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Why STEM?

Our STEM learning engages the mind and the imagination of all students. Students benefit from hands-on projects based on real-world problems that require creativity in their application of skills, problem solving, project management and collaborative learning.

At Pope St. John XXIII STEM Academy we believe that God is in all things. We are a STEM school because we believe that all truth leads us deeper into a relationship with God. STEM expands the human capacity to understand the world, thus guiding us to a fuller understanding of ourselves and our relationship to God. We engage the mind and imagination of all students through STEM.  We think beyond our own needs, rather, we see ourselves in relationship to all of God’s creation.

Pope St. John XXIII STEM Academy implements research based instruction in an environment that serves the holistic needs of every student. Teaching and learning includes strategies such as collaborative problem solving, responsive instruction, data driven instruction, and inquiry based learning.

The following growth data demonstrates the excellent academic growth taking place at PSJXXIII.

Student Growth Percentile Comparison

Reading
Pope St. John XXIII STEM Academy (2022-2023) Tacoma Public Schools (2018-2019)
48th Percentile 48th Percentile
Math
Pope St. John XXIII STEM Academy (2022-2023) Tacoma Public Schools (2018-2019)
54th Percentile 46th Percentile

Updated January 30, 2023. The comparison data above compares PSJXXIII Winter 2022 to Winter 2023 (average of classroom median growth scores) to published Tacoma scores.  The percentiles represent median growth. The most recent data that could be discovered for Tacoma Public Schools is from 2018-2019 which is available from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

An Investment in the Future

PSJXXIII students are empowered in STEM and enriched in faith.  The following national data demonstrates the challenges that students experience with STEM while in school, yet the average income for STEM careers shows that an investment in Pope St. John XXIII is an investment in every child’s future.