Stepinac High School Celebrates Latest REAL-WORLD Advanced Learning Technologies

Continuing its leadership in secondary education to provide students with the skills they will need to become globally competitive at college and in their future careers, Stepinac High School recently dedicated its latest Real-World advanced learning technologies.

White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach and New York State Assembly Member Amy Paulin (District 88) were among the distinguished guests including members of the renowned Catholic all-boys Catholic high school’s administration, faculty and alumni.

Stepinac President Fr. Thomas Collins (Class of ’79) said the “bold, visionary and technologically advanced capabilities are the latest chapter in Stepinac’s mission to assure the post-secondary success of our students.” They include a new Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) Center, Finance Center, Leonardo Adult Patient Simulator, 3D Anatomage Table as well as two additional cutting-edge classrooms modeled after Columbia University learning spaces.  

One of the highlights of the dedication ceremony were presentations by students about how they are using the sophisticated and engaging learning tools, typically found at college, to enhance their understanding of and successfully undertake real-world applications in engineering, architecture and bio science, among others.

Stepinac’s recent investment in the 21st century additions, which were created within the school’s existing spaces, got underway last spring with initial design concepts. They were completed over the summer in time for the start of the new school year in September.

The STEAM Center boasts a state-of-the-art Makerspace with a visual arts design studio where “students are encouraged to tap into their creativity and try something new,” explained Principal Paul Carty. 

Located on the first floor adjacent to the science wing, the new facility comprising 2,200 square feet also houses professional industrial equipment and the latest technology that “expose students to real-world experiences in engineering, architecture and design and prepare them to pursue opportunities in these disciplines if they choose,” added Carty. 

The 1,500-square-foot Finance Center, located on the second floor adjacent to the library, also “represents another Stepinac first in curriculum innovation,” said Frank Portanova (Class of ’93), Vice Principal of Curriculum and Academic Studies.  “This unique space is devoted to teaching professional literacy in finance at a college level.”

A distinctive Wall Street atmosphere features LED ticker displays in real time, an essential tool used daily by newsrooms, financial wealth management firms, and university business school finance labs. In addition, the new lab allows for the integration of the Bloomberg Terminal and Bloomberg Market Concepts into the curriculum. Accordingly, students will then graduate with a Bloomberg certificate. Portanova noted: “This will certainly be a boon to their college resumes and transcripts and show Stepinac’s continued commitment to our mission of bringing the real world into our classrooms.”

In addition, Stepinac invested in the Leonardo Adult Patient Simulator, a realistic representation of the human body designed to instruct students in a variety of hands-on medical situations including cardiopulmonary resuscitation, intensive care, and life-support procedures, among others.

Similarly, the new 3D Anatomage Table enables students to visualize and learn about the myriad individual structures of the human anatomy with an unprecedented level of accuracy.  The digital technology has proven to spark students’ interest and engagement, resulting in more effective educational outcomes. 

Stepinac also added two new non-traditional learning spaces that “expand our advanced learning environment, unlike anything else in the region, that prepares students for what they will expect when they go to college and into their chosen career or industry,” Carty explained.

Like the first two classrooms that were well received by students and faculty in 2019, the new additions are equipped with numerous touch-interactive displays with high performance front-facing speakers, and numerous inputs for all video formats as well as built-in browser, white boarding, and wireless sharing without requiring a computer. The rooms also feature moveable premier Steelcase furniture that will allow students to collaborate better, concentrate better, experiment better, and learn better.

Stepinac’s previous groundbreaking initiatives to develop a cutting-edge, technology enabled high school included the first-of-its-kind all-digital textbook library; the blended curriculum (each course has one-of-a-kind technology platforms); the Honors Academy which has become a model for an effective small personal learning program for academically top-achieving students and the Entrepreneurship Program elective. 

“We take enormous pride in Stepinac’s preeminence in curriculum innovation and technological advances, the critical underpinnings to a successful 21st century high school education that will continue Stepinac’s tradition of shaping our students to become tomorrow’s leaders in their professions and in their communities,” Father Collins explained.

For more information, visit www.Stepinac.org