STEM: DREAMING SURVEY RESULTS

Dear STEM Families,

Thank you to everyone who participated in our 10-Year Master Improvement Plan survey. With more than 1,100 responses from students, parents, educators, support staff, and administrators, your collective voice is shaping how STEM grows and evolves in the coming decade.

Across all groups, four strong themes emerged:

• Facilities and Learning Spaces: Everyone agreed that it’s time for modern, purpose-built environments that reflect the excellence of STEM. Classrooms, labs, and recreation spaces should support collaboration, creativity, and safety.

• Student Well-Being: Mental health, manageable class sizes, safe play, and supportive staff spaces were shared priorities across every stakeholder group.

• Balanced Programs and Skills: Communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking remain essential, with growing excitement around areas like AI, Quantum, cybersecurity, and engineering.

• Community and Belonging: Whether through stronger communication, staff collaboration, or spaces that feel welcoming and inclusive, our community wants STEM to be a place where everyone feels they belong.

Each group also shared unique insights:

• Parents and Families emphasized pride in STEM’s academics and staff while asking for improved communication systems and operational efficiencies (driveline, lunch, scheduling, etc.)

• Students envisioned spaces that inspire creativity and comfort—more light, flexible seating, and room for collaboration. They also emphasized the importance of mental health and balance.

• Educators and Staff highlighted how facilities directly impact teaching quality, teamwork, and morale, calling for spaces that support problem-based learning and staff rejuvenation.

• Administrators connected facilities to long-term growth, retention, and STEM’s ability to compete nationally as a destination school.

These findings directly support our ongoing due diligence process to explore relocating the high school to a new site less than three miles away in Littleton, while also expanding the elementary and middle school facilities on our current campus. This opportunity would allow STEM to design and construct a purpose-built high school campus and enhance our existing K–8 spaces with new labs, a media center, and collaboration areas. These upgrades directly reflect the priorities identified in the survey—modern STEM labs, flexible classrooms, safe and welcoming student spaces, and facilities that provide a balanced focus on academics, arts, and athletics.

Although we are still in the early stages of study and planning, we recognize concerns about the potential need for an additional drop-off stop for families with students in both the elementary or middle school and the high school, as well as the reality that some middle schoolers take classes in the high school. These logistical factors are front of mind as we move forward and will be carefully evaluated before any decisions are made.

We look forward to reaching out soon to share more details and to invite our community to engage in the conversation about this exciting potential advancement for STEM K–12.

Together, these results affirm our shared vision and strengthen the rationale for continuing to invest in the spaces and programs that support innovation, belonging, and student success.

Thank you for your time, honesty, and commitment to STEM’s future. Your input ensures that as we grow, we remain a community united around excellence and opportunity.

In Partnership,

The STEM Leadership Team