Evaluation site for STEM Academy

The Compass Curriculum is where curiosity meets real-world application. Designed for middle schoolers, this course helps students connect STEM to their lives, interests, and future possibilities.

The course contains eleven exciting units wherein students explore diverse fields from flight and electronics to environmental science and medical tech — while strengthening core skills in problem-solving, collaboration, and creative thinking.

Within each unit you will find three levels. These levels allow the teacher the flexibility to pick and choose which units and levels best meet the abilities and needs of their students. For example, the teacher may choose to progress through all three levels of a unit in order or choose to only complete one or two levels in a unit. The levels are designed to work independently, while increasing in rigor.

Total Hours: 139-236 Hours (AVG: 188 Hours)

This course will be replacing our older 3 middle school courses. (Discovering STEM,  Designing with STEM, and Investigating STEM Skills)

Discovering STEM curriculum students will be introduced to basic STEM concepts. Students will take part in an activity from each area with culminating activities that put their STEM skills to the test. Students will enjoy hands on minds on approach to learning about science, technology, engineering, and math. Each activity is designed to give the teacher flexibility of delivery.

56-100 Clock Hours Total

This course is being retired for the 2025-26 school year.

Designing with STEM introduces students to the fun and powerful tools of designing and problem solving. The activities and academic applications engage the learner to embrace Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics while they examine each of the integral steps of critical design and problem solving.

56-100 Clock Hours Total

This course is being retired for the 2025-26 school year.

The Investigating STEM Skills course uses project-based and hands-on learning activities to prepare students for real-world applications. Each of the units in the course includes relevant, rigorous and blended instruction through project-based and hands-on learning. Units include baseline experiences like teamwork, problem solving and design and modeling as well as more specific areas of study like Medical Technologies, Engineering, Agriculture and related Biotechnologies and Coding/3D Design.

138-178 Clock Hours Total

This course is being retired for the 2025-26 school year.

This STEM course is a basic introduction to engineering for all students. Students who complete this course will learn the concepts needed to develop their ideas into solutions that will improve our lives. Exciting hands-on learning activities like data comparison of heart rates, rating consumer products, destructive testing and 3D solid modeling will apply math, science, history and English content from other courses in a STEM experience.

This STEM course makes a contribution to the curriculum by providing opportunities for students and teachers to link content together and apply it to solve problems. More and more jobs demand advanced skills, requiring that people be able to learn, reason, think creatively, make decisions, and solve problems. An understanding of science, technology, engineering and math and their methods contribute in an essential way to these skills. Principles of Engineering is a team based advanced course designed for most students. The Principles of Engineering courses intention and purpose is to educate students in a “main line” method providing STEM education for everyone. While providing a STEM based education for all students, those interested in becoming practicing engineers clearly benefit from this course content.

139-236 Clock Hours Total (AVG: 188 Clock Hours)