CANFIELD — The Valley STEM + ME2 Academy at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center continues to give students hands-on lab work for the current school year.

And, it has opened enrollment for the 2021-22 academic year.

The STEM + ME2 Academy teaches science, technology, engineering and mathematics (the STEM portion), and manufacturing, energy and entrepreneurship (the ME2 piece).

The program is geared toward ninth- and tenth-graders in a 7,500-square-foot lab setting with a curriculum based on STEM principles.

“It is a hands-on learning approach and uses real-world problems,” said Jessica Cene, marketing and job placement coordinator at MCCTC. “We are in constant communication with business and industry and they guide us as to what students need to learn. We use problem-based learning.”

She said by working with business and industry, students in the academy will be better prepared for a global economy while nurturing the characteristics of discovery, invention, application and entrepreneurship. The academy, which has a STEM designation from the Ohio Department of Education, is a full-time, or full-school day, session for both the lab and academics.

The academy is limited to 100 ninth-graders and 100 10th-graders. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested applicants should apply at https://mahoningctc.com/stemme2/.

The 2021-22 academy could see a more normal-looking classroom, but for 2020-21, the academy is working on a split schedule. Even with COVID-19 restrictions, the academy found a way to maintain the all-important hands-on learning.

“We are on a hybrid schedule,” Cene said. “Half of the students report Monday and Wednesday and the other half have to report Tuesday and Thursday. On Fridays, all students are remote. We are able to keep the students spaced apart because our school is huge and it does not affect the hands-on learning at all.”

The academy doesn’t expand into junior or senior grades. Cene said Valley students in those grades can select more specific programs through MCCTC. She said a good percentage of students do just that.

“Ninety-seven percent of the 10th-graders chose a program on the MCCTC side,” Cene said.

The upper grades narrow the STEM program focus so students can pursue a career path in their chosen field.