Making waves in STEM

Dolphin STEM Academy is fully accredited by Cognia!

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Personalized learning for YOU @dolphinSTEM

 

A small online private school making waves!

Come STEM with us!

*Flexible and Self-paced
*Adaptive Reading, Math, and Language Arts
*Student Interaction and Clubs
*Transformative Spelling and Handwriting
*Intensive Reading
*1 to 1 Teacher Meetings
*Elementary Book Club
*Virtual Math Manipulatives

Accredited Online Elementary School

If you are an Elementary student who:

  • wants to fill in learning gaps from previous years to build a solid foundation

  • prefers a personalized curriculum to fit your learning needs 

  • is motivated and ready to experience specialized STEM courses at an accredited online school

then Dolphin STEM Academy is the right school for you!

We are a small online learning community, dedicated to helping students develop a passion for STEM. Don’t settle for a one-size-fits all education!  Our goal is to provide you with a unique learning experience that will prepare you for your future career. 

Step 3

You’re all set to dive into your courses!  We’re always here to support you!

Step 2

Meet with our admissions team and create your personalized curriculum during orientation.

Click on each tab below to learn more!

Elementary STEM School

Don’t settle for a one-size-fits all education! Dolphin STEM’s state-of-the-art Adaptive Math and Reading curriculum assigns lessons based on your individual learning needs.  The online placement test will help determine if you need additional support or are ready for more challenging lessons.  This ensures that lessons are always at your “right level” for learning!
PROGRAM FEATURES
  • Parents receive weekly student progress check emails
  • Weekly 1 to 1 teacher-student meetings
  • Comprehensive Reading and Language Arts Program
    • Intensive Reading Fluency and Comprehension
    • Developmental and Transformative Spelling
    • Writing Workshop
    • Book Club with fiction and non-fiction books
    • Integrated Science and Social Studies
  • Build Math Fluency with concrete examples through online math manipulatives
  • Student clubs and specialized STEM activities
  • Interactive core curriculum with an array of animated videos, readings, and assessments
  • Placement diagnostic to assess and create a personalized learning path that is unique for your child’s learning needs
  • Affordable tuition and monthly payment plans
Workload
Wondering about the workload for online school? Students typically work in the online general education core and enrichment courses for about 4 hours daily Monday through Thursday. Flexible scheduling allows you to progress through the courses at your own individual pace.  General education courses include Math, Science, Reading Language Arts, and History/Social Studies. We reserve Fridays as an offline learning day, so go outside and explore!

 

Classes, teacher support, and live help
As an elementary student, you will be nurtured and guided to work independently, and gain key skills for academic success.  You will meet with your teacher in a 1 to 1 session and in small groups weekly.  Students generally meet on Mondays through Thursdays from 10am to 2pmEST or 12noon to 4pmEST.   Our team also helps to guide your academic development by providing ‘checks for understanding’ throughout the school year.  Parents receive weekly progress check emails that inform about their child’s work and progress!
Our goal is to help prepare you to achieve your dreams! Join our Elementary program!
Assessments and Enrichment
At Dolphin STEM Academy, we are committed to your academic growth and development. To ensure student progress, we administer a diagnostic assessment for Elementary students at the beginning of the academic year, and continue assessing throughout the year.  Student progress monitoring occurs using a suite of assessments including the integrated curriculum diagnostic, key concept skills checks, and student formative assessments.  The assessments pinpoint the strength and challenges of each student and identifies what is needed for individual continued growth.

Math & Reading Language Arts

Our personalized Math and Reading Language Arts curriculum is your own learning path for progress and improvement.  The Science and Social Studies Curriculum are interactive and fun!

Science and Social Studies Curriculum

Our STEM Approach

Tired of Robotics and Coding classes as a STEM program?  At Dolphin STEM Academy, we take STEM seriously.  STEM goes beyond robotics and coding programs.  Our students have passions for health and medical fields, digital media, sustainable engineering, animation, programming, graphic design, marine biology and zoology, nanotechnology, and more!  Private school students receive a student user account for Adobe Creative Cloud and learn to use the components in our #STEMsynergy sessions! With exciting STEM courses and live #STEMsynergy sessions, you’ll never be bored!
Dive deeper with self-study of your favorite STEM areas and teacher-supported skill development.  Enrolling in our online school gives you the advantage of flexibility of scheduling, a self-directed learning pace, and access to a variety of your favorite courses!  Explore STEM careers during our “STEM Talk” sessions.  Learn about pathways into STEM career fields, internship opportunities, and more!

STEM Projects

One thing that sets our students apart from other private school students is their passion for their STEM area.  Dolphin STEM Academy students engage in a deep study of their field and also take a hands-on, practical approach in their learning.
Through service learning, students design an independent or collaborative project that can positively impact a local or global community.  Students are empowered and motivated to provide solutions to ongoing issues.  A teacher mentor will help guide students through their project.

Frequently Asked Questions

YES!  Dolphin STEM Academy is fully accredited by Cognia, a global leader in school and teacher advancement.  We are also accredited by the South Carolina Independent Schools Association.  We are registered in many states including Tennessee and Florida.  Due to our accreditation with Cognia, your child’s education with us is valued and accepted at universities, colleges, and other public and private K-12 schools.
  • Dolphin STEM is a small online school, so you won’t get lost in the crowd.  We provide opportunities to meet with a teacher 1 to 1, build reading comprehension and fluency through our Intensive Reading program, and get quick assistance with Math skills in our Math Lab.
  • Unlike many virtual schools, we assess our students 3 times per year!  We administer the NWEA MAP Growth assessment for Science, Math, Reading, and Language Use, and  the results are used to help you grow academically and achieve your goals!
  • The curriculum is customized to meet your unique learning needs, and you’re able to work at a pace that works best for you!
  • We provide ongoing student support throughout the year.
  • Parents are supported throughout the year with regular parent conferences and monthly family resources.
  • We offer two program tracks to ensure accurate course placement.  The adaptive program allows students to fill in the gaps of learning from previous years, while the traditional program provides standards-based grade level curriculum.
  • Students can gain key leadership skills such as independence, grit, determination, and intrinsic motivation!
  • We are interactive collaborators! Join in and get involved in our special events such as online clubs, Summer and Winter STEM Camp, Online STEM Clubs,  Pi-Thon Math Challenges and Tournament, STEM Writing Week, Pi Day Celebration, and STEM Week!
  • Our curriculum is 100% online for 3rd – 12th graders and contains built-in support to make learning easy and fun!  The curriculum contains built-in support including guided notes, text to speech read aloud, interactive graphing paper and functions for Math, dictionary tool to help define words, and more! Videos, games, and quizzes also help to reinforce the lesson content.  For English language learners, there is also a translation tool to allow you to translate text in the courseware into your native language–over 20 languages are available!
  • In August and January, our private school students participate in our school intersession and orientation, and gain key skills to succeed during the school year such as notetaking, study skills, research and writing, citation format, reading for meaning, and more.
  • Our key focus is college prep for STEM careers.  We provide a variety of opportunities to specialize in STEM fields through course content, practical experience, and certifications.
  • Students take the MAP growth assessment three times per year which provides a correlation to predicted ACT and SAT scores.  We also provide college entrance exam preparation in high school.
  • We LOVE STEM!  We help to develop passions in STEM fields and nurture the critical thinking skills that are required in STEM careers.
We offer regular, gifted, honors, and accelerated classes.  To enroll, complete the application form and submit previous school records along with your consent for records from other schools.
Our online program works best for students who are motivated to learn and achieve success.  Students who need repeated prompting to complete assignments may struggle.  We also recommend that students have reading comprehension skills that will enable them to understand the lessons.  The curriculum has the ability to narrate the lessons using the “text to speech” function.  Struggling readers will likely have difficulty mastering the curriculum.

You can enroll today!

We admit students year-round! If you’d like to use the traditional school year, the 2021-22 school year begins on August 2, 2021.  Students must complete the school year within at least 10 months.

 

Dolphin STEM’s tuition rates are affordable!

There is a $99 application fee and the annual tuition fee is $3599.  We offer a 0% monthly payment plan as well.  Enroll today!https://form.jotform.com/DolphinSTEM/dsa-enrollment

The full-time private school is for students who want to be registered with a private school and have the guidance and support of certified teachers and academic counselors.  Private school students receive support from our staff for the academic school year August through May, but are able to use the curriculum through July if necessary.  The curriculum is based on the Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards; state specific standards can be also be used, just let your academic advisor know during your enrollment conference.  California students can also tailor their courses to California requirements for entry into the California public university system.
Independent study homeschoolers purchase the curriculum and use it independently as homeschool students.  Please discuss homeschool requirements with your local school district or state Department of Education.
We can provide state specific courses, including California A-G courses!

COURSE CATALOG

Choose your electives today!

Explore our full course catalog and find YOUR perfect mix of courses!

Dolphin STEM

Inspiring passions in STEM.  Educating a new generation.
Dolphin STEM Academy
2017-03-13T11:54:16+00:00
Inspiring passions in STEM.  Educating a new generation.

We are super proud of him and appreciate your support!

Christopher has had some great positive things to say. It’s really cool that he is connecting with kids and teachers...

Laurie, mom of Christopher

Dolphin STEM Academy
5.0
2021-06-12T03:02:57+00:00

Laurie, mom of Christopher

Christopher has had some great positive things to say. It’s really cool that he is connecting with kids and teachers from all over – a great “virtual” way to open up his world and perspective.

We are so glad!

This is our 1st year homeschooling and we are so glad that we chose Dolphin STEM Academy

Erin, mom of a 5th grader

Dolphin STEM Academy
5.0
2019-05-26T08:35:22+00:00

Erin, mom of a 5th grader

This is our 1st year homeschooling and we are so glad that we chose Dolphin STEM Academy

Thank you for always being here for me!

Big thanks to Mrs Debbie for all the support and encouragement!

Mirabel from Malaysia

Dolphin STEM Academy
5.0
2021-06-15T15:36:43+00:00

Mirabel from Malaysia

Big thanks to Mrs Debbie for all the support and encouragement!

I believe his confidence in himself has grown!

Mrs. Debbie and her team have been awesome through this entire school year and I appreciate your support and patience...

Keenna H.

Dolphin STEM Academy
5.0
2021-06-18T01:33:46+00:00

Keenna H.

Mrs. Debbie and her team have been awesome through this entire school year and I appreciate your support and patience with me!
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Dolphin STEM Academy

Vision and Goals Planner

Dolphin STEM

Inspiring passions in STEM.  Educating a new generation.
Dolphin STEM Academy
2017-03-13T11:54:16+00:00
Inspiring passions in STEM.  Educating a new generation.
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Dolphin STEM Academy
Dolphin STEM Academy National Junior Honor Society
Dolphin STEM Academy Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society

NJHS