What is STEM Education? It’s an educational model based on the integrated study of science, technology, engineering, and math. Many models also incorporate art, so you may hear about STEAM education, too.
A STEM education or a STEAM education can be incredibly beneficial for students of all ages, and you don’t have to be math or science-oriented to reap the positive returns.
Integrating science, technology, art, engineering and math helps students because it gives them tools for a world that is growing and developing faster than we ever thought possible. (We’re looking at you, AI.)
How Does STEM Education Prepare Students?
It also provides students with real-world problem-solving skills, the ability to see from another person’s point of view, a leg up on collaborative learning, and two skills that always stay in style: technical proficiency and excellent communication skills. No bots can mimic empathy, shared goals, and the thrill of achievement that comes from working on a team that finally solves a problem they’ve been working on for an extended time.
These are just a few skills your child can gain from pursuing a STEM education through school or after-school programs.
Learnwell’s Robotics Team is just ONE way to learn in a STEM environment. Other electives we offer, such as acting and choir, also incorporate aspects of STEAM learning.
Which After-School Activities and Electives Integrate STEM Education at Learnwell?
- Drama/acting/set design/stage crew classes help students understand the technical aspects of putting together a show. Through improv, students learn essential communication skills, how to show compassion, and how to think on their feet. Students can also discover more about the film and TV industry while making friends.
- In choir, students learn collaborative skills and the technical side of music through voice.
Many of our electives and extracurricular programs are open to homeschool students in areas near the North Georgia campus, such as Alpharetta, Roswell, Cumming, Canton, Woodstock, and Buford.
Is Learnwell North Georgia a Hybrid School, and Can Any Student Participate?
Students come to us from all educational paths. Some were in public school, while others came from 100% homeschooling environments or private school. We like to think of Learnwell North Georgia as a meeting of the nations where all are welcome, and your passport to learning is simply a willing heart and a desire to connect with others.
While some of our programs, such as Fun Friday electives, our high school arts program, and our a la carte classes for high school students, are available to homeschoolers in the local community, we do give priority registration to students who are enrolled in our hybrid school. The hybrid school offers a full K-12 (through 10th grade in 2024-2025, through 11th grade in 2025-2026, and through 12th grade in 2026-2027) education in a collaborative partnership between our teachers, students, and parents.
How Does Your Hybrid School Operate?
Students in K-10 come to our North Georgia campus two days a week (sometimes three, depending on their middle or high school course schedule) to learn for a full day. They are enrolled in classrooms with certified teachers who are experienced and subject matter experts at their grade level.
Students in middle and high school change classes just as they would in a full five-day program.
Students learn science, history, math, language arts, and discipleship, plus so much more, through the curriculum taught by our teaching staff at the hybrid school campus in Alpharetta. Next, the learning is reinforced and enhanced at home where parents (or grandparents or tutors) continue teaching their students on the other three days each week.
Parents are not just homework monitors who oversee worksheets at Learnwell. Our team of collaborative teachers equips every parent to be able to teach their child. When they encounter difficulty (we’ve all been there), parents ask for help, and teachers rise to the challenge. They help, coach, inspire and celebrate the wins WITH you, the parent, as you walk with your child in his or her education.
What Are Learnwell’s Core Values?
Our hybrid school model is built on four core values: intentional margin, deep faith, excellence in education, and authentic community.
Intentional margin means we want everything about Learnwell, from our students and their parents to our staff and teachers, to reveal that running at a faster pace in life does not mean we’re doing it better. You can get an excellent education (a Learnwell core value) without sacrificing your mental health or that of your child.
Deep faith and excellence in education can work together; we don’t discount science and we don’t discount faith built on a Christian worldview. Both come into play at Learnwell! All of our teachers and staff are Christians, but we don’t believe it’s our job to tackle minute areas of faith. Instead, we want to help students explore faith in a way that helps them know God and reflect His heart for them and the world around them.
They explore the following questions, starting in the simplest of ways in kindergarten and going deeper as they progress through middle and high school.
- Who did God create them to be?
- How did He uniquely equip them to influence those around them?
- What does the Bible say about God’s love for them?
- How do they discover their own relationship with God, especially as they get into high school?
Deep faith doesn’t contradict an excellent hybrid school education.
After all, we are a school!
We believe education can be rigorous without busywork, and we believe the answer to a rigorous education is not just more work. We want students to develop a passion for learning, and that’s the goal of every educator who teaches at Learnwell. All of our teachers are highly experienced in their fields, and they want to share that love of learning with their students in creative ways.
We also believe strongly that parents CAN teach their children with confidence. We’ve built our school on equipping parents to own their child’s education by taking an active role in shaping how their child learns best, especially while they’re in elementary school and early middle school. Teachers partner with parents in collaborative ways where feedback and follow-through are commonplace, not the exception.
As students get into the latter stages of middle school and start high school, we believe that education ownership has to transfer to students. Why? So they can “carry the ball” themselves, learning foundational organization, communication, and prioritization skills that prepare them for so much more than just a college path — these skills prepare students for a life path that’s sustainable and full of joy.
Finally, Learnwell is built on authentic community. We know that students today face added challenges that did not exist 15-20 years ago. They want to connect in real life, yet mental health challenges can sometimes keep them isolated and feeling alone. They’re busier, and they have more access to technology than ever before. So, Learnwell addresses this by facilitating intentional ways for students and parents to connect.
Our Fun Friday electives and Wednesday electives for older students are a couple of ways we do this. We also host events and field trips, and we encourage students and parents to organize meetups throughout the school year. Student clubs (designed and run by students) and Learnwell’s robust electives (designed and taught by teachers who are experts in their subject matter) provide a launching point, and a shared commitment to community builds from there.
Learnwell’s director of extracurricular activities, Kimberly Bond, who coordinates many of the electives, said the goal for extracurricular activities is “to develop stronger relationships by giving students another format to interact with each other outside of an academic setting (and) to help students explore their interests and passions outside of school.”
If you’d like more information about what makes a Learnwell education different from other hybrid schools, please contact our admissions department. To find out about our current electives for elementary school, contact Kimberly Bond at [email protected].
Discover more about our middle and high school electives here.