Beverly Schwartz started the first STEM program in the late 1980s under its initial name LearnTech. New York state announced it would be testing its students on hands-on science in the next few years. Schwartz taught the third grade in Troy, New York at Public School 14. Schwartz had never taught hands on  science in this way the state was going to require and test.  Schwartz set out to create lesson plans and try to find help to create the lessons. Schwartz was inspired by a physics demonstration and sought out the demonstrator’s help at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), the college local to Troy, New York, directly next to Public School 14. Schwartz with the help of the demonstrator soon recruited RPI students to create science lessons that went along with the New York State science curriculum. The lessons always included demonstrations of the subject being taught.  Then the  RPI students had the class break up into small groups to do hands on projects with the RPI students.  Rensselaer students gained class credit for their participation in this program and also gained experience teaching.  The Troy 14 students were captivated and parents were always invited to attend the classes to observe or help if they wished with the small group hands on lessons.  The program soon expanded into more grades in School 14.

​

In 1990 Schwartz won $19,000 from the McAuliff National Fellowship which served to fund the program. The program caught the attention of NBC from its several featured stories in the press. As a result, Schwartz was featured on the Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. After the story aired, Schwartz was approached by professional engineers in the area. The engineers wanted the STEM program to start in four counties in the Albany New York area.  This is when the name of the program changed to STEM. However, the goals and objectives of the program stayed the same. Other source claim STEM was coined in 1999-2001 which is inaccurate.

 

In 1992, STEM (Science, TEchnology & Mathematics) Inc., was founded as a 501 (c)(3) non‑profit organization serving schools and industry in four counties in Upstate New York State which were Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady, and Rensselaer counties. The organization was created in recognition of the impending shortage of qualified engineers and technologists in the United States. Representatives from technical and professional societies, business and industry, colleges and universities and private and public schools joined forces with STEM to ultimately help reverse this trend. The STEM organization was dedicated to exciting students of all ages about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. STEM's programs and partnerships have helped bridge the gap between schools, business and industry, and institutions of higher learning in the Capital District.

​

The STEM program included in-class demonstrations, hands-on small group activities, science fairs, gifted and talented programs, mentors visited area schools as to discuss careers and offered tours to students in mentor workplaces.  STEM also created science kits and purchased equipment that could be shared with all school districts involved at no cost. The science kits included materials for in-class demonstrations.  All of the kits followed the New York State curriculum and  were shared among the districts.  A directory was published and listed the names of the mentors and how to contact them to invite them into schools at no cost. The mentors were a compilation of professionals and college students from the area volunteering to share their knowledge with students. Each year STEM invited mentors, parents, educators, and students to a mentor recognition night. The students met the mentors and viewed the kits and equipment that would be found in classrooms. The program reached from kindergarten to twelfth grade, noted in a Quarterly from September 2004. The program continued strong until Schwartz's retirement in 2007. At this time STEM programs were now found around the United States.