Academics

• Mastery and enjoyment of key concepts and ways of thinking in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics sufficient to meet the standards in entry level college/university courses that could conceivably lead towards a major in these fields of study.
• Mastery and enjoyment of key cognitive strategies, those intelligent behaviors that are practiced, intentional, and habitual, and lead to college and university success. These include intellectual openness, inquisitiveness, analysis, reasoning/argumentation/proof, interpretation, precision and accuracy, problem solving.
• Mastery and enjoyment of interacting successfully with a wide range of faculty, students, community and business leaders, and industry experts.
• Mastery and enjoyment of reading, writing, research, and study skills and strategies at the standard to process the range of materials commonly encountered in first year college/ university courses.
• Mastery and enjoyment of working towards the resolution of challenges that improve the human condition.

• Sciences required through grade 12
• Math required through grade 12
• Engineering required and integrated through grade 12
• Technology required and integrated through grade 12
• Humanities required and integrated with the sciences through grade 12
• Social Sciences required and integrated through grade 12
• The Arts required and integrated with STEM PBL and design
• Spanish required through level three; highly recommended through level four and AP

The STEM School academic program offers a wide variety of learning opportunities, including Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) course work, internships, practicums, and independent study. Opportunities for college course credits also apply. All of these learning experiences are designed to help students investigate, explore, think critically, and solve problems while balancing analysis with creativity.

A key academic feature frames the first two years of a student’s experience at the STEM School. Students are immersed in an integrated Science, Engineering, and Humanities sequence where the focus is on the students’ development of multiple skills, including conducting authentic research and working with primary source documents, developing scientific investigations, understanding and applying the engineering design process, collaboratively working in the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) environment, developing digital literacy, and expanding critical thinking skills. Students study the core academic competencies and raise the bar by using their knowledge, skills, and creativity to investigate a real world problem. Students wrestle with an open-ended challenge, engage in the compelling questions, and bring research and debate into the equation while working towards resolution. Content areas of study include the Science, Engineering, and Humanities Program aligned and supported with Mathematics, Technology, Spanish, the Arts, and the Social Sciences.

It is during these final two years that students work in partnership with STEM School faculty, college professors, industry experts, and community and business leaders in a combined effort to further support and enrich students’ interests and curiosity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Students work in a defined STEM Lab Concentration, conduct inquiry and research, explore questions of their own, and develop their ideas to the level of publication. Individual schedules are tailored to a student’s interests and college readiness standards and application requirements.