Chantilly STEM Academy

[Anonymous]

My child is currently in middle school in another state. I'm looking to relocate to the Fairfax area next year and I have a few questions.

Does anyone here (teachers included) or their children have experiences with the Chantilly Governor's STEM Academy? I would like to have some feedback on Chantilly High School in general. However, I want to see what are the positives or negatives for the students involve in this academy. How are the teachers, projects, courses, etc.? Does this mean that students (that reside in the Chantilly Pyramid) interested in STEM will opt out of applying to Thomas Jefferson now with a STEM academy in their base school?


Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

The Governors STEM academy program does not start until next year.

[Anonymous]

Okay, thanks for letting me know!

[Anonymous]

Actually, it looks like it has started, but the full rollout of courses will be in 2013-2014.

Anyone with kids at Chantilly have more info?

[Anonymous]

Hello,

As a senior at Chantilly Academy, I believe i can help some. While some courses, such as cosmetology are vocational, will pretty much stay the same, the engineering program not, and will be receiving improvements (more funding), and possibly new classes, which are more discipline specific. I've taken engineering classes for 3 years, so i'll just share what i know. Engineering classes not a replacement for AP Math and science courses, but a useful supplement in preparation to attend a four year engineering college. In addition to the experience and skills from the classes, which will be helpful in college, engineering students also have opportunities and connections through the academy they regularly wouldn't have, such as trips to the NASA center at Goddard, the National Reconnaissance Office, and others.

This is a wonderful supplement, and as said, is in no way a replacement for AP Math and science courses. In fact, i think they count as elective credits toward graduation.
TJ is a wonderful school for science and technology, but from what I've heard from students going there, it's just science, not engineering. Makes sense, the FRC robotics team hosted by the Chantilly Academy beat theirs quite thoroughly last year.Another benefit, the Academy has a FRC robotics team 612, a veteran team is a prestigious organization (http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc) which offers more experience, as well as connections and scholarship opportunities.

Another aspect are the computer systems classes, A+, cisco, and cyber security, which are extremely valuable courses, given today's technological dependence, and i believe they will also be expanded with the new Governors STEM status

For science overall, as a Chantilly student it pains me to say this, TJ has us beat. But for engineering, the academy is better. Chantilly HS is a wonderful school, and is strong in all areas except foreign language. It's quite weak in foreign language, and I would recommend if you're taking one, let it be Latin or German, or a language in the academy such as Mandarin or Chinese.

I hope this helps some,
A Chantilly HS Senior

P.S. It's worth taking the TJ test, just don't pressure your child about it, the other school are also quite good, and if your student chooses to, offers a variety of challenging math and science courses.

[Anonymous]

+1 to the excellent post above from a current student. The Chantilly Academy has been there for a long time but this new boost is fantastic for it. My ds went through it ten years ago and ended up with an internship at the Pentagon while he completed his BSIT at GMU, totally due to the connections he made at the Academy. It sounds even better now. Plus, as the student mentioned it is for those going on to four year universities. It's not your old voc tech school ant more.