In the 12 years since the SEED School of Maryland opened its doors in Southwest Baltimore, Maryland’s only public, college-prep boarding school has been providing an outstanding alternative learning environment for underserved students who aspire to achieve high academic opportunities and success.
SEED’s renovated campus, competitive curriculum, dedicated faculty and 24-hour learning environment attracts students from around the state who are motivated to achieve their dream of college acceptance and graduation. Currently 405 students attend SEED, which has a middle and high school. Eighty percent of the students are first generation college-bound, and 98% of seniors have been accepted to college.
A SEED education provides more than just academics; it offers a means of discovering new talents and exposure to new ideas and experiences. At the top of the list of new experiences this year is the brand new, state-of-the-art InfoArmor Cyber Lab, a main attraction in SEED’s STEM program.
The mission of the Cyber Lab is to provide every student, over the course of every school year, the opportunity to benefit from cutting-edge experiences that will inspire them to consider future cyber and technology-related careers. At last year’s annual Dream Ceremony, a SEED tradition during which middle school students set their sights on their dream careers, more students selected careers in STEM than becoming professional athletes!
The 2,500 square foot lab features 3D printers, a laser cutter, a vinyl cutter, a heat press, drones, Sphero robots, Raspberry Pi microcomputers as well as a Cyber Hive outfitted for computer programming and Cyber Security courses. The program will include specialized elective courses, extra-curricular clubs, and activities like robotics and robotic gardening, youth employment and entrepreneurship, and local internships.
Fueled by the leadership of SEED Board of Trustee member, Holly McCulloh, her husband, Mark McCulloh, and their employer, AllState Identity Protection, an Allstate Company, the Lab will bring possibilities for all students, providing access to technology, along with awareness and motivation of the collegiate and career opportunities that are plentiful in our region’s cyber industry. “SEED will become a first-class institution in preparing digital citizens who are ready to pursue competitive opportunities in higher education that lead to careers in technology,” McCulloh explained.
Andrew Pham, Director of the Cyber Lab, who led the design and planning, including the curriculum development and programming said, “The kids at the school have been involved from the development stages to the implementation. We are giving them learning opportunities that will allow them to pursue STEM at a college level.” Pham said, “Our program not only exposes students to cutting-edge technology and cyber security, but also prepares them for careers in the field.”
SEED School MD uses the world as a classroom and believes that opportunity sparks a lifelong thirst for learning, which can change the trajectory and create a pathway for success for students. Their results speak for themselves; SEED students graduate from college at nearly 3.5 times the rate of their peers. With their STEM-focused curriculum and new Cyber Lab, the SEED School MD is laying the foundation for students to walk confidently into the future.
