Tesla STEM High School


Tesla STEM High School is a magnet school in Redmond, Washington. It is a designated Choice School in the Lake Washington School District and offers a STEM-based curriculum. By US News Rankings, Tesla STEM is the number 1 high school in Washington, number 14 in the nation, and number 9 for magnet schools. The school operates as a magnet program. Students are admitted from across the district on a lottery basis with 150 students per grade for a total enrollment of 600 students.

History and facilities

The school opened in September 2012 in Eastlake High School until the new facility was sufficiently completed for partial occupancy by Grades 9 and 10 in January 2013. The full school opened and admitted Grades 11 and 12 in September 2013 and September 2014, respectively. The two-story school occupies a 21-acre campus. It was constructed by Absher Construction Company for $24 million.

Academics

The school's stated academic approach involves Problem-Based Learning, Professional Learning Community, Integrated curricula, Scientific inquiry, and Constructivist learning. The core program is focused on the four STEM fields: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Most students attend classes in the advanced sciences. Students in Grades 9 and 10 focus on learning the basics of a variety of courses; in grades 11 and 12 students choose a focus of study. In the 2014–15 academic year, the school begun four “Signature Programs” to students from the four comprehensive high schools in the School District: Eastlake High School, Juanita High School, Lake Washington High School, and Redmond High School. The programs for eleventh grade students are Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Design, and Forensics / Psychology; the programs for twelfth grade students are Biomedical Engineering / Anatomy and Advanced Physics / Global Engineering.

Athletics

Athletics and sports programs are not offered at the school. Students participating in those programs need to travel to their "home" high school.