COEUR d’ALENE — Great teachers are also lifelong students. 

Educators from across Idaho are visiting the North Idaho College campus this week for the 2026 i-STEM Summer Institute, Idaho’s flagship statewide STEM professional learning program for pre-K through 12 and other educators.

Held at six colleges across the state, the I-STEM Summer Institutes engage hundreds of teachers in four days of immersive, hands-on learning aimed at helping them deepen their strategies for connecting classroom instruction to real-world challenges, emerging technologies and high-demand career opportunities across Idaho. 

“i-STEM continues to empower Idaho educators with meaningful, hands-on learning experiences that inspire innovation in the classroom,” said Dr. Sherawn Reberry, Education and Careers director at the Idaho Workforce Development Council. “Through these experiences and industry partnerships, we are preparing the next generation of Idaho innovators, leaders and skilled professionals.” 

Jenny Meline, a sixth grade teacher at North Idaho Christian School, said her passion lies in English and language arts. Like her students, she’s learning to love math. 

“I’m trying to get them to be passionate about something,” she said. 

Meline joined several other teachers Tuesday morning in a strand aimed at exploring how educators can teach core math and science skills simultaneously while anchoring those concepts in experiences or personal stories that help students grasp them. 

“Between ELA, math and science are so many skills our students need,” said Troy Wassink, who helped lead the session. 

Wassink is a regional science coach with the Idaho Department of Education. His job is to provide research-based science professional development for Idaho educators. 

“It gives me joy to give support to someone who’s doing a challenging job,” he said. 

Wassink said conferences like the i-STEM Summer Institutes help teachers build community and give them opportunities to bounce ideas off one another. 

“The job of teaching is so hard,” he said. “You’re teaching on an island so often.”  

Continuing professional education is also beneficial for teachers. 

“It helps them, at times, to be the student,” Wassink said. 

Other strands throughout the week will delve into engineering design, computational thinking, project-based learning, artificial intelligence and career-connected STEM education. 

Teachers don’t just come away with new techniques and ideas for inspiring many of the sciences in their students. They also receive kits full of materials they can use in their own classrooms. 

“It’s amazing that NIC and i-STEM and the state make this possible,” Wassink said. 

The other sites hosting i-STEM Summer Institutes are the College of Southern Idaho, Boise State University, the College of Eastern Idaho, Idaho State University and Lewis-Clark State College. 

Info: stem.idaho.gov