Online Academic Enrichment Programs
Do you want to level up by learning new skills, building a portfolio, and making professional connections? Stride and our collaborators know that learning can happen anywhere, at any point in your life. As a leader in education, we’re committed to offering opportunities for students and adults to learn outside the classroom and workplace.
Get ready to invest in yourself and try something new with Stride Enrichment Programs!
January registration is now closed for the program sessions below. Please stay tuned for new opportunities soon!
Drone Flight with DARTdrones
Who Can Participate: 8–12th grade students (100 seats available)
Cost to Participate: $220, covers flight training
Time Commitment: 10 weeks, 12 hours of virtual sessions + 5 hours of work outside of live sessions
What You'll Accomplish: You will learn how to fly a drone, explore the career opportunities drone flight can provide, and finish with a final flight video portfolio to showcase your experience. You'll also get to connect with professional drone and crewed aircraft pilots.
You will learn how to fly a drone, explore the career opportunities drone flight can provide, and create a final flight video portfolio to showcase your experience. This program includes virtual basic flight training and an introduction to advanced flight operations. DARTdrones professional instructors, also pilots for crewed aircraft, will cover drone system orientation, the apps used to fly the aircraft, the autonomous flight modes built into the aircraft software, and emergency procedures to prevent a crash. At week seven, you'll be assigned flight exercises to film that will be reviewed and graded. The last three weeks introduce the primary use cases professional drone pilots get paid for today: aerial photography, mapping and modeling, and aerial inspections. Professionals specializing in each use case will participate in question-and-answer sessions. Access to DARTdrones' online aerial photography program, designed by a television videographer and a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, will also be included for each participant. Drones not included.
Instructor: Roger Hall became interested in drone aviation after retiring from a career in the fire service. He served as a member of the hazmat and dive rescue teams during his 25-year tenure as a firefighter with Nashua (NH) Fire Rescue. He is a sport pilot and Certified Level 1 Thermographer who enjoys flying weight shift control aircraft. Roger now splits his time between Florida and Maine. He enjoys training public service departments, assisting with implementing crewless aircraft systems at their organizations, and using drones to film at live events.
Commercial Drone Certification with DARTdrones
Who Can Participate: Students who are Drone Flight Enrichment Program Graduates; Adults 18+ (100 seats available)
Cost to Participate: $220, covers certification preparation NOT certification exam cost
Time Commitment: 10 weeks
What You'll Accomplish: You will receive certification exam preparation to take the FAA Part 107 test. Upon passing, you can receive Commercial Drone Pilot Certification. DARTdrones will pay for participants to retake the exam if they fail the first time.
You can become an FAA Certified Commercial Drone Pilot through this drone certification program. To fly under FAA Part 107, you need to pass an FAA drone pilot test called the Airman Knowledge Test. This two-hour, 60-question test requires extensive studying. This DARTdrones program will prepare you to take the FAA Part 107 exam to fully understand the material and fly with the confidence you need to pass. Drones not included.
Instructor: Roger Hall became interested in drone aviation after retiring from a career in the fire service. He served as a member of the hazmat and dive rescue teams during his 25-year tenure as a firefighter with Nashua (NH) Fire Rescue. He is a sport pilot and Certified Level 1 Thermographer who enjoys flying weight shift control aircraft. Roger now splits his time between Florida and Maine. He enjoys training public service departments, assisting with implementing crewless aircraft systems at their organizations, and using drones to film at live events.
Find Your Entrepreneur Hustle with Youth With Impact
Who Can Participate: 7–12th grade students; Young Adults 18-24 years old (1,000 seats available)
Cost to Participate: $99
Time Commitment: 10 weeks
What You'll Accomplish: You will build business and workplace skills and finish the program with a pitch presentation, business model, and visual prototype. You can include these items in your resume, project portfolio, and even college or scholarship applications.
You can get ahead in college and your career in this program by developing a business model, pitch presentation, and visual prototype for a business idea. You'll learn fundamental business tools and concepts, including understanding competitors, marketing ideas, building advisory boards, and much more. Youth With Impact business instructors will guide you on turning passions into business ventures while learning critical skills for the workplace. For example, participants report significant improvements in confidence, public speaking, tech skills, and financial literacy. You'll graduate with a business plan, a venture pitch, and a sample of your idea—powerful items for your resume, college applications, and job pursuits.
Creative Storytelling with Photography
Who Can Participate: 6–12th grade students; Adults 18+ (300 seats available)
Cost to Participate: $50
Program Length: 10 weeks
What You'll Accomplish: You will finish the program with a final portfolio of photographic work you can use toward your resume or college and scholarship applications. You'll also get to connect with industry professionals.
Embark on your unique photography journey as you learn to hone observational and analytical skills by participating in weekly group sessions, lessons from leading industry experts, discussion boards, and a unique photo essay project that you can add to a professional portfolio to jump-start a career. This program does not teach the technical side of photography in the sense of editing and software—this program is meant to help you develop your creativity in learning how to tell a story through a photograph. Photos have a unique ability to tell a powerful story through one singular image and can be interpreted in various ways by the beholder. As a photographer, you have the power to educate, expose issues, persuade, empower, and occasionally, even change the world.
This program will take place via Tallo in their new "community" feature. Participants will have to create a new profile specifically for this program.
Instructors: Madison Boss has been a paraprofessional and special education teacher in Indiana for four years. She loves working with kids, and as an amateur photographer, she loves photography, too. Madison knows photography can be a big part of our lives as it visually documents our lives, culture, and world. Although we can read about information, it's not the same without pictures—the pictures can connect us. She loves seeing what different individuals bring to the table and how creative they can be with their cameras.
Deb Fuller is a visual storyteller with a background in theatre and museums. She teaches photography and visual literacy for the Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University. By exploring the world "through the lens," Deb hopes that participants discover the importance of looking at the world from different perspectives and how to turn those visions into meaningful stories and images.
Video Game Design
Who Can Participate: 8–12th grade students who have passed or are currently enrolled in Algebra 1 (100 seats available)
Cost to Participate: $75
Program Length: 16 weeks
What You'll Accomplish: You will finish the program with a final video game you create using JavaScript and a better understanding of computer science and basic programming. This final project can be part of your work portfolio on your resume or get highlighted in college and scholarship applications.
You will create video games in JavaScript while also learning the foundations of computer science and basic programming. You'll develop your logical thinking and problem-solving skills and finish the program with a final video game you design yourself. This program is designed for you whether you have never written a line of code or if you consider yourself a programming wizard.
Instructor: Glennan Saraceno is a math and computer science teacher who first worked as an electrical engineer in semiconductor (chip) development. As a teacher, she loves sharing the skills from that first career with the curious minds of students—the technologists of the future. Whether working on a math activity or a computer science project, Glennan believes that nothing is better than coaching a kid to discover their own brilliance and creativity and then getting out of their way to watch them run with it.
Virtual Reality Development
Who Can Participate: 8–12th grade students (100 seats available)
Cost to Participate: $50
Program Length: 10 weeks
What You'll Accomplish: You will complete the program with your own virtual reality final project. This final project can be part of your work portfolio on your resume or get highlighted in college and scholarship applications.
You will learn how to build your very own virtual reality world using HTML and the A-Frame library. You'll learn about creating advanced shapes, animation and interaction, and 360-degree images through tutorials, programming exercises, and more. Those new skills will get brought together and applied in a final project of your own VR creation that you'll be able to view on the computer, through phones, or through a VR device such as an Oculus.
Instructor: Sharon Kruger has a master's degree in industrial technology and has been teaching technology classes at Wyoming Virtual Academy (a K12-powered school) for 13 years. She has completed several computer science and coding programs and is versed in a variety of programs, including Arduino and Raspberry Pi. Sharon is also a certified CTE teacher and is currently teaching an engineering career pathway at her school. Each year teaching technology continues to grow her interest, along with her students. She loves sharing that interest and excitement to help her students explore new venues in technology as they continue to open.
Mobile App Development
Who Can Participate: 8–12th grade students (100 seats available)
Cost to Participate: $75
Program Length: 15 weeks
What You'll Accomplish: You will complete the program with useable skills and an app to include in your work portfolio on your resume or get highlighted in college and scholarship applications.
You will create your own unique mobile app that can run on Apple or Android devices. The field of mobile app development is set to remain one of the hottest, well-paid career areas for years to come, with an incredible projected growth rate. This program helps you kickstart your career with useable skills and an app to include in your professional portfolios. Plus, you can connect with peers across the country to share your passion for mobile development.
Instructor: Jodie McCluskey is a digital arts Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher at Insight Academy of Arizona. She's been a CTE teacher for four years and loves teaching project-based learning. Jodie is an Adobe Certified Associate in Illustrator and Photoshop. She uses her 30 years of experience in digital arts and web design to help teach the information technology professionals of tomorrow. She's excited about the future of mobile app development and that student developers can learn to create applications that could potentially reach millions of people and change lives in the age of computers and the internet.
Interior and Environmental Design
Who Can Participate: 8–12th grade students (100 seats available)
Cost to Participate: $50
Program Length: 10 weeks
What You'll Accomplish: You will complete the program with a final design project and knowledge of free, online sketching software you can continue to use in your design pursuits. This final project can be part of your work portfolio on your resume or get highlighted in college and scholarship applications.
You will learn the basics of interior and environmental design and how to create visually appealing settings in this program. Topics include color theory, architectural and furniture styles, construction basics, principles of design, fabric and accessories, and architectural drawing and sketching. The instructor will focus on training in free, online sketching software programs so you'll have the tools needed to create appealing interiors. This 10-week program is great if you appreciate aesthetic beauty and are interested in enhancing or creating well-designed interior spaces.
This program will take place via Tallo in their new "community" feature. Participants will have to create a new profile specifically for this program.
Instructor: Becky Ashcraft has a bachelor's degree in home economics and interior design from Valparaiso University and a master's in education. She spent 15 years in various design-related careers, including a furniture store designer and a professional kitchen and bath designer. One of her favorite roles was as a reviewer/auditor for an insurance appraisal company, where she got to compare interior details and pictures of million-dollar homes all day long! In addition, Becky spent numerous years teaching an introduction to housing and interiors class at one of the largest school districts in Indiana.
Comic Illustration
Who Can Participate: 6–12th grade students (100 seats available)
Cost to Participate: $50
Program Length: 12 weeks
What You'll Accomplish: You will finish the program with a final comic to include in your resume, project portfolio, and even college or scholarship applications.
Comics are one of the most popular and exciting ways to tell a story. This program offers a look at the fundamental building blocks of the comic book medium. You will explore panel-to-panel transitions, text-to-image relationships, and the intricacies of page layouts. This program is designed for beginner to advanced artists and will examine innovative ways to bring your stories to life.
Instructor: Sarah Schanze is an artist and writer located in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. She's been updating Thistil Mistil Kistil, a webcomic about Vikings and Norse mythology, since 2009 and self-published the first collected volume through Kickstarter. Sarah really loves comics and feels the more people make them, the better the comic book medium will be.
Fashion Design
Who Can Participate: 8–12th grade students(100 seats available)
Cost to Participate: $50
Program Length: 12 weeks
What You'll Accomplish: You will complete the program with a final fashion design project to include in your resume, project portfolio, and even college or scholarship applications.
Fashion has always been defined and redefined by bold visionaries throughout history. This program will trace the history of clothing and how themes have been interpreted over the last 500 years in fashion. You will explore notable individuals and examine garments and 'looks' for their trend-setting elements. You'll review contemporary designs to identify the reuse or redefinition of many of these details. As you advance through the program, you will progressively develop the eye and skill to sketch and create your own ideas through a creative journaling process, culminating in an original design project based on historical elements.
Instructor: Sewing her first bustier from scraps of her mother's discarded Louis Vuitton purse in only middle school, Andrea Pitts is no stranger to fashion design. Finding passion and independent expression in the craft, Andrea wants to share that with learners of all ages. This is her second year teaching fashion design at the secondary level. Her goal is to expose students to the art, creation, and design of fashion, and the business side by allowing students to learn from both her and some of Houston's most successful designers.
Robotics
Who Can Participate: 6–12th grade students (500 seats available)
Cost to Participate: $75
Program Length: 10 weeks
What You'll Accomplish: You will finish the program with new skills and the ability to code a robot to make autonomous decisions.
You will discover computer science and learn robotics concepts by programming your own virtual robot through a series of gamified missions. In addition to learning the nuts and bolts of coding and controlling robots, you'll practice science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), computational thinking, and problem-solving. You'll also develop key soft skills, including creativity and inquiry.
Instructors: Lisa Washburn is a science teacher with Idaho Technical Career Academy with five years of experience coaching FIRST LEGO League (FLL) and FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics. Her first-year FLL team placed 4th in the operational portion of a regional competition in Northern Idaho. Lisa received both her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Idaho in Moscow. She is a recipient of the 2018 NSTA Shell Lab Challenge award (an honor received by only 1 in 18 science teachers in the U.S.) and the 2016 NASA Cubes in Space lab competition with her science students.
Travis Limbaugh is a certified math and computer science teacher with an interest in robotics. He has a mechanical and electrical background with 23 years in aerospace ground equipment maintenance for the U.S. Air Force. Travis enjoys the building and assembly side of things and problem-solving.
Screen Writing
Who Can Participate: 8–12th grade students (50 seats available)
Cost to Participate: $50
Program Length: 10 weeks
What You'll Accomplish: You will finish with an original short screenplay you can include in your resume, project portfolio, and even college or scholarship applications.
Have you ever thought about making your own film? The filmmaking process begins with writing a screenplay. In this script-to-screen program, you'll be introduced to the exciting process of writing for the screen, where character, action, plot, and setting are key! You will explore the fundamental elements of screenwriting, including story structure, screenplay format, character creation, dialogue, and action writing. You'll develop original ideas into a complete short screenplay through writing exercises and weekly live virtual workshop sessions.
Instructor: Lauren Unbekant is a movement theatre artist, writer, director, visual artist, and educator. As a movement artist, Lauren has performed her original work nationally and internationally at such festivals as the Humorologie Festival in Belgium, The International Festival of Clown in Barcelona, Fira Tàrrega in Spain, The International Movement Festival in London, and Just for Laughs in Montreal. For more than a decade, she was the director of educational outreach for Syracuse Stage and faculty for Syracuse University Drama Department. Lauren is a master teaching artist with a knack for comedy. She has a bachelor's degree in musical theatre from Syracuse University. And she has had the great fortune of working and training with some of the world's great masters in movement and character clown, including Charlie Chaplin. As a big fan of the arts, Lauren is super psyched to pass on some of her knowledge of performance to a new generation of creative thinkers!
Entrepreneurship for Musicians
Who Can Participate: 8–12th grade students with a musical background; Adults 18+ (100 seats available)
Cost to Participate: $50
Program Length: 10 weeks
What You'll Accomplish: You will finish the program with the skills and knowledge to start a music-related business.
You will explore the distinct mindset and essential knowledge base vital to the establishment and success of music-related entrepreneurial endeavors. You'll learn how to repurpose your skills as a musician to envision and develop a business, highlighting the notion that musicians are natural entrepreneurs! You will discover and create opportunities around your diverse musical skills, so by the end of this program, you'll have the knowledge and expertise to conceive, form, launch, market, and manage a music-related business.
Instructor: Emmett Van Slyke is a composer, musician, producer, and digital media artist. As a composer, Emmett has scored various feature-length films and shorts. His theatre compositions include Reflecting Poe, The Crucible (for which he received an ACTF Kennedy Center Award); Telling the Truth for The National Whistleblowers Symposium; and Wolfskinder and Gemini Vanishing with MoveInk at the Sargent Theatre in NYC. He has toured nationally and internationally as a multi-instrumentalist and has worked with Mike Stoller, Jerry Lieber, and William Kotzwinkle. Emmett holds a bachelor's degree in music and literature from SUNY at Oswego. He was an artist in residence and master teaching artist for the Syracuse Stage Education Department working with progressive programs Arts Emerging and Random Acts. Emmett is thrilled for the opportunity to make some noise with learners of all ages!
Interested in Intelligence
Who Can Participate: 9–12th grade students (500 seats available)
Cost to Participate: $95
Program Length: 8 weeks
What You'll Accomplish: You will leave with new skills and the opportunity to apply for 2022 volunteer or internship roles within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
You will develop intelligence skills in many areas, including constitutional law, control tactics, terrorism, surveillance, and emergency response, while learning from current and former U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials. Working in teams, you'll investigate a mock case and make a final presentation of your task force findings. This entry-level program provides an innovative overview for those interested in law enforcement. At the end of this program, you will have the opportunity to apply for 2022 volunteer or internship roles within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Frequently Asked Questions about Stride Enrichment Programs
What kind of topics are offered through Stride Enrichment programs?
Program topics will vary each semester. See program details above for the selection of spring 2022 topics. The fall 2021 semester hosted topics including drone flight, drone pilot certification prep, entrepreneurship, photography, music through coding, playwriting, and mobile app development.
Who can participate in Stride Enrichment programs?
It depends on the specific online enrichment program. Many Stride Enrichment programs are designed for middle and high school students. However, the Drone Pilot Certification program is designed for adults and other programs have adult learner options. See each enrichment program detail for more information on the audience and grade levels for that specific program.
What is the time commitment to participate in a Stride Enrichment program?
For the spring 2022 programs, they range from 8-weeks to 16-weeks with most programs meeting for activities once a week for a 10-week period. Depending on the specific program, each session is either 30 minutes or 1 hour. Program start dates are subject to change.
What is the cost to participate in Stride Enrichment Programs?
Program cost is specific to each online enrichment program. For an idea, the programs for the spring 2022 semester range from $50 to $220 to participate. Additional costs, and costs for materials may be required. Please see the application details for the information. Payment is due upon acceptance and you’ll get an email with instructions to make your payment online.
Are all materials provided?
In some cases, there are materials or equipment needed for the program that are not included. Be sure to read through the application details for information about materials. For example, participants must use their own drone for the drone-related programs. We do offer recommendations though at a range of price points if a participant needs to purchase one for the enrichment program.
How do I sign up?
Each Stride Enrichment Program has its own registration form. Please see the program detail for a link to the registration. Once you register, you’ll receive a confirmation and program payment details. In some cases, there are a limited number of seats available, and we can not accept everyone who applies. Acceptance is on a first come, first served basis.
Are the programs credit bearing?
Stride Enrichment Programs are not credit bearing. Each program offers a deep dive into your subject of interest so you can develop a portfolio, interact with experts, prepare for a certification, or otherwise benefit in a number of ways.
How can I become an instructor, industry partner, or guest speaker?
If you have expertise you’d like to share, we’re often looking for new instructors, guest speakers, and industry partners. Please email us at enrichment@stridelearning.com to introduce yourself.
Please note, program details such as start date may be subject to change.
