A planned after-school STEM academy in New Kensington aims to put the city on the map.
The nonprofit, R&D Impact Foundation plans to open the SparX Academy at 1250 Fifth Ave., said Nicole Roberts, the foundation’s director of program management.
STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
“It’s going to look like a state-of-the-art STEM center that will have everything from STEM sciences, to Earth sciences, to a lot of technology,” Roberts said.
The building formerly housed Geo-Solutions Inc.
Roberts said the building renovation will happen in three phases. The first phase will include building classrooms and a makerspace, or an area designed for students to create things hands-on. That phase will be completed next spring, Roberts said.
They will open after phase one, while continuing work on a larger makerspace and community room.
“We’re trying to hit all areas of STEM,” said Matt Davis, the foundation’s director of learning. “A lot of rooms will be multipurpose. We can create to what the students want.”
The R&D Impact Foundation offers after-school STEM programming to students in New Kensington and Arnold. The new space will continue to grow those efforts.
Roberts said the program will first focus on students from third to seventh grades in the New Kensington and Arnold area, with plans to expand.
Roberts is a former administrator in the New Kensington-Arnold School District. New Kensington is her hometown.
“I saw the discrepancy that exists because of the lack of funding; the children unfortunately do not get the same access to this. We try to close that gap.
“They are smart and capable, and they should have the same access as everyone else. We want to give them access, ability and opportunity to learn about these things.”
Programming will be free for families, she said.
The Academy is funded by the R&D Impact Foundation, whose primary donors are Tom Roberts and his wife, Susan DaSilva. Tom and Nicole are siblings.
All program staff have backgrounds in education. Davis is a teacher in the North Allegheny School District.
Davis and Roberts believe the space will leave a positive impact in the Alle-Kiski Valley community.
“We want to build kids that are problem solvers and can be resilient. These are life skills,” Davis said. “When kids come here, we hope they leave with skills and be able to achieve great things, and look back and say, ‘We were a part of that.’”
