By: Jennifer Fitzsimmons, USF College of Education Development
With 67 high school STEM teaching positions in Hillsborough County unfilled and classrooms struggling to keep pace with student demand, the need for homegrown STEM educators has become urgent. But instead of waiting for change to arrive, the College of Education is helping to grow it from within our own community with a new program, IgniteED.
Imagine a high school student who loves building things, asking questions and solving problems. Maybe they’ve never considered becoming a teacher. Maybe no one has ever suggested it to them. Maybe they’ve never seen themselves reflected at the front of the classroom.
IgniteED could change that.
Through a new partnership with Hillsborough County Public Schools and Scoutlier, an online learning platform made to help educators, IgniteED will help support STEM-focused Future Florida Educators of America clubs in five local high schools. These clubs aren’t just after-school hangouts, they are immersive spaces where students meet real STEM teachers, experiment with Scoutlier powered STEM kits, visit USF’s College of Education, develop leadership skills and even mentor younger students who look up to them.
And in those moments, something shifts. A student who once saw STEM as a hobby suddenly sees it as a future.
What Your Gift Makes Possible
Each high school club needs $2,000 to launch. These funds cover everything from hands-on materials to snacks that keep students engaged, to guest speakers who can open new worlds of possibility. These small touches matter. They create an environment where students feel supported, energized and inspired.
To begin this journey, we’re starting with a $2,500 goal on HerdFunder. It’s our first milestone, an invitation for our community to help us get this movement off the ground. And as we grow closer to that first target, we plan to raise the goal toward our full vision: $12,000 to fully fund all five high schools.
Your gift, whether large or small, is a part of the story. It fuels the moment when a student first realizes, Maybe I could teach. Maybe I could make a difference. And once that realization takes hold, it grows.
The power of this initiative isn’t in the equipment or snacks or club T-shirts. It’s in the transformation that happens when a student sees themselves as a leader for the first time. When they mentor a younger child and feel the pride of helping someone learn something new. When they step onto the USF campus and imagine a life they never thought possible.
IgniteED can create those moments. And those moments become teachers.
This is not just a club.
It’s a pipeline.
It’s a promise.
It’s a movement.
When you support IgniteED, you’re not just funding a program, you’re shaping a story that will unfold for years to come.