Naperville Community Schools Expands STEM Academies to Three More High Schools

Naperville Community Unit School District will expand its specialized STEM academy program to three additional high schools next fall, adding roughly 420 new student slots after existing academy programs reported waitlists at nearly every participating school.

The STEM academies operate as school-within-a-school programs, offering students a more intensive sequence of engineering, computer science, and applied science coursework alongside standard graduation requirements, along with partnerships that give students access to internships with local technology and manufacturing employers.

"Parents and students have made it very clear that they want more rigorous technical coursework available close to home, and we simply didn't have enough seats to meet that demand," said the district's associate superintendent for secondary education. "Expanding to three more schools lets us serve a lot more of the district without asking families to drive their kids across town."

The expansion is funded partly through a state grant aimed at growing STEM education access outside the city of Chicago's traditionally strongest school districts, along with contributions from Naperville-based employers who have committed to hosting student interns and providing guest instruction in specialized coursework like advanced manufacturing techniques.

School system officials said the three new academy sites will begin accepting applications from rising ninth graders this spring, with the first cohorts starting classes in the fall semester. Naperville's existing STEM academies, first launched nearly a decade ago, have graduated more than 1,800 students to date.