Dearborn STEM Academy is proud to be the first grade 6-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics school established in the city of Boston. By taking a STEM approach to learning, we aim to maximize student choice and opportunity upon graduation and to ensure that our graduates find their place in the 21st-century landscape of college and career options. Every one of our students will graduate with an understanding of the language, concepts, and ideas that are pervasive across all STEM fields.

Dearborn is operated by Boston Plan for Excellence (BPE) and is a BPE Teaching Academy.

Opening this school year, the Dearborn will serve nearly 600 students in a brand new, $70 million state-of-the-art STEM facility. The school has been thoughtfully designed for 21st-century student learning. It will feature flexible spaces for collaboration among students and adults and – as a state of the art STEM building – a high capacity for the use of technology. While the school is on the district’s year-long calendar, our daily schedule includes 60 minutes of extended learning time every day, and a two-hour block of after-school time is designated for academic support and enrichment for students who need or want it.

Dearborn students

• Study Computer Science in every grade; all Dearborn students learn to code.
• Explore STEM careers through a curriculum that is hands-on, team-oriented, rooted in problem-solving, and modeled after professional work projects and tasks.
• Have access to multiple colleges and career pathways. Students graduate with a career plan that takes them to the right post-secondary education/training option and to the profession of their choice. 

Our Academic Approach

Our priority at the Dearborn is to get to know and serve each student both personally and academically. We do so by providing: 

• Individualized learning plans for every student that establish personalized goals and pathways to college and career. 
• A robust advisory program where students develop deep relationships with adults and other students in the community.
• Internships, workplace learning, and summer job opportunities for high school students.
• College exploration and preparation, with dedicated guidance counselors, college visits, college fairs, panels with college students, and more.

Preparing our students for college and career begins in Grade 6. Students will be provided with in-school, one-on-one guidance from our college counselor and with out-of-school resources to assist and empower them for college and beyond.

Core components of our academic program include

• STEM Approach: All students will develop a basic understanding of the language, concepts, and ideas that are pervasive across all STEM fields, graduate with a robust awareness of STEM disciplines, jobs, and career paths, and identify their STEM interests and identities.
• Rigorous, MassCore STEM Courses for All: Four years of high school math for all students and three years of science for all students.
• Computer Science Courses for All Students: All students will take computer science courses to gain a foundational knowledge of programming.
• College and Career Exploration for All: All students will participate in an integrated set of college and career exposure experiences designed to build their knowledge of and access to a variety of post-secondary STEM pathways. Program elements include college visits, university-based academic enrichment programs, college and financial aid workshops, career days, career-focused field trips, resume writing support, and career exploration workshops in partnership with local businesses and universities. Furthermore, all students will participate in STEM-related apprenticeships intended to provide them with an introductory experience in the world of work.

PreK-12 Pathway

• Guaranteed admission to grade 6 for students attending Ellis, Mason, Winthrop, and Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School.

Before and after school programs in our building 

• Middle School: Boys and Girls Basketball, Boys and Girls Soccer, Track and field, Double Dutch
• High School (Co-opt with the Burke): Boys and Girls Soccer, Boys and girls Basketball, Football, Girls Volleyball, Track and field, Softball, Baseball
• Other after-school programs: BUILD Boston, Robotics club, Peer Health Exchange, Discovering Justice, Boxing club, and more