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St. Joe’s Catholic School Featured in Center of Excellence Magazine

Written by Bill Laurienti

Catholic School Center of Excellence magazine’s cover story this month features our partner school, St. Joseph’s Catholic School, in Waconia, MN. The article focuses on St. Joe’s innovative C-STEM initiative where student-led, project-based STEM education is fully-integrated with traditional Catholic values and learning.

According to school principal, Bruce Richards, “Our mission is to inspire all learners to become the person God intends. We do this by integrating Catholic prayers, virtues, and service with 21st-century learning.”

Like many of our parochial school partners, St. Joe’s views STEM as critical for Catholic schools to remain educationally vital.

We implemented the SmartLab HQ at St. Joe’s last year and the St. Joe’s community has responded enthusiastically.

Enrollment is up for the first time in 10 years and 96% of St. Joe’s parents agreed that C-STEM had enhanced their child’s education.

Read the full article to learn more!

Bill.Laurienti
Bill Laurienti

Bill Laurienti is a Content Marketing Specialist at Creative Learning Systems. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education (English) from Colorado Mesa University and a Master of Arts in Secondary Teaching from the University of California's Rossier School of Education. Bill came to CLS after 10 years in the secondary classroom. He believes SmartLabs are important tools for engaging unengaged students and helping them access careers they might not otherwise have imagined.

Case Study

Going beyond STEM to teach essential skills

When the team at Jewell Houston Academy, a magnet school in Texas, looked for a STEM program, they wanted one that would not only engage students in STEM careers but could also teach conflict-resolution, problem-solving, collaboration, and communication skills.

Read about how the SmartLab HQ impacted both learners and enrollment.