From the Head of School: STEAM Classes at MVS

10/30/2025

You might have seen that MVS’ STEM programs were once again ranked #1 in the Dayton area by Niche—but what is the method behind this success?

On Thursday, November 20, MVS will host its annual Experience Academic Excellence event, which gives current and prospective parents the opportunity to experience MVS' unique Immersion Method for themselves through short "master classes" taught by MVS teachers. This year, the theme of the event is An Evening of STEAM at MVS, and all master classes will focus on STEAM concepts: science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. Information and registration for the event is here.

You might have seen that MVS’ STEM programs were once again ranked #1 in the Dayton area by Niche—but what is the method behind this success?

Put simply, MVS’ immersive curriculum focuses on hands-on exploration, connecting ideas, sharing work, and reflecting on outcomes—essential skills when it comes to scientific inquiry, creativity, and critical thinking. STEAM at MVS spans a wide variety of courses and departments, touching everything from ceramics to calculus—in short, it reflects the real world, where knowledge resists easy categorization and true learning requires breaking through silos.

Here are just a few ways students in each division have engaged with STEAM topics this year:

Early childhood school students have taken frequent inspiration from nature to drive their inquiry, as shown in these examples:
- Kindergarteners have expanded upon their Wonders Unit by taking walks outside and exploring each of their five senses as they observe the environment. They have also done some October pumpkin math, comparing the weight, number of seeds, etc. as they extend upon their math unit of measurement and comparison.
- In the JPK/PK art class, students have begun creating nature journals, where they will draw the changes they see outdoors. They have also been building structures in the EC cave area made up of elements such as stones, shells, feathers, leaves, and wood—these structures are used to translate and explore what the children have seen outside and to create an environment that reflects animal habitats.
The lower school has seen a plethora of STEAM investigations in each grade! Here are just a few activities:
- Fifth graders blended visual arts and mathematics by creating decimal name art to go with their math unit on decimal place value. Each student colored in the letters of their names on a hundredths grid, then added up the shaded hundredths.
- Fourth graders applied their learning about forms of energy by building energy pinball machines! The machines demonstrate at least three different energy types (potential, kinetic, elastic, and so on).
- Second graders dove into ecology by researching interdependence, decomposers, and habitats, and creating dioramas to demonstrate how these components interact.
In the middle school, students are consistently challenged to synthesize knowledge across different disciplines.
- The required middle school Makerspace & Computer Science courses are convenient examples of STEAM in action: all Makerspace students in grades 6-8 have been practicing coding in Python, and recently they have started to turn their skills towards game development.
- However, STEAM skills are not confined to the Makerspace. Sixth grade Geography students recently created monuments to reflect something important about North America, blending engineering, art, and social science!
- Additionally, middle school club offerings allow students to explore STEAM more deeply. The newly established Lego Club meets each Friday during lunch/recess, and the middle school FIRST Lego League robotics team has begun after-school meetings.
In the upper school, an expansive course catalog gives students the opportunity to explore STEAM in a variety of ways:
- Recently, students in our Environmental Sustainability course visited various sites in Yellow Springs to learn about regenerative farming techniques.
- Multivariate calculus students have created intricate patterns using Lissajous curves in the examination of periodic and nonperiodic curves.
- Physics students just finished a lab where they calculated the Earth’s gravitational field. Additionally, students in Advanced Physics II created electric field compasses and determined the direction of electric fields around charged objects
- Upper school Immersions with STEAM components this year include Medicine in Belize, Ceramics, and Game Design.

After graduation, a plurality of MVS alumni continue their journeys in STEAM, with fields such as Biology, Chemistry, Psychology/Neuroscience, and Engineering consistently ranking as the most popular intended majors in our end-of-year College Report. Many young alums also choose to follow their passions for the arts, whether that means pursuing formal training in classes or participating in extracurriculars such as theater, orchestra, or a cappella.

This year, I was fortunate to meet Dr. Rahul Ballal ’95, the winner of our 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award. With a biology degree from Brown, a master’s in bioinformatics from Johns Hopkins, a PhD in biochemistry from Georgetown, and 15-year career as an entrepreneur and biotech CEO, Dr. Ballal exemplifies not only the cross-disciplinary nature of STEAM education, but also the unique ways that MVS prepares graduates for success in college and career. In his remarks, Dr. Ballal mentioned three things that MVS did that played a role in his journey:

At MVS, he was encouraged to be curious, ask questions, and practice new skills, in the classroom, on Immersion trips, and in extracurricular activities like Model UN.
MVS taught him how to fall and get back up again, an essential skill in life and a reflection of our school’s core value of grit.
MVS emphasized collaboration, community, and working together with peers and faculty alike, something that has helped Dr. Ballal forge connections in multiple walks of life.

At the end of the day, STEAM is more than a collection of classes or academic disciplines—it’s a mindset that prioritizes asking good questions, seeking better answers, and embracing risk and failure as essential components of success. Our Academic Excellence Night program will allow you to witness this mindset in action, both through experiencing immersive master classes and hearing from some of our young alumni about their progress in STEAM fields. I encourage you to attend!

With Ram Pride,