Saturday Academy curates transformative hands-on learning experiences designed to deepen identity, connect community, and increase global awareness for K-12 grades students across Oregon and SW Washington. We believe that this work is best explored through the intersections of Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics. Saturday Academy offers five educational programs throughout the year– Classes, Camps, Days Off Workshops, School Residency, and our Apprenticeships in Science and Engineering.

For our School Residency Programs specifically, Saturday Academy partners with schools and community centers to place skilled educators and practitioners in 6-12 week School Residency Programs within the community. Saturday Academy Residencies feature small class sizes with hands-on, project-based learning that allow our expert educators to meet students where they are, providing tailored education for every learner. School Residency Programs feature the wide range of STEAM-fueled, career-connected focuses from digital photography and animation to engineering, lego robotics, and coding.

Grant funding was available for Title 1 schools and community-based organizations, representing over $60,000 of cost assistance this year alongside substantive tuition assistance provided for students in all of our classes and camps.

The use of these funds was put towards the expansion of opportunities for historically and systemically excluded students in the Portland Metro area to engage in hands-on, in-depth STEAM programming by partnering with schools and community organizations that allow students to attend cost-free in their own neighborhoods, ensuring necessary support for students to participate fully.

These goals were met by Saturday Academy’s creation and implementation of 30 School Residencies. These Residencies took place at 20 different schools across 7 school districts, including Portland Public Schools and David Douglas. Residency topics were as diverse as the student interests ranging from artistic explorations to the scientific, technological to engineering-minded. Of the 20 schools served, 17 are classified as a Title 1 school, reflecting intentional decisions made to ensure access to historically underserved communities. The diversity of residency attendance also reflects this intentionality: of the approximately 270 students served by school residencies, 64% represent historically underserved and systemically excluded communities. The vast majority of these School Residencies were provided to the schools and students at low or no cost at all.

Funds supported the costs associated with faculty, full-time staff, professional development, supplies, and the necessary cost/tuition assistance to provide programming for free.

As a result of generous funding from the Olseth Family Foundation, Saturday Academy was able to enable robust residency programs in schools that support historically and systemically excluded communities at low to no cost.

As one site manager for our school residency program wrote:

“The kids immediately took to Saturday Academy programming. It was awesome. A highlight was the Nature Journaling Program as it blended nature and visual arts, as well as some science exploration in the little creek out by Greenway ES. It was just really wonderful.

Additionally, we have taken advantage of the diverse array of offerings Saturday Academy
provides. We've done coding with Scratch and lego robotics! We had one student in particular
who had been talking about wanting to work with Scratch for about a year and a half and if felt
very good to be able to provide that experience, with Saturday Academy’s support. It's been a delight to see other classes grow in the awareness of what Saturday Academy has been doing with one group and ask “when is it our turn?!”

Bonus, while we can contribute a bit to the programs, Saturday Academy has been able to
unwrite and subsidize the lion’s share of the efforts to provide this hands-on learning to
Greenway students. We believe in the transformative power of STEAM education, in large part, as a result of Saturday Academy’s work with our students.” Holden S.

yes, of course

saturdayacademy.org