July 10, 2026
At City Academy, STEAM learning extends far beyond the classroom walls. Through the use of our Outdoor Classroom, students are encouraged to explore the connections between science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics in meaningful, real-world ways.
This spring, 3rd and 4th grade students participated in a capstone project titled “Beauty in the Community,” an interdisciplinary unit that combined conceptual math learning with hands-on environmental experiences. Supported by generous grants from The Garden Club of St. Louis and The Ladue Garden Club, students planted, maintained, and studied garden ecosystems while applying math concepts to a campus beautification project.
The project challenged students to consider an important question: What makes a community beautiful and welcoming? Through observation, data collection, and collaborative problem-solving, scholars explored how thoughtful landscaping can help create welcoming community spaces.
Grant funding also allowed City Academy to purchase Texas Instruments Ti-Nspire graphing calculators, giving students new tools to investigate environmental questions. Using coding technology, students collected and analyzed data on moisture, temperature, humidity, and light levels throughout campus. They then used their findings to determine which plants would be most successful in different areas of the garden.
Along the way, students strengthened their understanding of graphing, measurement, and data analysis while learning about plant life cycles and environmental stewardship. The project also encouraged creativity as students selected plants and designed welcoming elements for the garden — an aspect of the project that stood out to 4th graders Mackenzie Sloan and Reece Wilson. “My favorite part of the unit was researching and choosing flowers. I really really like flowers,” Mackenzie shared. Reece agreed adding, “They were really pretty, and I even asked my mom to get some for our home.”
Several students noted that the opportunity to learn outdoors made the project especially memorable. 4th graders Jayla Jones and Seven Payne said their favorite part was stepping outside the traditional classroom setting. “My favorite part was going outside and putting the dirt in the ground,” Jayla shared. “It was like a workout and I enjoyed being with my friends in a different environment at school, still learning.” Seven added that planting the seeds was his favorite part, sharing that it was both satisfying and fun.
We are grateful to The Garden Club of St. Louis and The Ladue Garden Club for their investment in our scholars. Their support assisted our scholars with deepening their understanding of the natural world — experiencing firsthand how learning can transform both their environment and their community.