Our Educational Approach
MACS is focused on student growth and academic achievement through a whole child approach to education. Our mission is to provide all students with the social and academic successes necessary to help them realize their potential for local impact and global change. To achieve this, we implement four central tenets of teaching and learning – Whole Child Approach, Student Growth & Achievement, Purpose Driven Learning Environment, and Community.
Whole Child Approach – MACS believes that academic success is built on strong character qualities of respect, collaboration, perseverance, responsibility, and compassion. To lay the foundation for academic success, MACS will foster and celebrate students’ character development by building a culture in which students and staff work together to become effective learners and ethical people who contribute to a better world.
Student Growth & Achievement – At MACS, we quantify mastery as both standards-based proficiency and individual growth across disciplines over time. No two students start the school year in the same place, thus MACS prioritizes the need to ensure students are receiving academic content that is equitable for their individual pathway and prepares them for success at each level of their education. Supporting the balance of growth and achievement across disciplines are the student-engaged assessment practices that position students to be leaders of their own learning.
Purpose Driven Learning Environment – A quality education can change the course of a young child’s life. Knowing that, we take deliberate steps to ensure that the school, classroom and school climate promote both joy and rigor. The success of a school begins with the environment set within the walls of a classroom, hallways, common areas, and appearance of the entire facility and is manifested by the well-being of its community.
Community – Families and community members are key partners in the education of children. At MACS, staff members make families welcome, value their contributions and backgrounds, and engage them actively in the life of the school. Leaders and teachers explicitly recognize that families care about their children’s education, bring strengths, and add value to the community.
With these four tenets, we make sure we are focused on the key aspects of making the learning experience a positive one for all students.
