Virtual after school STEM Academy is open to students in grades 4-8
Posted: September 26, 2025
Newport News Public Schools' new at home Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Academy begins this fall for selected students in grades four through eight to participate in the virtual afterschool program throughout the school year.
Applications for the program will be available September 29 in ParentVue. Families will be notified on October 6 if students have been accepted or placed on the waitlist.
Over the next three years, the program will serve 900 NNPS students in grades 4-8, with 300 students participating each year. The STEM academies are free with all high-quality tools and materials provided, and are funded by the Department of Defense Education Activity grant Mission STEM: Pioneering Pathways in Robotics and Space Exploration.
STEM education specialists from the Virginia Space Flight Academy will lead instruction, which will take place virtually on students' school-issued Chromebooks from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on their assigned days. Students will experience three academies of five weekly sessions each during the fall, winter and spring on the topics of Aerospace, Robotics & Coding, and Astronomy & Astrophysics.
"We want both students and families to take advantage of the resources this generous grant has provided to our school division for additional STEM education," said Tami Byron, NNPS STEM instructional supervisor. "Students will get a unique opportunity to hear from professionals in these fields as they explore working on projects during after-school time."
Dates for the virtual academies are October 27-December 4, January 12-Febuary 12 and March 2-April 2.
