For Middle School Students

Timeline and Course Schedule

This information is for STEM Academy Ignite (grades 6-8).

Visit the high school program page for grades 9-12.

Ignite courses are offered on a quarterly basis, with two six-week sessions in the fall and two in the spring. Ignite is not currently offered during the summer.

All Ignite courses are conducted in person. Courses take place in APL’s STEM Center learning laboratories located at:

South Campus: Semmel Center (Building 201)
11091 Johns Hopkins Road
Laurel, Maryland 20723

*Note: APL is not accessible by public transit and is located in Laurel, Maryland. For additional information, including directions, please visit APL’s Locations and Directions page.

Important Reminders

Review the course timeline.
There will be no classes during the week of Thanksgiving break or spring break.
STEM Academy will have classes on all other scheduled days, including scheduled school holidays.

The timeline below is for the 2026-2027 calendar year. Dates are subject to change.

Fall 2026

Date
August 15-17, 2026	Returning Student Registration Period
August 15-23, 2026	New Student Application Period
September 9, 2026	Student/Parent Fall Semester Virtual Orientation
September 14 to October 19, 2026	Fall Session A
November 23-27, 2026	Thanksgiving Break (No Classes)
October 16 to December 7, 2026	Fall Session B

Courses for the fall 2026 session will be announced during summer 2026.

Any courses listed below are tentative and subject to volunteer instructor availability. The finalized course schedule will be updated in August for fall courses and in January for spring courses.

For more information about courses, including descriptions and prerequisites, please view the course catalog.

Reminder: All Ignite courses are conducted in person.

Two courses are offered at a time during the spring: session A and session B. Courses are offered one day per week from 5 to 6:30 p.m. ET for each six-week session.

Because we may experience inclement weather during the spring session, a class may be canceled without being rescheduled. If a class is canceled, we will attempt to reschedule it or offer it online.

Spring 2027

Date	–
January 9-11, 2027	Returning Student Registration Period
January 9-17, 2027	New Student Application Period
January 27, 2027	Student/Parent Spring Semester Virtual Orientation
February 1 to March 8, 2027	Spring Session A (Inclement Weather Makeup: March 15)
March 22 to March 26, 2027	Spring Break (No Classes)
April 5 to May 10, 2027	Spring Session B