About Us
Our Story
NEW EDGE STEM Academy curriculum is designed by a scientist Dr. Sheetal Karnik with 20 years of experience of coaching students in STEM.
The formation of New Edge STEM Academy, an afterschool program.
New Edge STEM Academy was born out of a mother’s drive to give her daughter a strong head start in her early years of education. Read through Dr Karnik’s story, why it was very personal for her to design this program and reach it out to the young children.
I am a mother, but I am also a scientist. When my oldest daughter was in sixth grade, I noticed her school’s science curriculum was taught in bits and pieces. The children weren’t learning the science concepts required for their high school success. As a scientist, I knew the importance of a strong foundation in sciences and realized my daughter wouldn’t get the academic opportunities for a STEM career for her future. Having taught students in undergraduate programs and coached for MCAT exams, I know what students get tested on in higher grades and I wanted to make sure she got a strong foundation so she could excel in high school.
Our school’s science education is focused on earth sciences during elementary years rather than physics, chemistry and biology. Since education in core sciences is lacking, by the time the students get to highschool, these subjects become very difficult. The tests for AP courses and the ACT are focused on physics, chemistry and biology. These scores are used by colleges to admit students into professional programs to prepare them for high paying professions like engineering, physicians, nursing, pharmacists etc. The scores and their GPA also matter when it comes to qualifying for academic scholarships.
New Edge STEM Academy curriculum was designed to supplement child’s science education and set them up for future success!
New Edge STEM Academy Program and how it can supplement your child’s future:
My experience as a scientist made me notice the gaps in STEM education need to be filled. Therefore, I carefully researched various science curriculums and weighed the pros and cons of each. I strategically designed a STEM spiral curriculum which not only meets most science standards but accelerates students with a strong foundation.
I couldn’t help myself but use scientific methods to test my curriculum. I started coaching both my then seventh grader and Kindergartner with this curriculum. Because of my middle schooler’s foundation (the New Edge STEM Academy program today), when she went to high school, she was able to take an honors biology course during summer break. By the end of the summer, she scored a 98 percent. In her freshman year of high school, she took the AP Biology and SAT Biology exam and scored a 98th percentile ranking in the U.S. Due to her accelerated academics, she not only got into her dream college but also received coveted scholarships to fund her college education. She was easily able to balance her academic responsibilities with the demands of being president of the Mayor Youth Commission and playing on her highschool’s basketball team. Today that foundation has helped her get an engineering degree in Computer Science and has landed her with a dream job in San Francisco.
My younger child, now a junior in high school, experienced the entire spectrum of our New Edge STEM curriculum. She has reaped maximum benefits of the program and has placed first multiple times at both regional and state level science fair competitions. She has been a recipient of the prestigious ‘INTEL INNOVATOR’ award several times. Her science research is being patented and brought in collaborations with engineers in the industry. She is now a proud co-owner of a small biotech company “MAAI HEALTH LLC” and they are working on their first prototype that stemmed from her science research to bring it to the market. Her accomplishments earned her Arizona Junior Achievements ‘18 under 18’ award!
Yes, our curriculum can unleash crazy potential in our students who can accomplish great feats at an early age!
For the past six years, we have been helping more than 250-300 students to score their maximum potential by equipping them with concept clarity, confidence, and test taking skills. So far, we have about 50-60 students competing at science fairs to earn placement at science fairs. Many of our students who have graduated high school have been accepted into Ivy league schools and have earned scholarships of up to $ 240,000!
About Dr. Sheetal Karnik, Founder/ Program Director
Dr. Karnik has a masters in biochemistry and physiology from University of Mumbai. She also got her bachelors in education and taught undergraduate students in Mumbai.
She got her Ph.D in Molecular and Cellular Biology (Biotechnology) from Arizona State University (ASU) and earned ‘Student of the Year’ award from the department of Life sciences at ASU. She has done post-doctoral fellowship in medical research focused on cardiovascular research and endocrinology from Veterans Affairs hospital, Phoenix. She has published multiple scientific research articles in International journals and has been invited as a speaker to present her research at international conferences.
She is also registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and has practiced patent law for 10 yrs. She has worked with multiple inventors on cutting edge research and has insight of the entire creative process of product development.
Her passion for education has resulted in founding New Edge Science Academy (9-12th grade) and New Edge STEM Academy (K-8th grade). In addition, she is one of the contributing authors of the best seller book of 2021 ‘Growth Hacking Book 2’. Her contribution to the field of education and community earned her a recognition of ‘2021 Women of Chandler’.
She loves to hang out with her daughters, cook hearty meals for the family and binge watch TV shows with her husband. She is a trained Indian classical dancer and loves to choreograph and perform at various cultural events.
