Tall Pines STEM Academy began its sixth year during the 2021-2022 academic school year. Although we hoped the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic would be fully behind us, we still had many staff members and students endure extended isolations and quarantines. Tall Pines continued expanded by doubling its 7th student numbers from 48 per grade level to 96, leaving only the 8th grade class left to complete the school's expansion in the 2022-2023 school year. The student population increased from 288 students during the 2020-2021 school year to 364 students for the 2021-2022 school year. This is the second of three years for a school-wide population increase.
Students showed improvements academically, physically, and socially during the year. The teachers at Tall Pines STEM Academy went above and beyond to bring academic instruction and physical fitness activities to our students. They did this while continuing to build relationships with those they serve. Our mission is to provide an option for families where STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is intertwined in the school’s culture and prepares middle school students to become the next generation of ethical leaders. Tall Pines STEM Academy provides a combination of classroom and outdoor learning experiences to engage students, promote wellness and physical fitness, inspire creativity, foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and cultivate citizenship and leadership skills through rigorous and relevant content and projects in a natural setting.
Tall Pines STEM Academy's innovative model is ideal for students who want to experience success outside the traditional middle school setting in a small, hands-on learning environment with a rigorous curriculum based on teamwork. With teachers as facilitators instead of conveyors of knowledge, our student-centered curriculum shifts the responsibility for learning to the student and encourages each learner to be responsible for his or her own academic success. Our students thrive in this school environment.
We understand that the knowledge, skills, and competencies acquired in the middle school years will be the foundation for future learning. Our school is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by fostering creativity and innovation in every classroom through projects where students must use critical thinking and problem solving to find solutions to real-world problems. Our classrooms promote critical thinking and problem solving instead of rote memorization and copying notes. Students are well-versed in collaboration and teamwork as they are seated in group formations and learn how to support each other through activities specifically designed to promote leadership. Every classroom is equipped with one-to-one technology, as students practice communication through gathering information via media and technology. Tall Pines emphasizes knowing how to learn over simple learning.
Through meaningful field excursions, students can relate what they're learning to real-world situations and see firsthand career opportunities that utilize subject-specific content standards. We believe that student learning must include experiences outside the classroom to be authentic, and our teachers do a phenomenal job in finding appropriate opportunities.
We look forward to seeing our students achieve even greater goals, as we truly prepare them to be tomorrow's leaders in Aiken, South Carolina, the United States, and the world.
Lori Mastromonico, Principal
Michelle Lorio, Board Chair
