These scholars are in their Advisory block, a dedicated 30 minutes in which scholars get the chance to build relationships and a sense of community with their classmates, and start cultivating key life skills needed for high school and beyond.  

At SA, we believe middle school is the perfect time to help teens and pre-teens learn life skills like time management, goal setting, and learning independently. Advisory is a safe space that allows scholars to discuss challenges like assignments or relationships they’re struggling with and also develop strong bonds with their advisors, who serve as families’ points of contact throughout the year. 

“The base of Advisory, in its simplest form, is respect, organization, and treating each other with kindness,” SA Harlem West Senior Leader Amaury Ramirez said. “It’s a time when we slow down and try to build a community.”

At SA Harlem West, Advisory happens immediately after a 30-minute reading block to give scholars a full hour to themselves before their standard classes start. Other middle schools may break up the 30 minutes between the morning and afternoon, or even place it towards the end of the schedule to allow scholars to talk to each other about their days.

The half-hour can take a number of different forms, including grade-specific topics like adjusting to middle school or for eighth graders, preparing for high school. On other days, social-emotional learning specialists may visit the class to help spark discussion about navigating difficult situations.

“The scholars talk about things that matter to them,” Mr. Ramirez said. “They discuss things that they’re struggling with, their feelings, and things that they need to work on. We help them develop the skills they need in order to be successful in and out of the classroom.” 

A pillar of Advisory is free-flowing dialogue between scholars, but their advisors (who are also teachers) play a crucial role. They’re responsible for managing the discussions, keeping parents informed on their child’s progress, and most significantly, listening to what their scholars have to say. 

Middle school is a time of much change for scholars, and SA understands that it’s important to have adults who are there for them. The relationship with an advisor is a key part of a scholar’s experience at SA. Even after they advance to new grades, scholars will often stay in contact with past advisors because of the connection and trust they’ve built. 

With Advisory, scholars have the opportunity to learn more about their peers and develop life skills. Independence and confidence are built by having unique conversations about issues in their school, their communities, and the world. Alongside SA’s unparalleled curriculum, Advisory helps scholars emerge from middle school as kind, engaged, well-rounded individuals. 

“Advisory has taught me important life lessons and tips on maturing and making my own decisions,” said SA Midtown West Middle School eighth-grader Jordan Feliz. “I feel like I know myself better and am so much more prepared for high school because of it.”

What is it like making friends in middle school?

Mitali: It is SO easy to make new friends in middle school! You’re constantly working together and interacting with other scholars in class and recess — everyone is very welcoming and eager to involve you. Clubs are also a great way to develop relationships because of shared interests — my brother is in basketball and he’s so close with all of his basketball friends! 

Mi-Aijah: As someone who only had two friends from elementary school attend the same middle school as I did, making new friends was definitely on my mind when I started fifth grade. Luckily, it was clear early on that I wasn’t going to have any trouble with that! In middle school, we get to talk during class transitions, so it’s as easy as saying hi to someone in the hallway. We also have an Advisory block every day where we do icebreakers, which means pairing up with someone else in the class and getting to know them better. 

What’s your favorite thing you’ve done with your friends this year?

Mi-Aijah: It’s hard to choose because in middle school the added freedom means we get to do so much more with our friends. But one of my favorites is getting to work on our Science Symposium projects together! I feel like my teamwork skills have improved just as much in middle school as my independence has. 

Mitali:  I love going off-campus for lunch with my friends! I have such a nice mix of long-time friends from my elementary school and now new friends from middle school; it’s cool that even though we all come from different places we all get along and can hang out together. 

What advice would you give to scholars making new friends in middle school?

Mitali: I don’t think they’ll need advice because they’re going to do great on their own!  Everyone in school is very nice and open to meeting new people in class and clubs, so it’ll happen naturally! 

Mi-Aijah:  My advice is simple — just talk. Know that everyone is in the same boat as you and just as eager to make friends with you too! You’ll be surprised at how quickly and easily you get to know your classmates. Before you know it, those classmates will turn into your best friends!

It turns out there was nothing for me to worry about. In fact, a lot of the things that made me nervous ended up being my favorite things about middle school! Now, as an eighth grader, I’ve come to appreciate all the differences between middle school and elementary school, and I know you will too. 

One of the biggest changes is increased independence. In elementary school, we always stayed with the same teacher and group of scholars. In middle school, you get to explore more of the school, have your own locker, and walk from class to class on your own. This allows you to meet and interact with many more scholars, which means more friends!

I have friends that I’ve known since kindergarten as well as friends I met in fifth grade. Before middle school, I’d never met Ryden, one of my best friends today. One day in class we realized we had a lot in common, like favorite foods and games, so we started hanging out. The rest is history. 

My biggest piece of advice is to take electives and join clubs. By joining theater in fifth grade, I was introduced to so many other scholars who were going through the same thing as me — or already had. We got to flex our independence by trying out our own skits and plays, and I learned a lot from the older scholars. We always felt comfortable with each other on stage and off because we had gotten to know each other and talked about our shared experiences.

My teachers also helped me become acclimated. In elementary school, you stay with the same teacher all day, but in fifth grade, you have a number of teachers who are all there to help you. In fifth-grade advisory, you’ll get to learn more about yourself, your classmates, and what middle school is all about. Teachers make a point to communicate with and check in on all of us so we feel how much we’re cared for! 

Even with all the changes, fifth grade turned out to be a lot like my previous years at SA. Classwork and homework may seem difficult at first, but you’ll realize it’s nothing you can’t handle. It’s just one part of your journey to becoming a true scholar, and one more step toward your future. 

You’re going to love middle school at Success Academy. I’d wish you luck, but you don’t need it!

Written by Jordan Feliz, an 8th grader at SA Midtown West Middle School

Dear future middle school scholars, open your mind and heart to becoming a middle schooler! Always remember in your heart that all of the struggles and hard work will pay off. Being at Success Academy is a gateway to great opportunity because SA has an amazing amount of resources to help. Teachers are friendly and fun and make your day fun. You’re going to do great!

We know you and your scholar may have a number of questions about the transition to middle school, so we talked to Success Academy parents — like Ms. Vasquez — about how you can help make the most of what is an exciting and transformative time. Below is some of their advice on setting scholars up for success.

Adjusting is a Team Effort!

Some adjustments, like getting up and going to bed earlier, might seem small, but they were actually harder to adjust to than we expected. You don’t have to do it alone! Don’t be afraid to share that information with your scholar’s teacher, even if it’s just to say “my scholar had a bad night, they might be tired today,” or “they were stressed out about something they heard in class.” Your scholar’s teacher can use this information to better support your scholar during the day. 

—Tracey Keij-Denton, parent to two scholars at SA Midtown West Middle School

Questions, Questions, Questions! 

I always encourage my scholar to ask questions and not be afraid to speak up if they don’t understand something. Having the confidence to ask for help is nothing to be ashamed of, and will help in the long run. Don’t shy away from doing the same thing with your scholar’s teachers, either. I frequently ask them how my scholar is doing and what she needs to work on; their insights are so important to helping my scholar succeed. 

—Tracy Boone, parent to 8th-grade scholar at SA Bronx Middle School

Make Time for your Scholar to Decompress

I believe that letting my scholar’s brain rest every once in a while is so important to them not burning out. So once they come home, I don’t pressure them to get their homework done immediately. First, they relax, eat snacks, and then we have family time in the kitchen. After dinner is when I expect them to sit down at the table to study and complete their homework.  I try to keep it light to help them stay motivated — after an hour, if they have been diligently working, we have what we call a “phone vacation,” when they can check their phone, before returning to work to complete it. 

—Cynthia Vasquez, parent to 5th-grade scholar at SA Hudson Yards Middle School

Never Stop Encouraging

Middle school may be “harder,” but it’s so important that your scholar knows they can do it!  Every night at dinner, I speak with my scholar about how school went, what he’s learning, and where he may need help. I make sure that I focus on encouragement and praise him when he’s doing a good job. It helps immensely to keep his spirits up and build confidence, which helps him tackle any challenges that may come his way! 

—Lily Burkhart, parent to 5th-grade scholar at SA East Flatbush Middle School

Overcommunicate 

I can’t stress this enough — communication with both your scholar’s teachers and your scholar is so important. Your scholar’s teachers are their number one supporters, so make sure to have a good relationship with them by following up and being actively involved in conversations. My scholar and I also have daily morning and evening “pow-wows.” In the morning, we use them to encourage a positive start to her day. In the evening, we evaluate how her day went, identify barriers and challenges, and find ways to overcome them.  

—Tina Burke, parent to 5th-grade scholar at SA Springfield Gardens Middle School

When COVID-19 hit, I — like so many other people — took a step back to reflect on my life and career. I loved my job. SA was where I began my career, developed as a professional, and learned to be an educator. I was an assistant principal at Success Academy Myrtle, and had spent more than seven years in a variety of teaching roles across several SA schools. But I decided it was time for me to explore other opportunities outside of Success Academy. 

Ultimately, I joined another charter school. I wanted to see what was possible elsewhere. However, what I learned in the year that followed made me realize that I had no choice but to return. There were so many ways the other school didn’t measure up, but there were a few that really hit home.

A core tenet of the charter school movement is a belief that all kids are capable of achieving, regardless of their socioeconomic status or where they come from. At SA, we are truly delivering on that belief! We are providing a blueprint for the rest of the country. 

We are constantly raising the bar on what we want to achieve. We aren’t satisfied with our successes; we are focused on doing better by our kids. We innovate and explore new ideas and techniques — from concepts around pedagogy and instruction, to books like The Culture Code or articles from the Harvard Business Review. SA trains us in leadership — skills that are invaluable and transferable.

My experience opened my eyes to the need for good communication in education — both between teachers and kids and the school and families. At SA, we are precise and clear about how we speak to our scholars and set goals and expectations. It’s the key to ensuring we’re all on the same page so we can achieve our shared goals for kids. 

We prepare our kids to live in the modern, connected world. SA is an almost fully digital institution, where every kid gets their own Chromebook to do their work, and teachers have access to technology and automation that allows us to efficiently get things done, from outreach to scholars and families to creating real-time reports on school-level data. I didn’t have that at the other charter. 

Then, of course, there’s the SA Operations team — the true heartbeat of our schools. They’re extremely responsive to the needs of both families and teachers — ready to jump in and take care of all of the nuances that make the school operate, so teachers, assistant principals, and senior leaders can focus on nurturing and educating the kids. 

Success also has a really clear career path for teachers to move into team lead roles and then into school leadership positions. The professional development is far and away stronger at Success Academy. With the level of support and training we’re provided, it’s easy to understand what’s possible and the opportunities for professional growth. I wouldn’t trade my time away from SA. It was a valuable experience that helped me understand what I want in my career. I started out wanting to see what was possible elsewhere, but the experience opened my eyes to what I now believe is only possible here. The longer I was away, the more apparent it became: Success Academy is a cut above the rest.

And I came back at the best time! This year we’ve renewed our focus on preparing kids for the future — to succeed in college and beyond. We’re working tirelessly to improve the learning environment, to develop autonomous, self-assured, sophisticated thinkers, and that starts with me being the best teacher and leader that I can be. I’m so glad to be back!

Adam Rosenberg is an assistant principal at SA Bed-Stuy Middle School.

One of our ambassadors, SA Midtown West eighth-grader Sienna Toung, is passionate about embracing new experiences and helping ease the transition between elementary school and middle school. She recently answered some questions from elementary school scholars and parents about what her middle school experience has been like. 

What is your favorite part of middle school? 

A new sense of freedom! In middle school, you can manage your own time  and choose semester electives in subjects you’re interested in. Not to mention the fact that there are so many people to meet from all around the city and things to learn from them since not all of them went to your elementary school.

What does a typical day in your life look like?

Anywhere from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., I wake up and get ready for school. Once I’m ready, I take the train with my brother and one of my friends who lives down the street. When I get to school, I say hello to my advisor, watch the morning show, and then at 8:40 a.m. I go to my first class of the day, English and Language Arts (ELA). During the day, there is never a dull moment between taking classes and talking to my friends in the hallways! 

After attending ELA, history, math, and theater, I go to off-campus lunch, which all Midtown West 8th graders can qualify for by obtaining a 70% GPA or higher in their courses. The big attraction for lunch is the One World Plaza. My friends and I have so many choices, like the Amish market, the Food Emporium, and more! When I get back, I take Science before going to my Regents prep session during Study Hall. As an eighth-grader, I’m preparing to take four Regents exams at the end of the year so that I’m ready for high school. By 4:30 p.m., everyone is rushing downstairs to meet up with friends. It can be hectic since some of the SA Hell’s Kitchen elementary school scholars are excitedly waiting for their siblings downstairs, too! 

Middle schoolers can typically leave by themselves unless they’ve agreed that a parent will pick them up. For example, in sixth grade, I used to go home with a parent or babysitter, but now that I’m in eighth grade I take the train home with my brother and friends who have similar commutes. When I get home I usually do my homework, have some dinner with family, and prepare for the next day.

What kind of challenges do you face on campus as a middle schooler?

I’ve found that sometimes people don’t always act how you expect them to act, or how they’re supposed to. Even with friends, relationships can change as we grow and get older, and that can take its toll on you. At the end of the day, it’s about figuring out what kind of person you are, and how you can be a responsible person in our little community. You really have to find a way to peacefully coexist with people who you may have drifted from or who you may not agree with about everything — instead of giving in to whatever negativity you may come across. 

What are some tips you’d give to elementary schoolers before starting middle school? 

I encourage new fifth graders to take it easy — you’re just getting started, and it’s natural for this transition to be challenging. You’ll get used to the changes, and it will get easier. 

Beyond going easy on yourself, I encourage all new middle schoolers to get comfortable asking questions. The more questions, the better! If I’m unclear on anything — instructions on an assignment, a math problem, or a school policy, I’ll either ask my teacher or my friends for help. For example, math isn’t my strongest subject, but one of my friends is great at it. Whenever I need help with algebra or substitution, she walks through it with me until I get it. 

It’s also really important to take ownership of your schoolwork. We’re at the point in school where with our new independence, we won’t always be told what we did wrong on an assignment, quiz, or test. Once I missed a question on a math packet, but I wasn’t sure why. But it’s so important to ask your teacher what you did wrong and how you can improve — once I did, I was able to understand and revise. 

This process presents a number of challenges for families, points out Alina Adams, mother of two school-aged children and author of a number of books dedicated to helping parents find schools that are good fits for their children, as well as her blog New York School Talk.  Most importantly, students of very different abilities will likely be placed together in Gifted & Talented and high-performing schools. That is, classrooms will include both students who have a mastery of academic subjects and are a good fit for an accelerated classroom experience, as well as students who do not have that level of preparation.

 While Success Academy scholars enter elementary school via random lottery, all students in our middle school classrooms have been prepared to the same high standards. This means that their middle school experience will be rich and engaging and, when they complete middle school, they will be excellently prepared for a collegiate high school experience. 

SA’s School Culture Gets High Marks

When considering a middle school for your scholar, keep in mind that test scores are only one measure of school quality. Parents and scholars should consider the school’s electives, clubs, and teams; social-emotional support; and the culture and learning environment. On our most recent survey, 91% of middle school  parents were satisfied or highly satisfied with their scholar’s SA experience, and 94% said the quality of instruction and learning at SA is high quality. In terms of scholar social-emotional health and development, 80% of parents said that SA supports their scholar, and 85% of scholars said their teachers keep classrooms safe and organized so they can focus on learning. Overall, 89% of parents said they would recommend their middle school to a friend or family member.

Deep Learning: An Engaging & Diverse Curriculum

Our middle school curriculum comprehensively prepares scholars for an advanced, collegiate-level high school experience, across four core areas: science and math (STEM), literature and history (Humanities): 

SA’s STEM program empowers our scholars to think flexibly and analytically and to systematically follow lines of insightful inquiry when faced with unfamiliar and challenging problems. SA has always prioritized science, and we recently reimagined our middle school science content. In a major departure from standard American science education, which tends to focus on only one discipline per year, we teach physics, biology, earth and space, and chemistry throughout all four years of middle school. Integrating these disciplines allows scholars to approach scientific concepts through an interdisciplinary lens, and to revisit concepts at a progressively more sophisticated level.  

Our mathematics program develops scholars as confident mathematicians, powerful quantitative thinkers, and productive problem-solvers. Scholars gain a deep understanding of mathematical concepts through contextualized applications, ultimately building an understanding based on reasoning, not just calculation. Scholars hone their mathematical reasoning abilities as they learn to assess unfamiliar problems, think about what they know, and identify the essential information they need to arrive at a solution.  

In SA’s middle school English program, scholars delve into compelling works of fiction, poetry, and literary nonfiction from both the canon and contemporary culture. They read six whole-class books each year — a total of 24 over four years — each selected for its literary merit. Of these, 46% are written by authors of color and/or center on characters of color, and 42% are by female authors. The reading list ranges from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet to Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, and The Autobiography of Malcolm X. As growing writers, our scholars learn how to express ideas clearly and powerfully while upholding high standards of organization and grammar. Throughout the year, they write pieces in a variety of genres and strive for vibrant self expression through ample practice and revision.

In many school districts, middle school and high school history are two different programs; at SA, our history program is thoughtfully sequenced and continuous from fifth grade all the way up through senior year of high school. In grades 5-7, scholars take a three-year sequence of world history, with grade 8 devoted to a year on economics, government, and constitutional law. By giving our scholars a global perspective earlier on, they’re really able to develop reading, writing, analysis, and discussion skills before narrowing their focus to American history in high school. 

Electives, Clubs, and Teams

Middle school is more than academic mastery.  Electives, clubs and teams provide opportunities for personal growth and engagement.  Our middle schools give scholars ample opportunity to explore and discover talents and passions and to pursue them at a high level through electives, clubs and competitive teams. Twice per year, scholars choose an elective class, which they study five days a week for an hour each day, allowing for sustained immersion. Electives can include art, dance, theater, debate, chess, basketball, and soccer. Scholars have opportunities to participate in regional and national competitions.

Our Students’ Academic Achievement

You have probably seen the test results of the Success Academy network, as well as our individual elementary schools, through school ranking websites like Niche or Great Schools. Because of an oddity of the city and state’s identification system, our individual middle and high schools aren’t recognized as separate schools, and therefore aren’t included on these websites. Luckily, SA’s Enterprise Data and Analytics team collects and analyzes data from the NYS Education Department, the Board of Regents, and the College Board.

What have we found? 

NYS Math and ELA Tests

In grades 6-8 (district middle schools start in grade 6; SA in grade 5), students at SA middle schools are more than twice as likely to meet math and ELA standards than district students. Compared to middle school students at other charter schools, SA scholars are also significantly better prepared to meet academic standards.

The two charts below show the top 30 NYC middle schools in math and ELA, based on New York State exams administered in 2019. Success Academy middle schools performed as well or better than the city’s most selective Gifted & Talented schools. 

Regents Exams

Across all NYC middle schools only about a quarter of students take even a single Regents exam. Currently, 100% of SA 8th graders take four Regents exams: Algebra I, Living Environment, Global History & Geography, and English Language Arts. The last time Regents exams were administered were in January 2020. Below are comparisons of student performance on the three exams administered prior to COVID-19. Across SA middle schools, 99% passed the Algebra I Regents exam, with 75% receiving a level 5, the highest level possible.

This year, we’re proud to introduce a brand-new middle school science curriculum across all 15 SA middle schools. Our teachers have already hit the ground running, trained in the new material and approach, and we can’t wait to see what scholars think. Here, SA’s leader of MS and HS science content design, Joey Powell, shared a few insights with us about the changes to the curriculum and why they matter. 

What was the driving force behind this curriculum redesign? 

SA has always prioritized science, and over the past 15 years, as we expanded through high school, we naturally had to plan the program from the bottom up rather than backward from college STEM preparedness. Now, with several graduating classes, we have a much clearer vision of the level and depth of scientific thinking and understanding we want our scholars to achieve by the time they graduate. Based on this understanding, our team spent the last 18 months comprehensively reimagining our middle school science content, fully re-writing all courses, units, lessons, assignments, and assessments. 

The redesign was driven by a desire to teach physics, biology, earth and space, and chemistry throughout all four years of middle school — a major departure from standard American public science education, which tends to focus only on one discipline per year in these grades. Previously, SA middle school scholars studied earth science in fifth, biology in sixth, chemistry in seventh, and biology again in eighth. While they had wonderful science experiences, the siloed approach meant scholars didn’t have sufficient opportunities to make connections across disciplines and encounter concepts again before high school, and they were not introduced to physics. 

What stands out about the new curriculum? 

The new middle school curriculum provides a foundation for a holistic grades 5-12 science experience that integrates earth and space science, chemistry, physics, and biology in all four years and sequentially builds knowledge and skills for college preparedness. Integrating the disciplines allows scholars to approach scientific concepts through an interdisciplinary lens (for example, how do molecular and subatomic interactions help animals survive in the wild?), and to revisit concepts at a progressively more sophisticated level. It brings physics back into middle school — so critical for scholar success in high school — and moves some of the earth science concepts down into fourth grade to increase the rigor of that curriculum. 

The new courses also build off our commitment to inquiry-based science by introducing a range of exceptionally high-quality and rigorous science labs and projects that are usually not seen in public education until late high school, if at all, and will prepare SA scholars for the expectations and realities of college STEM. To cite just one example, our eighth graders have a unit dedicated to genetics that features a lab where they expose wheat to UV radiation to understand the effects sunlight can have on DNA. 

Are there any other exciting changes to the curriculum for us to know about? 

The middle school science redesign (read more about it here) is one piece of a holistic reimagination of our K-12 academic program that the Ed Institute is engaged in, informed by what we are learning as our scholars matriculate through twelfth grade. It follows the launch last year of a newly designed 5-12 global history program which you can read about on our blog. 

Why is it important that middle school students study world history before American history?

Ezra Plancon: A lot of kids start out learning about America as if it just magically appeared and existed in a vacuum. That’s just not true! We wanted our scholars to understand that history is human history, and America comes as a part of that. Learning about different cultures, societies, and themes around the world sets kids up with a much stronger foundation for high school. So when they do dive into American history, they can ask themselves — how is a country interacting with the world around it? How is it informed by the recurring themes of history across time? When our students get to high school, this will help them analyze, for example, James Madison and the Federalist Papers, in a much more meaningful way.

Also, world history is fun! It’s fascinating to learn about Chinese fireworks and medicine and the Islamic Empire when you’re 10, 11, and 12 years old. So from an engagement and accessibility standpoint, it also made so much sense to invert the programs.

Mark Soriano: In the past, middle school and high school history were two different programs, even though we have a fully K-12 academic model. So we wanted to design a history program that was fluid and continuous from fifth grade all the way up through senior year of high school. That required us to take a step back and ask ourselves,  “What are historical skills? How do we design a program that maximizes kids’ time and allows them to build momentum on their reading, writing, analysis, and discussion skills?”

The answer was in giving our kids a global perspective earlier on. By taking a wider lens approach, they’re really able to develop those skills before narrowing their focus to American history in high school.

What’s one thing you want parents and students to know about our world history curriculum?

M.S.: Our curriculum is innovative and disrupts the Eurocentric view of history. These are not units that kids are typically learning in New York’s public schools. For example, our sixth graders spend several weeks studying Africa and the Americas during the Post-Classical Era before the Age of Exploration. We compare the Aztecs and the Incas to the Mali Empire and Swahili city-states. In a traditional world history program, what most kids learn about the Americas or Africa is only how they related to Europe during Imperialism. But we really want to emphasize to our kids that these were sophisticated, advanced, and technologically developed regions of the world with their own unique cultures and histories long before they interacted with Europe. 

E.P.: We also go beyond the “facts” — we don’t just hit the major points as fast as possible. Instead, we analyze the events, and different perspectives of those events give kids depth and breadth of understanding. For example, when we learn about the Westward Expansion, we learn about the perspectives of the white U.S. settlers but just as importantly, we explore the perspectives of the Native Americans. Getting those perspectives is key to understanding an event, but also to developing critical thinking. When you’re spending years studying the differences in how various groups perceived and experienced a given historical event,  you are better able to evaluate and analyze events and ideas, whether they happened in the past or in contemporary life. 

Which of our World history units excite you the most, and why?

M.S.: I’m very excited for our unit on the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. These two developments in intellectual history are often only associated with Europe. But we’re teaching about how both the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment had roots in other parts of the world, which most people don’t even realize! So we’re diving into the history of science in the Islamic world and in China. We’re also studying that a lot of ideas often attributed solely to Enlightenment Europe — equality, secularism, etc —  actually had antecedents in other parts of the world like Ethiopia. The unit really tries to get our scholars thinking critically about ideas and gives our kids an incredibly valuable perspective. 

E.P.: I can’t wait for our unit on Revolutions. It’s an exciting way for kids to start looking at history as emerging from human behaviors and desires that endure and repeat over time, not just a series of disconnected events. One thing we know for sure is that humans continuously fall into the same patterns. So instead of honing in on a particular nation’s revolution, this is an opportunity to say — “Hey. Let’s talk about revolutions.  Let’s talk about the fact that humans do this again, and again, and again. What does this mean? What are the attributes of a revolution and why do humans start them?” We talk about the French Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, the Civil Rights Movement, and Black Lives Matter. We’ll debate the differences between a revolt, a rebellion, a revolution, and a protest. This becomes such an important set up for when our scholars learn about the American Revolution. The American Revolution was remarkable, truly. But if you don’t understand revolutions across history in general, no matter how well we teach it, you’ll come away from it thinking the American Revolution was special simply because it is America, instead of for all the other ways it was a great revolution.

Mr. Powell and his team tested dozens of physics kits to find one that was up to SA’s high standards — Engino’s Discovering STEM — and then got to work coordinating with Operations to ensure every middle school scholar could safely pick up their kit in November. The team couldn’t be more excited to use physics as the vehicle for the Science Symposium 2020, which officially launched in November for grades 5-8 and will continue as a series of lessons and special events through December. We connected with Mr. Powell to learn more about the significance of this year’s Newton-focused Symposium and how middle-school physics will elevate the STEM curriculum at Success.

Why was it important to bring physics into the middle school curriculum? 

There are so many cross-functional applications of physics! Gaining a basic understanding of the laws of motion and the properties of energy will ultimately help scholars in their biology, their chemistry — even in history. For this Symposium unit, we’ve pulled information from middle school humanities so that scholars learn about the role of physics in shaping the medieval and classical periods; physics had a profound impact through the use of the catapult and various other applications. There are many everyday situations that involve physics, so we feel that studying the subject at an early age will help make STEM relevant and exciting for scholars. They will also have a firm grasp of the mathematical components by the time they get to high school, which will ultimately affect their academic trajectory because they can confidently take on the very robust — even collegiate — STEM offerings at SA High Schools of the Liberal Arts.

Our scholars are seeing so many cool things develop in their lifetime, like the creation of self-driving cars and revolutionary changes in the field of material science and technology. Physics has a role in all of that, and so it makes the discipline incredibly rewarding. We want to set our scholars up for success in these fields.

Why was your team so determined to hold a Science Symposium as part of SA’s remote learning curriculum?

We wanted scholars to continue to access the time and the tools for scientific exploration, and we weren’t willing to give up such an important part of the learning process just because the Symposium had to be held remotely. My team likes to innovate and SA science teachers are always up for a challenge — especially when that challenge involves teaching scientific investigation to our scholars. It’s also really important to us that scholars have a chance to show and explain what they’ve learned; a key component of the Symposium is the presentation of findings to friends, teachers, and family members. Since scholars are already learning at home, we thought it would be nice to leverage that environment and really celebrate that particular element of the Symposium. We’ve built in strategic moments where scholars will get to interact with family members throughout the experience.

Why are Newton’s laws the perfect topic for a remote Science Symposium?

After a lot of research and looking at various options, physics made the most sense because it ticked all of the boxes: We wanted scholars to have a real-world application, a challenge, and a screen break. The tools needed for physics investigations are also easily transportable — scholars could fit the kits into their backpacks at our socially distanced materials pickup.

We’re also able to emphasize the engineering process, which is very hands-on, and allow scholars to literally build their own solutions. Scholars get to “do” science, which is really the most important part — doing and modeling and being present in what you’re seeing and discovering. We want them to have real-life practice to increase their learning and lead to rich discussions throughout the Remote Symposium. Scholars will be building catapults, cars, gravity fans; the kits combine science with imagination in a way that is truly engaging. My entire team turned into kids again when we were testing the kits!

SA Harlem West siblings Hawa and Aminata Tounkara investigate their Science Symposium physics kits.

Pictured above: SA Harlem West scientist Ezekiel Grimes can’t wait to unbox his physics kit