on September 25th! If your school is interested in attending, please follow the link below to sign up your students.

Link to the form: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/TXsgmzUeRW

If you have any questions, reach out to Leah Polk at [email protected]

WHEE are looking for Teacher Leaders to join an amazing WNC Elementary (K-4) STEM Teacher Leader Cohort for the next academic year.

Create goals and get creative in your own classroom, while receiving support from our amazing faculty, including Dr. Patricia Bricker.

Spots are limited. Applications open until August 19th, so don’t miss out!

Link in our bio or on QR code.

🔬🧮📝📓

$4 million pre-K investment in Forsyth County pays off, report says An initiative for high-quality Pre-K classrooms in Forsyth County led to strong student outcomes, teacher retention, and family engagement.