Aurora’s STEAM Academy has educated nearly 7,000 students since it first opened in November 2020.
That was part of a report give recently by the STEAM Academy, run for the city of Aurora by APS Training Academy in downtown Aurora.
Nicole Astra, APS Training Academy executive director, said the academy is serving more normally underserved students each year. In 2023, the academy had 2,923 students, and the academy is hoping to hit 10,000 students by the end of 2025.
“This provides opportunities for our youth that will have generational impact,” Astra said. “We do want to focus on communities underserved in the STEAM field.”
Aurora started the STEAM academy – done through summer and after-school programs – as a pilot in 2020. It has increased each year, with the city hiring APS Academy in downtown Aurora to run the programs.
Earlier this year, the City Council approved a $2.5 million contract for up to five years of the STEAM programs.
The program has served about 65% students who are either Hispanic or African-American, and has reached the point of being about split between male and female students. The program serves about 80% students who are below the average median income.
Astra pointed out that the most popular grades for the programs are third through fifth grades, although there was an uptick in the past year for the sixth- through eighth-graders.
She said that is because the programs are keeping the interest of students who started in the lower grades.
The first year, STEAM Academy offered two programs, but in 2023, that blossomed to 12 programs, and is expanding further this year.
STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.
More Top Picks Razor Electric Scooters Review