SF S.T.E.A.M. Academy K-5
Dynamic and Multifaceted
Learning is multifaceted and active. Children discover and explore knowledge while honing their skills through reading, writing, thinking, imagining, singing, dancing, exercising, listening, conversing, inventing, building, sharing, cooking, gardening, creating, and many other activities that engage and inspire their minds and strengthen their bodies.
Future-Ready
The learning program promotes analytical thinking, innovation, resilience, and collaboration. Children learn through discovery, exploration, problem-solving, and theory-building. By engaging in active, cooperative, and individualized learning, they understand what it takes to navigate and influence a rapidly changing 21st-century world.
Purposeful: Learning to make a better world for all!
Analytical and Creative
Analytical and Creative
Analytical and Creative
Essential questions and problem-solving challenges guide thematic modules. Students learn by collecting and making sense of information and inventing solutions.
Active
Analytical and Creative
Analytical and Creative
Social interactions, physical activities, experiments, creative explorations, inventive solutions, skill practice, and more fuel knowledge construction and skill building.
Deep-Dive
Analytical and Creative
Bilingual Lessons
Using the Learning Helix, a learning model inspired by constructivism and the learning sciences, students participate in simple to complex multimodal learning activities across core academic subjects.
Bilingual Lessons
Bilingual Lessons
Core subjects are taught in English
and Spanish language lessons 4 days a week with a path to bilingual fluency.
Multimodal and multisensory methods for learning languages—incorporating visual, auditory, kinesthetic, social, tactile, experiential, and collaborative elements—enhance retention, engagement, enjoyment, and the real-world application of language skills.
Social Emotional Learning
Weekly SEL classes include engaging simulations and discussions about emotions and strategies for fostering healthy social interactions. Children develop social-emotional skills to enhance self-awareness and confidence while building positive relationships with peers and adults.
Connections and Passions
Themes, topics, and real-world challenges resonate with students' interests and ignite curiosity, motivation, and a sense of purpose. Children are motivated to learn through real-world problem-solving, shaping ideas through applications that blend academics and creativity.
The Learning Helix
Academic Excellence in Real-World Contexts
The Learning Helix Model asserts that the design of learning experiences shapes the lenses through which children construct knowledge and develop skills. It is compared to the double helix of DNA. One strand represents the child's input, while the other represents the curriculum and the teacher
Immersive
This deep-dive model is a process akin to inventive learning blocks. It engages students in sequential activities that build on each other. The tasks leverage children's curiosity, creativity, and abilities, progressing from simple to complex and concrete to abstract. Experiential learning of fundamental concepts and practices enhances comprehension and application at higher levels.
Children create and build innovative solutions for community and global issues. At the end of each module, they emphasize key ideas and extract insights from their experiences and realizations.
Collective Experiences Anchor Theoretical Conversations
Students participate in active and social learning activities and then reflect on these experiences. These sessions include analyzing patterns, failures, and successes and exploring possibilities. The hands-on experiences are a foundation for articulating theories and concepts across science, social studies, language arts, and mathematics. When a teacher introduces a scientific law, economic principle, mathematical algorithm, or literary style, all students possess the knowledge and skills from their collective lesson experiences to engage in analytical and meaningful discussions.
Research-Informed Discourse
Students are guided in documenting, categorizing, formulating insights, and analyzing observations. They learn through hands-on research, connect with others, and engage in higher-level discussions. Students relate their experiences and insights to those of scientists, mathematicians, philosophers, authors, historians, and more.
Fascinated and Inspired
Learners connect their learning to prior experiences and knowledge. Multi-sensory and multimodal activities offer exciting and varied learning opportunities. Students engage actively in exploring, applying, and mastering the subject matter.
Play
Play introduces the topic as a game. Children participate and experience a core aspect of the theme. The activity is enjoyable and engaging. Kids interact with their peers, building social connections and reducing emotional barriers. With an engaging introduction to a subject that creates an equal playing field, they're eager to share, listen, and broaden their knowledge base.
Explore
Explore provides students with questions and a research-oriented activity to engage with the topic more deeply. Hands-on activities like experiments and relevant information ignite students' insights. The teacher builds students' higher-order thinking by guiding observations and reflections. Students respond to cause-and-effect questions and highlight patterns to make sense of their findings. They formulate insights, contribute to knowledge creation, and elevate their analytical abilities from their research experiences.
Connect
Connect combines analytical and creative thinking through a problem-solving activity. The lesson aims to cultivate students' practical understanding of the topic within a relatable real-world context. Applying the topic in context to solve a problem enhances students' learning. Variables affect outcomes, and data analysis leads to conclusions. Students grasp concepts, methods, and theories as they engage in problem-solving within context. They also develop effective strategies for communicating processes, observations, and insights.
Imagine
How can thoughtful innovators contribute to creating a better world? Students deepen their understanding of the topic through a local or global issue and apply their knowledge to invent solutions. Solution-oriented design-and-build activities encourage students to discover and utilize relevant information, learn from experts, collaborate with peers, and create and iterate multiple times. These experiences develop strong analytical, creative, and communication skills, motivating children to persevere, work together, and overcome challenges. Students learn to acquire knowledge and skills, which they use to improve the world. The activity underscores the importance of the topic in addressing real-world problems.
Highlight
Abstraction and Theorization: Students connect the dots from observations to insights and construct generalizations.
Abstraction is the process of distilling essential principles from concrete examples or experiences. It involves connecting the dots and constructing meaning by identifying cause-and-effect patterns and articulating overarching themes. Students learn through engagement and discussions to elevate concrete information to abstract ideas.
Theorization builds on abstraction—it entails framing or modeling to explain relationships between concepts. Students progress from understanding conceptual relationships to formulating structured explanations. At this juncture, they are prepared to address essential questions and elevate concrete experiences to insights and theories leading to conceptual understanding.
Education is not preparation for life; it is life itself.
Unlock your child's potential
At SF S.T.E.A.M. Academy, neuroscience, research-based learning principles, and the evolving 21st-century society shape our educational program and environment. This approach ensures that children’s experiences are personalized, engaging, and inspiring. Through active learning, individualized instruction, emotional support, and multi-sensory engagement, we cultivate strong cognitive, social, and problem-solving skills, aligning education with the brain's natural learning processes—making education both fulfilling and joyful.
Implementing research-driven learning programs requires a deep understanding of holistic child development and the ability to design, teach, and learn with dynamic, student-centered models. Our teachers are trained to engage students with innovative, brain-based strategies. SF STEAM Academy equips educators with the tools and methods to effectively prepare, teach, and assess each student’s progress throughout their learning journey.
Small Class Size
Smaller class sizes improve learning outcomes by promoting engagement, personalized instruction, and effective collaboration. Teachers can provide more individual attention, minimizing disruptions and creating a focused, productive learning environment. Studies indicate that students who begin in small, active classes retain academic advantages throughout their education.