By Joe Jarosz
Northeast News
January 28, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — A new high school in Kansas City, Mo., focuses on science, technology, engineering and math.

On Wednesday, Jan, 21, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the new Frontier STEM High School to celebrate the school building’s official grand opening. The newly renovated facility, which is approximately 20,000 square feet, is located at 6455 E. Commerce Ave. Roughly 75 students, teachers, family members and invested community members attended last week’s ribbon cutting.

The facility includes eight classrooms, a cafeteria, computer lab, science lab, and other rooms that will provide first-rate teaching and learning spaces for Frontier High School students. Phase two, which is scheduled to begin before the 2016/17 school year, will include a second floor with an additional twelve classrooms, a library, a computer/robotics lab and biology and physics labs. Construction planning for a gym will begin this year. Currently, there are 163 students enrolled from grades eighth through 10th. Classes began on Jan. 6, 2015.

Founded in 2005, Frontier Schools is a tuition-free, college preparatory Public Charter School sponsored by the University of Missouri — Kansas City (UMKC). Having met the standards and criteria for renewal in February of 2014, Frontier Schools renewed its second consecutive five year charter term with Kansas City.

Jennifer Watson, executive assistant/district public relations coordinator for the Frontier School System, said UMKC recommended, back in 2009, they open their schools in the Northeast area because, “no other charter schools existed there at the time.” This is the fourth campus in the Frontier family, the first located on the 5600 block of Troost Avenue.

“So we opened two schools, an elementary school at 6700 Corporate Drive and a middle school at 1575 Universal Ave.,” Watson said. “Therefore, to stay close to the elementary and middle school we opened our new STEM high school at 6455 E. Commerce which is just seconds from these schools.”

Gene Augustine, president of the Frontier Schools Board of Directors, said the opening was a long time coming, almost seven years in the making. With the hard work of a group of people, Augustine said Frontier started with around 200 students. Now, over 1,200 students are enrolled in Frontier Schools.

“We’re building a unique school here,” Augustine said, adding the school is a accountable to both UMKC and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for the state of Missouri. “There are many things we must do to meet their requirements and I’m happy to say we’ve been able to do those.”

The mission of Frontier Schools is to empower students to discover and develop their innate gifts and talents. With an ever-growing demand for highly skilled professionals in areas of science, technology, engineering and math, also known as STEM careers, Frontier has a focus on cultivating its student’s education to help meet the future demands of the workforce. Our vision is to enable students to succeed both in school and life and to have the option of pursuing math, science, and engineering careers.

The educators, administrators and community members that support Frontier have a combined interest in motivating and guiding our students to pursue post-secondary or college degrees in these areas. With the Kansas City region having the fourth largest engineering, manufacturing and technology workforce, it’s key to transform how our students engage in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Phyllis Chase, director of the UMKC Charter School Center, noted that charter school enrolled around 32 percent of the children in the Kansas City metro school area. Throughout the United States, she said about 2.2 million children attend charter schools and in Missouri, over 20,000 students attend one of 50 charter schools in the state.

“Public charter schools are given the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement,” Chase said.

For more information on the Frontier Schools, visit www.frontierstem.org.