The Global Impact STEM Academy was founded in 2013 as a new concept in public education. A group of community leaders, legislators and educational innovators came together to close a gap, define a new school name and brand, and engage diverse students and families to “do school differently.” The first year the school launched, it was being held on the local community college campus without a facility of its own. Over the next couple of years, Global Impact moved into the historic former Springfield High School, The Dome, and has since established itself as a school with a mission to teach STEM principles through an agricultural bioscience curriculum. Every student has the opportunity to be a member of FFA and 4-H as a supplement to the hands-on classroom experience.