Interdisciplinary, Personalized, Project-Based Learning

STEM classes will take the place of your ELA and Science/Social Studies classes within the middle school schedule.
A Typical Day in STEM
1st Hour in STEM
Grounding Activity
Focused, standards-based skill development
Independent Reading
Graph of the Week
Current Events
Mindfulness
Claim, Evidence, Reasoning Writing (CER) Practice
Calendar Planning (personalized)
Organize the day based on a student's individualized progress on projects and other activities
Project Development
Independent or cooperative work time on choice projects or challenges
2nd Hour in STEM
SCRUM
Small group discussion about project progress
Project Development
Literacy Discussion
Small group discussions about independent or common texts.
History
2015-2016: The Academy began in the second semester as a project-based science course option. Approximately 20 8th-graders piloted the program.
2016-2017: The Academy expanded to a social studies and science class with 80 students enrolled from both 7th and 8th-grade.
2017-2018: The Academy enrollment increased to 100 students in both 7th and 8th-grade.
2018-2019: The Academy expanded to include 6th-8th grade students and provides students with an interdisciplinary, personalized, project-based science, social studies, and English Language Arts course (60 students).
2019-2021: The Academy maintains its academic structure and increases enrollment to 81 students.
2021-2022: The Academy maintains its academic structure while expanding again to 108 students in grades 6-8.
2022-2023: The Academy maintains its academic structure and enrollment of 108 students in grades 6-8.