STEAM Grant

STEAM Grant is sponsored by Central Wisconsin Electric Cooperative (CWEC). The Central Wisconsin Electric Cooperative offers STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) grants for K-12 classrooms in their service area. The grants can be used to purchase equipment or curriculum materials for academically focused projects.

STEAM Grant | Central Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Sign-up for Electric Line e-Newsletter To report a power outage please call 1-800-377-2932. To learn about CWEC Energy Conservation Rewards call our office at 715-677-2211. The CWEC office will be closed Sept.

7 in observation of Labor Day. Central Wisconsin Electric Cooperative (CWEC) values education and training and understands that classrooms may have limited funding to pursue the projects needed to educate the young minds in our local communities.

By embracing cooperative principle #5 Education, Training and Information, we are able to extend our resources to support STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) projects and initiatives. Funding is available for public, public charter, private, and home schools in our service area for classrooms with students K-12.

The classroom project must be academically focused in the areas of science, technology, engineering, art, or math. The grant may be used to purchase equipment or curriculum materials and should be part of a well-planned and integrated project or activity. Instructors may apply for a STEAM grant up to $1,000 per school district, per academic year.

Home schools are allowed to receive up to $100 per home school, per academic year. Public Schools – Bowler, Iola-Scandinavia, Rosholt, Tigerton, and Wittenberg-Birnamwood. Public Charter, Private, and Home Schools – Must be within the Townships CWEC serves.

Click here for a listing of the eligible Townships or call our office. Applications will be reviewed by the CWEC Operation Round Up Board at its quarterly meetings to be sure they meet the qualifications. The deadline to apply each quarter is as follows: Please ensure that all forms are filled in completely before forwarding to us.

Incomplete applications will not be submitted for consideration. Applications should be submitted 4-6 weeks prior to the date of anticipated need. Applicants agree that their name, photo, and the project may be used for any marketing purposes at Central Wisconsin Electric Cooperative.

Examples of projects that would NOT be considered for funding: Travel expenses, field trips, guest speakers, entry fees, t-shirts or other promotional items/prizes, and meals. If you are seeking funding for a project and think that the STEAM grant might not be the right place to apply, visit our Operation Round-Up page to see if you qualify for funding.

Click here to complete and submit the application online Printable PDF application If you prefer to submit a paper copy send the completed application and any other pertinent materials by mail to: Central Wisconsin Electric Cooperative For more information about the program, please contact Brenda Mazemke at brenda. mazemke@cwecoop. com or (800) 377-2932.

Recipients of the STEAM Grant are listed below: Iola-Scandinavia School District: $1,000; Purchase items for the renovation of the auditorium at Iola-Scandinavia High School.

Bowler School District: $900; Calculators and miscellaneous classroom supplies for math and science classes Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District: $1,000; Materials for workshop exploring electromagnetism for middle school students Rosholt School District: $1,000; Material for K-8th Grade Math Intervention Bowler School District: $400; 10 Electronic Balance Scales for Middle & High School Rosholt School District: $500; Rocket Kits for 4th Grade Class Bowler School District: $500; STEAM Bins for First-Grade Students Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District: $1,000; Urban Search & Rescue Robot Tigerton School District: $1,000; Supplies to Build an Energy Bike Bowler School District: $551; Super-Mileage Vehicle Project Bowler School District: $448; Material to Build STEAM Morning Tubs for 1st Grade Students Rosholt School District: $1,000; Making Minds Project for students in Pre-K through 6th Grade Iola-Scandinavia School District: $1,000; Smraza Electronics Kits for High School Technology Class IOLA-SCANDINAVIA SCHOOL DISTRICT RECEIVES $1,000 STEAM GRANT CWEC President & CEO Lila Shower (second from right) presents a $1,000 STEAM grant to Shannon Huettner, high school support instructor at Iola-Scandinavia High School, and part of the team who heads up the district’s musical each year (second from left), Dale Bestul (far left), and Zach Shulfer, general music teacher for grades 4-6 and chorus teacher for grades 7-12 in the Iola-Scandinavia School District.

(far right). August 2025 - The Iola-Scandinavia School District has received a $1,000 STEAM grant from Central Wisconsin Electric Cooperative (CWEC) to be used to purchase items for the renovation of the auditorium at Iola-Scandinavia High School. The renovation project will benefit students in the school district who participate in choir, band, and theater.

“I think the students have earned this in a way,” said Shannon Huettner, a high school support instructor in the district, and part of the team who heads up the district’s musical each year. “We have grown the musical to have almost 70 students yearly participate. For a small school district, that’s really great.

Because we have so many kids involved with the musical, the need was there. I almost feel like we’re fulfilling a need they have. ” She added, “They will have a much greater theater experience when performing.

” Since the auditorium originally opened in 1979, Huettner said there have been some updates made, but it was time for a more in-depth renovation of the auditorium. The curtains were faded and had holes in them and the lights put out a lot of heat with students underneath them, Huettner said. “We’re not sure if the curtains were ever replaced,” Huettner said.

“We can’t find any paperwork on that. We’re pretty sure the lights have not been replaced. The sound system has been upgraded over the years, but it still wasn’t up to date.

” In addition, the district didn’t have any wireless microphones and had borrowed some from the Amherst School District when needed. “We have been using Amherst microphones, the Amherst soundboard, and we’ve been dealing with the other things the best we can,” Huettner said. When Dale Bestul was brought in to help build the set for the district’s musical, he suggested the district do fundraising to renovate the auditorium.

“When we went to do the bids on how much we were actually going to need, it was like $400,000,” Huettner said. “We were like, that’s going to take 20 years to get that much money, and it’s going to cost twice as much. ” The high total cost of the renovation of the auditorium shifted the thinking to do the project in three phases, Huettner said.

The first phase would be replacing the lights, with the second phase replacing the sound system, and everything else would be in the third phase. “But once we started fundraising, the funds came in more plentiful than what we expected,” Huettner said. In addition, when competitive bids were obtained, the cost was lower than what organizers originally thought.

“Which was great because we had a wish list that just never ends,” Huettner said. “We had enough money to do sound, lights, and curtains. As the money has been coming in, we just go down our wish list.

We have been able to check off a lot of things. The three-phase project has really turned into maybe an extended year. ” So far, an all-new sound system, lighting system, and curtains have been installed.

Huettner said she believes that 75% of the entire renovation project will be completed by the district’s musical performance in February 2026, with everything being completed in 2027. “That is allowing us to add the streaming equipment, new audio visual, projector, new stage floor, things that we didn’t really know (if we could afford),” Huettner said. “We didn’t realize how expensive some of these things are.

We also didn’t realize that our auditorium, because of how old it is, and the materials it was constructed with, the sound isn’t great. So, we really need those wall panels now that we have this great equipment to keep everything sounding good. ” One of the items that is part of the sound system is an audio loop that will help those with hearing aids with a telecoil to have the audio sent directly to their hearing aids.

The cost of that audio loop was $15,000 and was paid for with a grant from the Waupaca County Community Foundation. Twenty headsets were also purchased.

“If you don’t wear a hearing aid but you are hard of hearing or you don’t hear things clearly, you can stop at our sound and light booth and they will give you a monitor with a headset that you put on and sit in your seat and turn it on and you are now connected in our loop,” Huettner said. Huettner said she is appreciative of the STEAM grant from CWEC, adding that they are still collecting donations from the public. “It’s momentum.

It’s modeling for other groups and organizations that we have a project that’s worth investing in,” Huettner said. “So, I think it’s extremely important and I know that we have many students and families who have worked for or who have been patrons of the co-op.

” History of Central Wisconsin Electric Cooperative CWEC Electric Service Manual Member Contact Information Dairy Farm Rewiring Loan and Grant Program Co-op Connections Program Scholarship Opportunities Youth Leadership Conference Energy Conservation Rewards GenerLink Transfer Switch Complimentary Electric Vehicle Charging Station New Distribution Generation System Procedures Solar Demonstration System Output Emergency Responder Safety Tips Emergency Management Contacts 2025 "Life in Rural Wisconsin" Winning Photos Safety Before & After Storms Wisconsin Energy Cooperative News Energy Efficiency Rebates Available