TIES, Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM education is the country's foremost innovator bringing STEM School design, STEM curriculum, and STEM instructional support to schools, districts, states and the federal government. TIES design teams work to create and build the finest STEM schools throughout the country. TIES recognizes the importance of school design and STEM professional development for all teachers as the basis to improve and advance the character of science, technology, engineering and mathematics teaching for students regardless of grade level. TIES understands the need to shift the teaching of STEM education to focus less on fragmented and isolated bits of discrete information and more on scientific understanding and reasoning. STEM education is trans-disciplinary in nature offering students the ability to use project-based learning to address real-world issues that affect their family, their community and their world. TIES works with regional and state economic development organizations to fuel STEM education curriculum and instructional program development for the benefit of all. Our students are digital natives and TIES works to ensure that the "Technology and Engineering" in STEM drive the relevance of the "Science and Mathematics."