Principal Patrice Meadows and Director of Operations Jocelyn Scott of Atlanta SMART Academy. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Atlanta SMART Academy)
Unlike astir of Georgia’s mediate schoolers, students astatine Atlanta SMART Academy started classes this period arsenic their school’s inaugural class.
Atlanta SMART is simply a caller charter performing arts schoolhouse for students successful grades 5-8. Founded by Patrice Meadows, the school’s sanction Atlanta SMART is simply a portmanteau of Science, MAth and aRT.
Meadows, a erstwhile teacher, has worked with elementary, mediate and precocious schoolers passim her career. She said she chose to unfastened a mediate schoolhouse due to the fact that it’s a large play of improvement for students.
“Middle schoolhouse is truly the clip erstwhile students statesman making decisions and laying a pathway to go assemblage bound. We privation to let them to participate precocious schoolhouse connected a assemblage track,” Meadows said.
As a performing arts school, students astatine Atlanta SMART volition take a large each year; this archetypal twelvemonth students tin take dance, theatre oregon euphony (vocal and instrumental).
Trina Paden’s 11-year-old girl Zoe, started sixth people astatine Atlanta SMART this year. Paden said her girl is undecided betwixt being a creation oregon euphony major. Parden and her hubby came crossed Atlanta SMART portion searching for a STEM mediate schoolhouse to nonstop their girl to.
“Zoe is precise originative and has ever been drawn to the arts,” Paden said. “Having her successful an world situation wherever determination is an intentional absorption connected the arts each time is simply a uncommon opportunity, particularly successful mediate school.”
Atlanta SMART’s project-based program was different diagnostic that Paden said attracted them to the school.
Principal Meadows said arsenic a precocious schoolhouse chemistry teacher she regularly incorporated project-based learning into her classes and wanted to bring that teaching exemplary to her caller school.
She said erstwhile a erstwhile pupil of hers brought up a laboratory they’d done successful her people that she had forgotten about, it helped to cement the value of a project-based program successful her mind.
“
Atlanta SMART pupil coating their hand. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Atlanta SMART Academy)
We did an crystal pick lab,” Meadows said. “Students learned astir signifier changes, however liquids go solid.”
Using lessons to lick problems was thing Meadows knew would beryllium a cardinal constituent to the school’s acquisition practice. School days astatine Atlanta SMART are besides structured to see ‘flex time’ for the students.
Paden’s girl Zoe said her archetypal time was ‘awesome’ getting to cognize her caller teachers and making friends.
“I judge that creator look immunodeficiency successful processing self-awareness, self-confidence, empathy, and societal skills, each critically important successful teen development. We are looking guardant to Zoe having a holistic learning experience,” Paden said.
Meadows’ imaginativeness for Atlanta SMART is simply a schoolhouse that emphasizes reasoning extracurricular of the container wherever students usage their cognition to travel up with solutions.
The school’s halfway values are Creativity, Competence, Collaboration and Compassion.
The extracurricular of Atlanta SMART Academy’s exterior. (Photo Credit: Atlanta SMART Academy)
“We privation students to larn determination are aggregate ways to get to a close answer,” Meadows said. “We judge successful ongoing appraisal and growth, wherever students person an accidental to effort again.”
In summation to adjacent editing and teacher feedback, students who don’t execute good connected an duty volition person the accidental to marque edits to show what they person learned.
Each week students person a 1-on-1 gathering with a mentor. Meadows said this is truthful each pupil knows they person a module subordinate who volition advocator for them. The schoolhouse besides hosts monthly program nights for parents and guardians truthful they are acquainted with what their students are learning and tin enactment them astatine home.
Atlanta SMART emphasizes meaningful relationships with students and families.
“We marque definite we supply each resources students request — each exertion and supplies truthful determination are nary barriers for a household to enroll their student,” Meadows said.
They person been applying for backing grants truthful the schoolhouse tin connection low-cost after-care programs for moving families.
This twelvemonth Atlanta SMART has 125 students enrolled successful 5th done seventh grades and 10 teachers. Next twelvemonth they volition turn to 200 students and adhd eighth people and arts teachers.
By starting a twelvemonth earlier, Meadows hopes to springiness 5th graders an vantage successful the hard simple to mediate schoolhouse transition.
The schoolhouse is located disconnected MLK Drive successful Southwest Atlanta wherever the aged unemployment bureau utilized to be. Meadows’ said she chose this determination due to the fact that it is cardinal to the assemblage and accessible to families.
As a schoolhouse successful a predominantly achromatic area, Meadows is arrogant that students volition spot themselves represented successful their teachers and their principal.
English (US) ·