• About the School

    The STEM Innovation Academy of the Oranges is a highly-innovative 4-year program spanning grades 9-12 resulting from the joint collaborative between The City of Orange, the Orange Public Schools, the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), The College of New Jersey, and Montclair State University. The Academy exemplifies an early college model whereby students, from grade 9 on, navigate through a four-year scope and sequence of high school and college coursework. The Academy provides students with a high school to college to career continuum that helps them understand the direct links between what they are learning today and the worlds of college and work. 

     

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    At the Academy, students will earn college credits toward a degree in one of three majors - Computing Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, or Biomedical Engineering.  All curricula are aligned with the Common Core State Standards or the Next Generation Science Standards as the foundation for learning in higher education institutions with strong mathematics, science, and engineering programs.

     

    The Components

    While the Academy is a comprehensive school, it embodies a few unique core components:

    • Focus on Early College: Student learning is focused from grade nine on, through a four-year scope and sequence of high school and college coursework.

     

    • Focus on Project Based Learning: The Academy hopes to spark a transformation of teaching and learning by offering a combined Design Thinking and project-based learning approach in grades 9-12; while emphasizing the “soft-skills” necessary for today’s workplace – skills in collaboration, communication, creativity, problem-solving, and perseverance. 

     

    • Focus on Calculus-Based Majors: Calculus serves as the foundation for many college students to help them understand complex mathematical computations.

     

    • Focus on Careers: Students participate in an ongoing, sequenced workplace learning curricula informed by current industry standards.

     

    • Focus on Personal Pathways: Each student moves through a personalized academic pathway that is closely monitored by his or her teachers and advisors, and based on individual needs and performance.