Newport News Public Schools earned a 2015 Programs That Work Award from the Virginia Mathematics and Science Coalition for its iSTEM Innovation Institute, a series of instructional courses for teachers. Selected as one of 10 programs from across the state to receive the award in recognition of its impact on STEM education, the iSTEM (Instructional Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Innovation Institute is a series of four classes (one per semester) which build progressively from introducing the foundations of STEM and real-world applications, to STEM instruction across content areas.