“If a student does not understand what is being taught, it is not the responsibility of the student to change how they learn; it is the responsibility of the teacher to change how they teach.”
This belief shapes everything we do. Teaching at ASTEME is an evolving art that adapts to each child, honoring their individuality while challenging them to grow. Our mission is simple yet profound: to inspire kids to love learning.
See why ASTEME has been described as the “best kept secret on the Westside!”
5 Reasons Families Choose ASTEME
At ASTEME there is no “ahead” or “behind.” Mixed age classrooms and low student-teacher ratio enable teachers to meet students where they are. Where other schools tether students to a graded structure and pace, mimicking an industrial environment, ASTEME develops entrepreneurial skills by fostering collaboration and mentorship: students inspire and learn from one another, challenging themselves and growing together. This model supports advanced and gifted students, twice-exceptional (2e) students, and those needing additional scaffolding. Every student finds challenge and understanding and is empowered to grow with confidence, independence, and purpose.
Unlike more traditional schools, we believe it is critical for our students to practice collaborating across ages, cultures, socio-economic backgrounds, and learning differences, as they will in the real world. After all, what is a leader without a community to lead?
Strong community-building and citizenship are central to our philosophy, through school-wide STEM talks, mixed-age classrooms and recess, and reinforced by our rich social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, which empower even the youngest to find their voice. In our mixed-age community, it is easy to find younger students to mentor and older students to look up to.
Access is central to ASTEME’s mission. With over 40% of our students identifying as students of color and 30% receiving scholarships, we are committed to maintaining a diverse community that reflects the world our students will one day lead. Our tuition remains intentionally lower than other Westside schools to ensure that socioeconomic diversity continues to thrive.
Learning at ASTEME is hands-on, creative, and relevant. Through our project-based curriculum, students design sustainable cities, build robots, and tackle real-world problems. By practicing problem-solving and critical-thinking, they learn resilience as they iterate, accepting that failure is a natural part of scientific endeavor. Most importantly, project-based learning inspires curiosity, engagement, and a deep sense of purpose by connecting learning to life beyond the classroom.
Though ASTEME is built on a strong STEM foundation, we know growth truly begins with social-emotional learning (SEL). We start the day with advisory circles and daily connections nurturing resilience, compassion and emotional intelligence. This ensures that our classrooms are grounded in trust, empathy and inclusion, encouraging risk-taking and confidence to learn.
Because we eschew a cookie-cutter approach we have the opportunity to celebrate creativity in every class. And, ASTEME offers over 60 unique elective classes that spark imagination and excitement. Choice and variety help students see learning as an adventure—one that connects deeply to who they are and what they love.
By nurturing both heart and mind, ASTEME prepares students not only for academic success but for life—as kind, confident, and capable individuals ready to tackle any challenge they might encounter.
ASTEME values collaboration with parents. Recognizing that parents are the primary educators of their children, we seek families who want to actively partner on building an educational environment both at home and at school. Our teachers work closely with parents to design personalized pathways that respond to each child’s strengths. School-wide events bring parents into the school environment, giving them an opportunity to get to know each other and invest in their children’s school community. Our flexible approach supports children whether learning on campus or at home, honoring the unique rhythms and diversity each family adds, and understanding that learning is not limited to the classroom.
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ASTEME admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at ASTEME. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other ASTEME-administered programs.