STEM Academy

About STEM Academy

The STEM Academy at Forsyth Central High School combines a rigorous learning environment focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Our unique learning community develops a student's potential and ensures students are well equipped to meet the challenges of post-secondary education and STEM careers in a global economy. Graduates of the Forsyth Central High School STEM Academy will be able to formulate complex academic communications, engage in system thinking, be self-managers, and demonstrate non-routine problem solving.

At FCHS we are leading STEM Academy students to become productive American citizens who will be…

Non-routine problem solvers who can support and communicate their findings with evidence.
Self-managers who can collaborate effectively and efficiently while leading and serving others.
Able to establish and maintain academic, community and professional relationships.
Confident risk-takers who will adapt and persevere when faced with challenges.

STEM Academy Core Values

Stakeholders view risk-taking, failure, and feedback as integral steps of the instructional process that lead to learning and growth opportunities.
Positive working relationships between students and teachers drive exploratory learning where risks are encouraged and leads to collaborative work, where program expectations are clearly expressed to students.
Students and instructors are passionate, enthusiastic and motivated about learning.
Learning communities exist where students are guided in building successful, supportive relationships with other students and where stakeholders are in continuous collaboration with each other.
A rigorous program prepares students for college, where instruction is designed to be relevant, real-world, and engaging through effective and innovative instructional strategies.

Prospective Students

Applicants must be in the eighth grade and a full time resident of Forsyth County.
Applicants are accepted from homeschool and private school, if the students reside in the Forsyth County.
Since it is a 4 year program, students may only enter the STEM Academy in the 9th grade.
Applicants must be on the "Advanced" or " Accelerated" math track to apply to the Academy.
As an entering freshmen, students should be recommended for either:
- Honors Geometry
- ACC Geometry B/ Algebra II

The Application Process

The Forsyth Central STEM Academy is a four year comprehensive program, which fosters a student centered learning community, with a culture of innovation and adaptive risk-taking, for the purpose of solving complex, non-routine, real-world problems.

The integration of academic disciplines, combined with the STEM Biotechnology and Engineering pathways, allow students to develop transferable skill sets, aimed at maximizing not only a student’s intellectual and technological skills, but also their soft skills in communication, collaboration, service, and leadership. The Forsyth Central STEM Academy is home to roughly 250-300 STEM students grades 9-12 from across the district.

Since its founding in 2011, the STEM Academy has used a competitive admission process to select students from around the Forsyth County School District. Applicants usually represent the top 10-25% of the feeder schools from around the districts and 60% of our population are students who are attending the STEM Academy out of district.

Students are selected, much like a college application process, by a team of reviewers who evaluate applicants based on grades, test scores, teacher recommendations, student organization, motivation, demonstrated interest in STEM subjects, submitted essay responses, and student video submission. This is a competitive admissions process and each year the number of highly qualified applicants has increased.

Application

Informational Sessions

Additional Information

Current STEM Students

Academic Requirements

Pathways

CTSO Organizations

All STEM students are required to participate in either the Technology Student Association (TSA) or the Health Occupation Student Association (HOSA) organization as their professional CTAE organization.

HOSA
TSA

HOSA

HOSA is open to all students at FCHS.

Mission Statement

FCHS HOSA goal is to promote and educate students in the realm of healthcare. To develop compassionate, caring and knowledgeable students in the understanding of current health care issues, environmental concerns, and survival needs of the community, the nation and the world.

"You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you, you’ll win, no matter what the outcome."
Patch Adams.

For more information about HOSA:

Georgia HOSA

National HOSA

TSA

Mission Statement

The Technology Student Association (TSA) enhances personal development, leadership, and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), whereby members apply and integrate these concepts through intracurricular activities, competitions, and related programs.

For more information about TSA:

FCHS TSA Webpage

Georgia TSA

National TSA

Capstone Project

In an effort to provide all students with an education that leads them to being college and career-ready, students will participate in a career-related internship and/or develop a career-related capstone project. With this in mind, all STEM students are required to complete a capstone project by the second week of April, their senior year. Students may COMPLETE their capstone after completing 5 semesters in the STEM program.

These projects are a way to allow students to uniquely show their talents related to their pathway of interest. Reflecting on who they are while showing what they want to do, the project provides students with the opportunity to explore a career of personal or professional interest and to address the latest trends or issues through focused study and applied research. The project allows students to demonstrate their ability to synthesize and apply the knowledge and skills acquired in their academic program to real-world issues and problems. These final projects should affirm students' ability to think critically and creatively, to solve practical problems, to make reasoned and ethical decisions, and to communicate effectively.

STEM students should endeavor to actively integrate and apply all they have learned as part of the FCHS STEM Academy in the development, implementation, and analysis of a practical, hands-on project that addresses a problem or issue encountered by the student during their program of study. Students should seek a project that requires a creative solution and that they have a personal interest in solving the problem.

The Senior Capstone Project at FCHS Stem Academy is a demonstration of knowledge in the student’s chosen field of interest which results in a product/ project, research data, research paper, portfolio of work, and a presentation. This experience encourages students to use a variety of skills in the areas of writing, speaking, research, and documentation. It should be noted that students are not bound by their pathway and may choose a project that is cross-curricular in nature.

Competition Requirements

STEM Season of Competition (SOC)

In Georgia, STEM education is defined as an integrated curriculum (as opposed to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics taught in isolation) that is driven by problem-solving, discovery, exploratory project/problem-based learning, and student-centered development of ideas and solutions. As outlined by the Georgia Department of Education’s High School STEM Certification Rubric, all STEM students are required to annually participate in STEM competition.

The guidelines below should serve to simplify what all STEM students are required to complete in addition to the academic requirement and in order to continue in the STEM program.

All requirements to remain in STEM are evaluated at the midpoint and end of every year. At this point a panel will determine the appropriate disciplinary steps after which the student and parent will be informed at the earliest convenience.

According to the state guidelines, students must be involved annually in ongoing and sustained preparation leading up to their participation in competitions or STEM exhibits.

All STEM students are required to participate in either the Technology Student Association (TSA) or the Health Occupation Student Association (HOSA) organization as their professional CTAE organization.
- Students are required to be members of either TSA (see Mrs. John) or HOSA (see Mr. Schuyler).
- Although some students may choose to participate in both organizations, their participation will be tracked through their career tech pathway. Some students may choose TSA or HOSA as their competition each year, or they may choose to compete in a different STEM co-curricular; however, they are still expected to participate in their professional organization.
Students are expected to participate in a “Season of Competition” (SOC).
- Since preparation/competition seasons vary by each club, the SOC will be specified by each club advisor. Please see attached SOC guidelines for the most common STEM related activities.
Students participating in extracurricular activities (e.g. band, drama, and sports) should talk with a STEM teacher/advisor early, in order to plan how they can best fulfill the STEM competition requirement, in addition to their continued participation in extracurricular activities.
- Students should have a plan of competition before the end of October. Allowances will not be made in the spring, for students who have not fulfilled their SOC.
Events on the day of the competition do not constitute fulfillment of the competition requirement on their own. State guidelines clearly specify that students are involved in consistent, ongoing involvement and preparation for STEM events/ exhibits.
It should be noted that engineering students may compete in biotech competitions and biotech students may compete in engineering competitions based on their interest. Please make sure to coordinate with the TSA or HOSA coordinator.
Fulfillments need to be completed by the end of April. Students may compete after April, if they have been prepping for the competition throughout the year/season; making sure their active participation is well documented by either TSA or HOSA sponsors.
If a specific STEM competition is not listed on the website, students can bring it to STEM team by end of October for consideration for the next school year. After October, the competition opportunity will only be considered for the following school year.