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News & Photos
Middle School Academy Featured in Professional Journal
When they first hatched their plan for Academy several years ago, Middle School teachers Jennifer Smith and Denise Wolf were pretty sure they were on to something. In alignment with McDonogh’s LifeReady philosophy, the multi-week learning program would allow students to explore authentic and complex questions that excite, inspire, and engage them through courses that tap into their natural interests.
Based on the buy-in from their colleagues, who created the multidisciplinary courses and the excitement of the fifth and sixth graders who piloted the program in 2019, they knew the program was a hit. In November of this school year, the two founders of Academy spoke about the signature program at a conference attended by their peers from all over the nation who were eager to learn more.
This month, Academy was further validated by the Association for Middle Level Education, which published an article by Smith in its monthly magazine. Academy: A Midmester Approach details the process that went into developing the popular program as well as the assessment of the participants based on five core competencies: commitment, collaboration, critical thinking, character, and communication skills-- otherwise known as the 5 Cs.
Smith is thrilled that the article will bring Academy to such a broad audience of middle school educators. As she states in the article, “Academy is a new approach to learning that our changing world has long sought. We face the challenge of balancing methods we know are tried and true with innovative solutions to address the needs of the future. With technology constantly at our fingertips, students can easily search for information online making some of our content irrelevant or unnecessary. Students still need to learn, develop skills, and grow, yet our approach must change. Programs like Academy answer this challenge and provide a new method for applying knowledge and developing 21st-century skills in a rigorous and engaging manner.”
Note: After much consideration, we have made the difficult decision to not offer Academy this spring. We greatly value the experiential learning that takes place in this signature program and look forward to continuing it next year.
When they first hatched their plan for Academy several years ago, Middle School teachers Jennifer Smith and Denise Wolf were pretty sure they were on to something. In alignment with McDonogh’s LifeReady philosophy, the multi-week learning program would allow students to explore authentic and complex questions that excite, inspire, and engage them through courses that tap into their natural interests.
Based on the buy-in from their colleagues, who created the multidisciplinary courses and the excitement of the fifth and sixth graders who piloted the program in 2019, they knew the program was a hit. In November of this school year, the two founders of Academy spoke about the signature program at a conference attended by their peers from all over the nation who were eager to learn more.
This month, Academy was further validated by the Association for Middle Level Education, which published an article by Smith in its monthly magazine. Academy: A Midmester Approach details the process that went into developing the popular program as well as the assessment of the participants based on five core competencies: commitment, collaboration, critical thinking, character, and communication skills-- otherwise known as the 5 Cs.
Smith is thrilled that the article will bring Academy to such a broad audience of middle school educators. As she states in the article, “Academy is a new approach to learning that our changing world has long sought. We face the challenge of balancing methods we know are tried and true with innovative solutions to address the needs of the future. With technology constantly at our fingertips, students can easily search for information online making some of our content irrelevant or unnecessary. Students still need to learn, develop skills, and grow, yet our approach must change. Programs like Academy answer this challenge and provide a new method for applying knowledge and developing 21st-century skills in a rigorous and engaging manner.”
Note: After much consideration, we have made the difficult decision to not offer Academy this spring. We greatly value the experiential learning that takes place in this signature program and look forward to continuing it next year.