Silicon Stem Academy

The myth of the brilliant, self-taught tech entrepreneur has a stronghold on the American imagination. When people think of Bill Gates, they think of a smart young man who grew up at the right place at the right time to foster his love of computers. In reality, he attended an exclusive prep school where he was afforded plenty of computer time—rare at the time—which gave him a head-start on his peers in computer science.

While K-12 schools have begun to incorporate Technology education into their course offerings, subjects like computer programming and robotics are still considered ‘electives’ in most schools. In fact, only about 50% of Colorado High Schools offer a computer science course! And those that do often offer only rudimentary STEM courses, leaving our kids unprepared and unexposed to the possibility of a lucrative career in a STEM field.

There are many reasons for this: 1) There are too few skilled tech educators available to fill STEM teaching positions. 2) Technologists can work in their chosen field at a much higher pay rate than if they were to choose STEM education as a profession. 3) STEM coursework is not a core requirement in many school systems, but while this is changing, the bar is low. But the fact remains that there aren’t enough skilled educators to fill this role.

That’s why Silicon STEM Academy is here — to provide meaningful STEM enrichment for kids ages 7-17. Our mission is to pick up the slack where schools leave off. We believe that kids born in the digital age are ready to tackle more STEM content at an earlier age. Why not begin to train kids in a subject that they are passionate about at an earlier age? By exposing them young, they’ll have a leg-up on their peers during college admissions or during their entry into a lucrative job market. Colorado and the US need to invest in our youth if we are expected to innovate and remain competitive.