Other Partnerships

STEM teacher with protective glasses in dialogue with middle grade student

Catholic School Partnerships to Advance STEM Education

Catholic priest science teacher in discussion with two students in lab

We aspire to support Catholic school communities to envision and then actualize educational experiences that authentically bridge STEM disciplinary ideas and the Catholic intellectual and social traditions.

Drawing parallels to other areas of Catholic social teaching, we use the term integral to specify an educational approach which aims to cultivate growth in the person's many dimensions: cognitive, social, emotional, physical, spiritual.

In 2026, we concluded a two-year pilot partnership with St. Clement School (Chicago, IL) to develop a school-wide initiative aimed at putting rigorous STEM learning in genuine dialogue with the richness of the Catholic tradition. Drawing on insights from a set of in-depth case studies, we led a working group of teachers and school leaders through a progression of visioning sessions for their own context and developed a planning tool to launch and implement the initiative at their school.

Summer STEM Camps

Four middle grade students collaborating on coding project with laptop and papers

The Center for STEM Education partners with the ACE Teaching Fellows program and local Catholic schools to operate STEM camps during the summer months. This outreach effort, designed for middle grade students, offers high-quality, hands-on, and interesting learning experiences outside of the traditional academic year.

Research has shown that not only does the learning gap widen for many students during the summer months, but it is also at middle school ages in which interest in STEM disciplines is most likely to decline. To address these issues, the STEM camps facilitate rich and interesting STEM opportunities for students. Led by accomplished STEM teachers, the camps provide opportunities for teacher candidates in Notre Dame's M.Ed. program to develop competencies in project-based learning and leading lab experiences.