Dive Brief:

• Washington State was granted $170,000 to pursue Gov. Jay Inslee's STEM Education Innovation Alliance.  
• The money was granted by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, which also gave to 14 other states.  
• Inslee has appointed Student Achievement Council Executive Director Gene Sharratt to implement the STEM programs and oversee the meeting of the alliance.  

Dive Insight:

This $170,000 is especially helpful for Washington State, which was denied a federal NCLB waiver. Any extra dollars will be helpful for the state, and, of course, STEM subjects are very en vogue these days. Details for the state's STEM plan are listed here. A big part of the initiative is after school programming, allowing students to pursue STEM studies outside of traditional class time.