From Classroom to Career: How Liberty STEAM CHARTER SCHOOL Is Building an Early STEM Pipeline

Aug 14

83% of K-5 scholars at Liberty STEAM Charter School met end-of-year enrichment standards during the 2025 to 2026 school year.

With grant funding from the ATI Foundation, Liberty STEAM Charter School in Sumter, South Carolina, expanded hands-on STEM learning through three connected initiatives: completing its K-5 Project Lead The Way engineering progression, expanding VEX Robotics opportunities, and piloting a new cybersecurity pathway.

This was about more than introducing students to science and technology. The investment helped Liberty STEAM Charter School build a stronger pipeline connecting classroom learning with the skills, experiences, and career possibilities students will encounter in the future.

What happens when students are given the opportunity to think like engineers, programmers, and problem-solvers from an early age?

At Liberty STEAM Charter School, they rise to the challenge.

STEM education connects science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through learning experiences that build problem-solving, technical, and analytical skills. At Liberty STEAM Charter School, that learning also creates an early connection between what students study today and the career opportunities they may pursue later.

Dr. Trevor Ivey, Co-founder of Liberty STEAM Charter School.

Building Engineering Skills from Kindergarten Through Fifth Grade

The launch of fifth-grade Project Lead The Way (PLTW) completed Liberty STEAM Charter School’s K-5 engineering progression, giving every elementary scholar access to a vertically aligned engineering and design curriculum.

Through inquiry-based challenges and collaborative problem-solving, students applied mathematics, science, technology, and communication skills to real-world problems.

That approach is producing measurable results. Across Liberty STEAM Charter School’s network, 83% of K-5 scholars met end-of-year enrichment standards. Pre-assessments and post-assessments also showed substantial growth in STEAM proficiency across multiple grade levels.

  
        Grade
        Starting Proficiency
        Ending Proficiency
      
        Kindergarden
        1%
        98%
      
        Second Grade
        58%
        85%
      
        Third Grade
        65%
        85%
      
        Fourth Grade
        36%
        84%
      
        Fifth Grade
        61%
        92%

Student perception surveys also showed positive growth in confidence, curiosity, and interest in engineering, technology, innovation, and STEM careers.

For the ATI Foundation, the connection between education and future workforce opportunity is important. Students build career awareness long before they submit their first job application, and early exposure gives them more time to discover where their interests and abilities can take them.

Expanding Hands-On Learning Through Robotics

ATI Foundation funding also helped Liberty STEAM Charter School expand its VEX Robotics program through Saturday School Robotics Teams.

A total of 120 K-5 scholars, 20 from each grade level, participated in weekend robotics enrichment. Students designed, built, coded, tested, and refined robots while tackling challenges modeled on real engineering practices.

Through the robotics program, students had opportunities to practice:

Computational thinking
Collaborative problem-solving
Teamwork
Perseverance
Engineering design
Coding and testing

Robotics gave students opportunities to strengthen more than technical skills. The experience required them to work through problems, test ideas, make adjustments, and collaborate with others.

Those skills matter in the classroom and throughout the workforce.

Introducing Scholars to Cybersecurity Career Pathways

The third component of the project looked further down the career pathway.

With the ATI Foundation’s support, Liberty STEAM Charter School launched a Cybersecurity Pathway Pilot through an emerging partnership with Morris College. Throughout the year, Morris College served as a partner in Liberty STEAM Charter School’s career-connected learning model, helping shape experiences that introduce students to the growing field of cybersecurity.

That relationship is now positioned to continue. Morris College has officially joined Liberty STEAM Charter School’s PATH (Prepare, Aspire, Train, Harness) Program as one of 42 community and industry partners for the 2026-2027 school year.

Through PATH, students connect with professionals in high-demand industries through classroom experiences, career exploration, workplace exposure, guest speakers, and mentorship.

Starting these conversations early matters. Students can begin connecting what they learn today with the possibilities available to them tomorrow.

How the ATI Foundation Investment Is Designed to Keep Growing

The impact of this grant extends beyond a single school year.

Liberty STEAM Charter School has strengthened an elementary STEM pipeline connecting engineering, robotics, cybersecurity, and career awareness into a cohesive model designed to expand into middle school and, eventually, the school’s planned Early College & Technical High School.

The project also reinforces a principle central to the ATI Foundation’s approach: strong workforce pathways are built through strong partnerships.

“The ATI Foundation’s support gave us the opportunity to take ideas we knew could make a difference for our scholars and put them into action. From engineering and robotics to cybersecurity, our students aren’t just learning about STEM—they’re building, creating, solving problems and beginning to see where those skills can take them. What excites me most is that this work doesn’t end with one grant or one school year. Together, we’ve built a stronger foundation that will continue creating opportunities for our scholars for years to come.”

— Dr. Trevor Ivey, Co-founder of Liberty STEAM

The ATI Foundation invests in organizations already doing the work, helps them expand effective solutions, and connects education with future opportunity.

At Liberty STEAM Charter School, that approach is helping students build skills, explore careers, and see themselves as capable problem-solvers long before they enter the workforce.

Because preparing the workforce of tomorrow does not begin with the first job application. It begins by giving students the opportunity to discover what they can build, solve, and become.

CLICK HERE to read Liberty STEAM Charter School's full report about Empowering Future Innovators through PLTW.

Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT DID THE ATI FOUNDATION’S FUNDING SUPPORT AT LIBERTY STEAM CHARTER SCHOOL?

The ATI Foundation funding supported three connected STEM initiatives during the 2025-2026 school year: completion of the K-5 Project Lead The Way engineering progression, expansion of VEX Robotics opportunities, and a Cybersecurity Pathway Pilot.

HOW MANY LIBERTY STEAM CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN ROBOTICS ENRICHMENT?

A total of 120 K-5 scholars participated in Saturday School Robotics Teams. The program included 20 scholars from each grade level.

WHAT RESULTS DID LIBERTY STEAM CHARTER SCHOOL REPORT FROM ITS STEM PROGRAMMING?

Across the Liberty STEAM Charter School network, 83% of K-5 scholars met end-of-year enrichment standards. Reported pre-assessment and post-assessment results also showed increased STEAM proficiency across kindergarten, second, third, fourth, and fifth grades.

HOW DOES LIBERTY STEAM CHARTER SCHOOL CONNECT STEM EDUCATION WITH CAREERS?

Liberty STEAM Charter School connects STEM education with career exploration through engineering, robotics, cybersecurity, and its PATH (Prepare, Aspire, Train, Harness) Program. PATH connects students with professionals through classroom experiences, workplace exposure, guest speakers, mentorship, career exploration, and authentic learning.

WHY DOES THE ATI FOUNDATION INVEST IN EARLY STEM EDUCATION?

The ATI Foundation focuses on removing barriers, building connections, and unlocking potential. Investments in education and workforce initiatives can strengthen the connection between what students learn and the skills and career pathways they may encounter in the future.