Rethinking high school STEM: SSPI’s new STEM Learning Institute tackles the chemistry classroom 

When many of us think back to our high school science classes, we remember predictable experiments in the school lab, heavy textbooks, long study checklists, and—for some—a nostalgic feeling of dread. 

Julie Bokor, Ph.D., wants to change that for all students. 

“At the STEM Learning Institute, we’ve developed this chemistry curriculum that’s a story line, so what students learn in lesson one should drive them to want to know more and anticipate their questions,” she describes. “I’m really curious to see how students respond, many of whom probably do not want to be in that chemistry classroom. We’re trying to make it relevant to them.” 

Julie is the director of SSPI’s new STEM Learning Institute, an initiative launched in 2026 to tackle one of the field’s biggest challenges: the high school science class. 

“We’re not doing a good enough job equipping teachers to teach STEM at the high school level,” says SSP International CEO Frank Steslow. “That’s why we’ve developed the STEM Learning Institute. The goal is to provide a more robust curriculum toolkit for teachers in parallel with training on those specific resources. Chemistry is the first subject we’re taking on.”

The STEM Learning Institute has partnered with nonprofit BSCS Science Learning to develop the six-unit chemistry curriculum, which is designed using a questions-based educational approach called anchored inquiry learning. This approach puts student interest at the forefront, allowing students to pursue lines of inquiry rather than follow prescribed experiments and lectures. The curriculum is compliant with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for high school introductory chemistry. 

In addition to curriculum, the institute also focuses heavily on teacher support. “We have to recognize that teachers are asked to do a lot,” says Chief Program Officer Amy Kim, Ph.D. “They are not only students’ chemistry teachers, but they are also their mental health counselor, college counselor, and so many other things. Making adoption of new things easier has to be something we aspire to.” 

Teachers from the partnering school districts will gather for a four-day summer learning institute to receive guidance, tools, and introduction to the curriculum program before bringing it to their classrooms in the fall. Professional learning resources will continue through a year-long program aligned with the curriculum and will be offered both to the classroom teachers and their district leaders. 

“It makes such a difference if you have decision-makers who can not only help the teachers see this as a great opportunity but also be able to get their leadership on board,” says Bokor. “Our district partners have been wonderful to work with and have been invaluable navigating the waters in these areas.” 

In 2026, the STEM Learning Institute is partnering with Knox County Schools in Tennessee and, pending district board approval, Compton Unified School District in California.  

BCSC Science Learning, SSPI’s partner in developing the instructional materials, is an industry leader in inquiry-based science instruction. Their biology curriculum is NGSS Design Badge certified and currently in use by both SSPI partner districts, which Bokor believes provides a strong segue into the new chemistry program.

“Both biology and chemistry curricula are developed using that anchored inquiry learning instructional model,” she explains. “It’s really exciting, especially if we can follow these students and see how repeated exposure to this type of learning impacts them. If they’re being taught biology and chemistry this way, does that reinforce a different mindset? Do those students embrace science more?” 

Currently, EdReports identifies only four high school science curricula as NGSS aligned, only one of which is chemistry. More critically, says Bokor, is the fact that no U.S. high school science curriculum has demonstrated measurable efficacy via randomized control testing, which is the long-term goal of STEM Learning Institute materials after initial development and implementation.

The launch of the STEM Learning Institute marks a new period of growth and diversification for SSP International with a goal of broadening impact, according to Steslow. The STEM Learning Institute diverges from SSPI’s longstanding Summer Science Program by tackling STEM education from a new angle. Summer Science Program participants self-select, and those who are admitted are typically already high academic achievers who are already interested in science. The STEM Learning Institute, however, shifts the focus to teachers in order to deliver curriculum to entire classrooms of students. 

“With the Summer Science Program, we get to focus on depth and mastery of STEM,” says Steslow. “The STEM Learning Institute is an opportunity to promote better STEM learning in a much wider context and to impact students who maybe haven’t been curious about something like chemistry before.” 

Kim agrees, adding that “moving into the public education space is going to be where SSPI can really make an equalizing impact on more students.”

In conjunction with the STEM Learning Institute, SSPI is also introducing an Education Advisory Council to provide specialized guidance to the institute and related programs. The Institute will bring all six units of its chemistry curriculum to Knox County and Compton districts this year, with the goal of introducing an additional district partner starting in the fall of 2027. The institute’s second year will also focus on evaluating student learning outcomes and results of the previous year’s program. 

The Institute signifies a major stride toward achieving SSPI’s 10-year strategic plan goal of reaching 10,000 students each year, with at least 50% coming from historically under-served communities.

“We didn’t want SSPI to be limited only to what has been our specific wheelhouse for almost 70 years,” Steslow says. “There are other needs out there and we have resources, so the question for us was ‘How can we expand our impact?’ That’s what steered us toward the STEM Learning Institute as our next program.”