LWSD 11th Graders Can Enroll This Week in New STEM Signature Labs

By next year, all Lake Washington School District High Schools will offer “Signature Programs” -- thematic, interdisciplinary three-period instructional blocks organized around career clusters and pathways, but the district is offering 11th grade students an opportunity to enroll in one of two STEM Labs at the STEM School in Redmond for this school year. 

Eleventh grade students who attend one of the district’s comprehensive high schools now have an immediate opportunity to enroll in one of two Signature Programs at the STEM School. There are 25 openings in each of the school’s two Signature Programs. Students will attend these three-period blocks along with full-time STEM School students. Students are responsible for their own transportation to and from the STEM School.

STEM School will offer two Signature Programs this year, in Environmental Engineering & Sustainable Design and in Forensics/Psychology. The Environmental Engineering & Sustainable Design Signature Program is scheduled for periods one through three, from 7:30 a.m. to 10:25 a.m. The Forensics/Psychology Signature Program is scheduled for periods four through six, from 11:05 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Learn more about the STEM School Signature Program on the STEM School website.

Applications for the STEM School Signature programs are due by 3 p.m. on Sept. 6, 2013, and if more than 25 students apply for each of the programs selection will be made by lottery. Submit the application to Cindy Duenas, STEM School principal.

These courses combine rigorous academics and “real world” application of learning. Initial programs will focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) career pathways to prepare students for postsecondary work in the STEM fields. The first programs will launch in the 2013-14 school year at Redmond High School, Juanita High School, Emerson High School and the STEM School. STEM Signature Programs will be launched in the 2014-15 school year at the remaining district high schools -- Eastlake High School, International Community School and Lake Washington High School.

This announcement was delayed as planning for the district’s first-ever STEM Signature Programs took longer than anticipated. As part of the original STEM School design, this opportunity was promised for the 2013-14 school year. While high school students have, of course, determined their schedules for this year, they may still change their schedules if this opportunity is of interest and will fit with their plan to meet graduation requirements. In future years, this opportunity will appear in course catalogs each winter.

If more than 25 students apply for each lab, selection will be done through a lottery process. Students chosen through the lottery must work with their home school counselor to ensure that attendance in the STEM Signature Program of their choice fits within their plan to meet district high school graduation requirements. These 11th grade students will continue to attend courses in their home high school in the other three periods when they are not attending the STEM School Signature Program, and / or complete other courses through Running Start.