*This report is a clear wake-up call linking the future of the US economy as well as its role in the world marketplace to the success of STEM education.

In response to the Pentagon’s alarming report to Congress in January 2021, and in view of the shortage of quality STEM curricula in the United States, LA ORT has developed and successfully launched a state-of-the-art STEM Education Program.

LA ORT is uniquely positioned to leverage its over 80 years of experience in career and technical education to deliver a unique STEM Program that simultaneously addresses two spectrums of the STEM education dilemma:

1. Shortage of quality education that integrates Computer Science, modern technology, and engineering into its curriculum for high school students, and:
2. Shortage of qualified teachers who are equipped to implement a modern STEM curriculum.

For Teachers:

LA ORT has developed an immersive certification program, coupled with on-going access to dedicated STEM teachers and mentors. Our STEM Teacher Training and Professional Development (STTPD) course provides core competencies required for effective implementation of any STEM curriculum, including:

• Fostering inclusivity
• Creating and managing a STEM-specific student-centered classroom learning environment
• Teaching project-based learning (PBL)
• Making the vision of Next Generation Science Standards come alive in the classroom
• Teaching STEM using 5E Instructional Model
• Identifying and integrating the right technologies that enhances learning
• Reinforcing effective communication skills
• Assessing student learning
• Facilitating learning outside of classroom setting
• Science fundamentals
• Engineering skills
• Digital literacy

Teachers who take our STEM Teacher Training and Professional Development will receive ample support from our STEM Teachers and will have access to additional material during the course.

Our STEM Program creator with 40+ years of academic, scientific and PV Solar Energy development.

Our STEM curriculum developer and teacher with 30+ years of Optical Physics engineering and teaching.

A Chief Academic Officer with 30+ years of experience in higher education and technical career training.

A Computer Science Engineer who is Head of Business Systems and Development at a top 10 global firm.

The unique quality of the LA ORT STEM Program was recognized and fully certified by The New York Academy of Sciences.    

Our STEM Program has been met with excitement and praise from academia. The common thread and feedback: the program is unique, because it is the only STEM program in the country that offers a truly comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to STEM learning, interweaving each of the STEM content areas into one year-long, project-based course. It provides a template for how STEM education should be taught in this country.

What’s more, our Teacher-Training program not only prepares teachers on how to teach and understand STEM education as a multidisciplinary approach, but it also covers most proficiencies of professional development for teachers.

Teachers who take our STEM Teacher Training and Professional Development (STTPD) course, and finish it satisfactorily, will receive a Certified STEM Teacher certificate.