Making Learning Meaningful: Why integrated STEM programs make sense

How do we get kids to love learning and love going to school every day? This is a growing problem in our society today. Kids are experiencing stress, anxiety, and depression at rapidly growing rates. Psychology Today (Grey, May 2018) indicated “a continuous increase in the rate of psychiatric emergencies during school weeks, but not during vacation weeks over the four year period of the study”.
The reasons vary from academic pressures, peer pressures, disinterest, and plain boredom. At Lake Travis STEM Academy we make learning fun by creating real world curriculum and experiences to provide students with engaging, supportive, and authentic lessons/projects.

Students feel personally relevant to each collaborative learning experience they are working on and don’t want to miss out a day! LTSA strives to create enthusiasm and excitment for learning through experiences, reflection, and critical thinking. We believe that listening to our students and determining how they learn is key to their success.

Small student/teacher ratios and multilevel classes provide supportive family-like learning environments. Sudents are themselves at school. Students celebrate individuality and offer lots of encouragement! LTSA’s successful mentorship program; older students mentor younger students in projects, play, and field experiences has had a very positive effect on all students. Younger students love having the attention and relationships with the “big kids” whom they admire, and older students love the responsibilities of nurturing the younger students.

LTSA students use their school time effectively so when at home they can pursue other interests and family time. Finland uses this same model and also has happy learners. LTSA’s alternative way of learning without standardized testing, benefits students without the accompanying stress. A recent survey by American Psychological Association revealed that teenagers are the most stressed, anxious people in America; 83% cited school as the stressor; 27% reported extreme stress during the school year compared to 13% reporting that during the summer. (May, 2018). LTSA is a private STEM School, accredited by AdvancED, and part of the University of Colorado’s Xsci Research Collaborative.

Schedule a tour today at ltstemacademy.org/admissions