STEM Innovation Academy of the Oranges

Overview

The STEM Innovation Academy of the Oranges

The long-range vision for The STEM Innovation Academy of the Oranges (the Academy) is to create an early college model for STEM education that unites public and private sector to provide better options for our students and that strengthens the continuum from high school to college to careers.  The Academy provides a fully integrated STEM education model using engineering design, mathematical analysis, and scientific investigation to leverage the natural connections between STEM subjects while offering multiple pathways to post-secondary study. Its mission is to provide students, underrepresented in STEM college majors and careers, with a personalized pathway towards mastery of the skills and knowledge that they will need to make the transition from secondary education to college and industry. The STEM Innovation Academy of the Oranges considers college admission and completion the goal for all students.

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School Profile

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 school operates on an extended school day model with students attending from 8:20am – 3:30pm; teachers, from 8:05am – 4pm. 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.

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Our Narrative

 
The STEM INNOVATION ACADEMY of the ORANGES encompasses the dualities of rigor and collaborative working relationships, results and respect. We have one common intellectual mission--to ready students for college success via exposure to DEEPER LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS (project based, highly personalized, blended learning experiences) that are strategically focused on the individual needs of ALL students. This focus is supported by the belief in ALL students' abilities and is reflective of high expectations. This allows us to strike a seamless balance between striving and supporting-- demanding performance with purpose; systematically engaging students as scientists, authors, creators, inventors, collaborators and problem solvers.  This is a complex shift in mindset in which the STEM INNOVATION ACADEMY community embraces, takes ownership of, and subscribes.