ORANGE, CA — April 22, 2015 — Orange Unified School District is proud to announce the grand opening of Cerro Villa Middle School’s new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) lab – the first of its kind in the District.

Cerro Villa’s new STEM lab allows students to experience real-world situations that will bring students closer to college and career readiness as they think through and solve problems in a project-based scenario. The STEM lab contains 16 stations – with two additional planned – specifically equipped with hardware, software, tools and instructional materials that will allow students to learn new technologies and explore career pathways in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Utilizing the Paxton ActionLABS program, each station has the capability for two students to work as partners in completing a project-based activity, rotating through each station in the introductory elective course on a two-week cycle.

“The lab presents a unique quality that a typical classroom doesn’t offer. Students work independently and continuously on hands-on, real-world projects,” said Cerro Villa Principal Lisa Ogan. “Currently, 135 students utilize the lab and we have plans to grow next year.”

Cerro Villa’s lab presently offers students the following instructional stations: Alternative Energy; Computer Aided Drafting (CAD); Computer Graphics and Animation; Digital Manufacturing; Digital Music; Electricity; Energy & Power; Flight Technology; Forensic Science; Laser Technology; Materials Processing; Mechanisms; Pneumatics; Research & Development; Robotics; and Structural Engineering.

For more information about Career Technical Education opportunities for students in Orange Unified, please visit /CTE/.