Notre Dame Academy Opens STEM Innovation Space for Girls

Notre Dame Academy just opened a door to the future for its students, and it's designed specifically to help young women lead it.

The all-girls school unveiled its 1906 IDEAL Innovation Space, a state-of-the-art learning environment built to boost STEM education while staying true to the school's Catholic mission. The name IDEAL stands for Inquiry, Discovery, Education, and Learning, and that's exactly what the space was designed to encourage.

"At Notre Dame Academy, we educate young women to be confident leaders, thoughtful innovators and compassionate servants prepared to shape the future with courage and purpose," said President Lauren Hitron. The new space gives students room to explore design thinking, applied technology, and real-world problem solving through flexible learning zones packed with integrated technology.

Notre Dame Academy has championed STEM education for generations, particularly for young women who remain underrepresented in tech fields. This new space takes that legacy further by creating an environment where collaboration and creativity can thrive side by side.

Principal Lisa Timmerding explained that innovation and faith work together at the school. "In this space, innovation is guided by values, discovery is rooted in ethics and leadership is grounded in service," she said.

The space got an official blessing from school chaplain Fr. Conor Kunath, who asked that it become a place of discovery, creativity, collaboration and courage. The name honors 1906, the year the Sisters of Notre Dame founded the academy with the same forward-thinking spirit that drives it today.

The Ripple Effect

When girls see themselves as future engineers, programmers, and innovators, entire industries change. Women currently make up less than 30% of the STEM workforce, but schools like Notre Dame Academy are working to flip that script.

The Innovation Space doesn't just prepare students for college or careers. It shows them they belong in labs, tech companies, and research facilities just as much as anyone else.

Donors from across the Notre Dame Academy community made the space possible through their generous support. The school also recognized Jane Kennedy Kleier, a 1983 graduate who served as interim president and led the vision for bringing the Innovation Space to life.

Now students walk into a classroom that tells them the future needs their ideas, their questions, and their leadership.