Leto High School in Tampa has a new space where students can print 3D models, record podcasts and tinker with computers built for serious coding work. The school unveiled its COEGI Lab, giving students a hands-on environment to explore technology, creativity and skills development beyond what a standard classroom offers.
The lab is the second of its kind to open in Hillsborough County, following an earlier version at Armwood High School, according to Bay News 9. The nonprofit behind both labs, the Building Excellence Foundation, describes itself as an educational organization focused on bringing specialized learning spaces to underserved schools. At Armwood, the foundation says it collaborated with the school to transform a classroom into a shared space supporting robotics, entrepreneurship and information technology, serving both traditional and dual-enrollment students with activities ranging from graphic design to AR/VR.
At Leto, the new lab is stocked with modern computers, a 3D printer and a dedicated podcast recording studio. The station's report notes the space is designed to support collaboration, problem-solving and exploration of potential careers, with a focus on STEAM education that blends science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.
A Senior Sees a Path to Aerospace Engineering
For Dariel Breton, a Leto High senior enrolled in an engineering program, the lab is already changing how he works. He hopes to become an aerospace engineer, and per the same account, he said the lab's robotics equipment and computers let him do more coding than he could on a classroom laptop, thanks to larger screens and greater accessibility. Breton said the lab makes him feel prepared for college.
Leto principal Babita Artabasy said the lab will help students discover opportunities that extend beyond post-secondary education. The emphasis on exploration echoes the foundation's broader approach, which tailors each lab to the specific needs of the students who will use it.
Closing an Opportunity Gap
Hadeel Ali, speaking for the Building Excellence Foundation, said access to STEM opportunities differs greatly according to students' income and that every student deserves the same start. Ali added that the foundation's work centers on STEAM broadly, including arts, collaboration and problem-solving, not just technical skills in isolation. The foundation has said STEAM education requires applying STEM concepts to real-world situations and working with others, rather than learning in isolation.
The foundation's stated mission includes ensuring equal access to educational opportunities regardless of a student's financial circumstances. It hopes that labs like the one now open at Leto will help close the opportunity gap by giving students the tools to build their own futures, one classroom transformation at a time.
