In4All’s new design-thinking program was piloted in the Salem-Keizer School District before being launched this year. As an 8th grade teacher, I saw first hand how it changed the way students engaged in the classroom.

The beginning of the school year is always an exciting time. At In4All, we’re excited to welcome back business partners from last year and several new organizations that each bring something unique to our community.

Our Team Builder program is one of those things that is both practical and inspirational. This summer, four organizations assembled 200 activity kits for the upcoming school year — and walked away inspired.

Students in our design thinking program are learning how important it is to understand the feelings and perspectives of others when defining solutions in a community.

Digimarc concluded the school year by hosting 110 students and teachers from Greenway Elementary for a fun, interactive experience to learn about Digimarc technologies.

The In4All board knows its critical to understand the narrative and needs of the students we serve so we have added two student positions to the Board of Directors to ensure youth voice always informs our direction.

Thanks to support from First Tech Credit Union, we just released our 2018-2019 All Star cards highlighting the diverse backgrounds and interests of our volunteers. Card packs will be delivered to every 5th grade student who participated in STEM Connect this year.

At The Standard, giving back to the communities where its employees live and work is a high priority. The STEM Connect program is helping it make a real difference for Portland students located just 4 miles away.

After piloting the program in 2018, In4All is launching a new program to engage 8th grade students in defining and solving problems they see in their own communities.