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Should I Use NextWaveSTEM?

nextwavestem.com·Analyzed 12 hours ago··Based on 12 sources

Award-winning K–12 STEAM & CTE curricula with free PD, teacher training & hands-on STEM learning using emerging technology.

Depends

Depends

A fit for districts and grant-funded schools wanting turn-key STEM/CTE courses bundled with hardware and teacher training.

Turn-key K-12 STEM curriculum with kits for grant-funded schools; quote-only pricing and a tiny vendor make this a depends, not a buy.

Confidence: Medium

40+

Courses per license

One license, per vendor FAQ

K-12

Grade coverage

STEAM and CTE programs

9

Glassdoor reviews

Employee reviews, not customers

$261.5K

Funding

Crunchbase estimate

Value for money3

Quote-only pricing; value vs PLTW publicly debated

Ease of use4

Turn-key kits, ready-to-teach courses per partners

Feature depth4

40+ courses, K-12, hardware and PD included

Support quality3

Free PD and instructor staffing offered; unverified

Security posture3

Student privacy filing exists; little public detail

Pros

  • One license includes 40+ STEM courses across K-12³
  • Free teacher PD and training bundled in¹
  • Turn-key: curriculum, hardware kits, and training ship together12
  • Aligned to Perkins and 21st Century grant funding⁵
  • 'We Teach' program supplies instructors where schools lack STEM teachers

Cons

  • No published pricing; buying requires quotes or purchase orders⁴
  • Scarce public customer reviews; Glassdoor's 9 are employee reviews⁷
  • Educators publicly question whether price beats PLTW⁹
  • Tiny vendor (~$261.5K funding) for multi-district commitments10

Gotchas

  • highPricing is quote/PO-only — no budgeting without a sales call⁴
  • mediumLicense scope (per teacher, school, or student?) is not published³
  • mediumGuess: drones, robotics, and 3D-printing hardware may add costs beyond the license
  • mediumSmall vendor; a multi-year curriculum bet carries continuity risk10

Best for

  • K-12 districts building STEM/CTE pathways
  • Schools spending Perkins or 21st Century grants
  • Schools lacking certified STEM teachers
  • Title I / under-resourced schools

Not for

  • Teachers wanting one cheap course or single lesson units
  • Buyers needing transparent, self-serve pricing
  • Districts already committed to PLTW pathways
  • Non-US schools — funding alignment is US-grant specific

Companies that use it

  • Washtenaw ISD⁶
  • Epic Academy
  • Hazelwood School District (MO)
  • Chicago Public Schools

Pricing

All-in-One License

Not published — quote / purchase order

  • 40+ STEM courses
  • Hardware kits and curriculum
  • Teacher PD included

Security

No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Independent customer reviews are scarce — most public reviews are employee ones, and educators on Facebook debate its price versus PLTW.

Alternatives

Compare NextWaveSTEM with each alternative.

Code.org

Free K-12 computer science curriculum; zero budget needed.

Full analysis

Based on 20+ public sources; independent customer reviews were scarce.

Sources

  1. NextWaveSTEM homepagenextwavestem.com
    official
  2. NextWaveSTEM course catalognextwavestem.com
    official
  3. NextWaveSTEM FAQs / supportnextwavestem.com
    official
  4. NextWaveSTEM Request P.O.nextwavestem.com
    official
  5. Perkins grant alignmentnextwavestem.com
    official
  6. Washtenaw ISD drones pathway case studynextwavestem.com
    official
  7. NextWaveSTEM Glassdoor reviewsglassdoor.com
    review
  8. NextWaveSTEM Indeed employee reviewsindeed.com
    review
  9. CTE Teachers Facebook: price vs PLTWfacebook.com
    review
  10. NextWaveSTEM Crunchbase profilecrunchbase.com
    news
  11. SDPC student data privacy supplemental infosdpc.a4l.org
    security
  12. D. Stewart STEAM Resource Guide 2026marketing.dstewart.com
    news

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