A Founder-Led Vision Years in the Making: Orion STEM Schools Breaks Ground in Warrenville, Illinois

Orion STEM Schools celebrated the groundbreaking of its future campus in Warrenville, Illinois, alongside founder Selvei Rajkumar, students from her preschools, the mayor of Warrenville, and project partners. For Rajkumar, the event marked the next step in a years-long vision for a school where STEM, entrepreneurship, creativity, and character development are integrated into the same educational model.

At the center of that vision is the adaptive reuse of an existing two-story office building into a new K-12 STEM school. Before its conversion, the building was occupied by a hearing-care and hearing-aid manufacturer. The nearly 88,000-square-foot project will include a gymnasium, theater, and storm-shelter addition.

During her remarks at the groundbreaking, Rajkumar said, “Today, as we break ground, we are making a promise — a promise to our children that we will not prepare them only for the world as it exists today. We will prepare them to imagine the world as it could be and give them the skills, character, confidence, and compassion to help create it.”

Orion’s educational model emphasizes student-led learning, hands-on exploration, and real-world application. That approach is shaping not only the curriculum, but the campus itself, with spaces designed to support curiosity, independence, and active participation. The future campus is beginning to take shape with ARCO/Murray serving as the general contractor.