Christa McAuliffe Academy School of Arts and Sciences (CMASAS): Private High School Spotlight
July 3, 2024
Fully personalized, asynchronous courses and assignments. A mastery and project-based curriculum. Deep learning and engagement. Weekly one-on-one mentorship. A vibrant student community. If any (or all) of those attributes resonated with you, you鈥檒l want to keep reading鈥攖oday, we鈥檙e taking a very close look at the . While 鈥減ersonalized education鈥 has become somewhat of a buzzword in the education world, that鈥檚 not the case at CMASAS, which is a bastion of truly personalized, independent learning, driven by close-knit relationships between each student and their team of experienced instructors and mentors. Accordingly, you will grow not only as a learner but also as a human being, emerging from your time at the school with the academic experience and life skills necessary to enter your college or career of choice as a caring, confident leader. Let鈥檚 get started.
Note: This is a sponsored post written on behalf of CMASAS. Our site only partners with high schools that bring significant value to students and deliver excellent educational outcomes. The material in this blog is 100% the genuine opinion of 国产第一福利影院草草.聽
What is special about the Christa McAuliffe Academy School of Arts and Sciences?
Founded in 2009, the , is a fully WASC-accredited online private school for students in elementary through high school. It was inspired by Christa McAuliffe, a teacher and astronaut who lost her life in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. McAuliffe鈥攚ho planned to teach several lessons from the shuttle鈥攚as a major advocate for student-centered learning. As the first teacher (and civilian) selected to go to space, she hoped to encourage future generations of students to follow their dreams.
At CMASAS, which serves over 350 students from 31 countries, Christa McAuliffe鈥檚 legacy lives on in their unique Personalized Education鈥攐r Personalication鈥擯hilosophy. This educational model is time-tested and backed by research that any student can master any subject when given the opportunity to build foundational knowledge at their own pace. Accordingly, CMASAS鈥檚 curriculum is mastery-based, project-based, and asynchronous. Best of all, they tailor every course and educational trajectory to each individual student (more on that in a moment).
What is Personalication?
Personalication鈥攐r Personalized Education Philosophy鈥攊s the heart of CMASAS. It鈥檚 also what sets the school apart from every other online high school (and most brick-and-mortar ones as well). Within this educational philosophy, students can expect the following:
- Mastery-based learning: Students typically take 1-3 courses at a time and must achieve a minimum of 80% on all assignments, projects, and assessments before moving on. However, most students strive to score in the 90% range or above. This creates an educational environment that is both rigorous and intellectually curious.
- Asynchronous learning: Students have full, 24/7 access to every class, and all classes are self-paced. Rather than being self-paced within a specific time frame, CMASAS classes can be accelerated or decelerated as much as necessary. Depending on the difficulty of the content, students can finish a course in as little as a few weeks or as long as it takes, even if it is over a year.
- Personalized learning: Within each course, students receive clearly outlined learning objectives and complete a variety of assignment types (everything from hands-on labs to traditional unit tests). However, assignments are not set in stone, and there are always a variety of options to demonstrate mastery. Moreover, each course features multiple modes of learning. For example, lessons are often delivered using combinations of text, video, infographics, and audio.
Christa McAuliffe Academy School of Arts and Sciences 鈥 Continued
- Customized courses: CMASAS offers a number of core courses, and instructors are always willing to create new classes for students based on their interests. They also frequently adjust core course curriculum to best serve each student.
- Project–based learning: Within each course, students have the opportunity to choose projects that matter to them and reflect their interests. Within their projects, they build essential leadership and communication skills.
- Personalized support: All students have a Personalized Education Plan (PEP) and work one-on-one with both their Course Instructors (CIs) and Personalized Education Coach (PEC). Together, they offer integral mentorship and support throughout a student鈥檚 entire CMASAS experience.
Finally, the core of Personalication is relationship-building. CMASAS emphatically believes that providing close-knit instructional and personal support to every student leads to better learning outcomes as well as increased student self-advocacy and involvement. To understand how CMASAS educators facilitate these outcomes, let鈥檚 look more closely at their roles within each student鈥檚 educational trajectory.
Who supports CMASAS students?
Many families who are considering online school for their children worry about whether (and how well) their children will be supported. However, the Christa McAuliffe Academy School of Arts and Sciences offers a multi-layer support system to every student, comprised of Course Instructors and a Personal Education Coach. In particular, the Personal Education Coach is a unique and dynamic part of CMASAS鈥檚 model. Let鈥檚 go over both roles in detail:
A Course Instructor (CI) will support every class that a student takes. They grade work, provide targeted feedback on assignments and projects, and work closely with students to personalize the curriculum according to their needs. They also enable students to demonstrate content mastery in different ways, such as via conversational or discussion-based assessment. Moreover, instructors frequently supplement content with additional resources and instructor-made videos and propose new ways to approach assignments. They also provide weekly meetings as needed as well as bi-monthly grade reports. It鈥檚 important to note that course personalization is an ongoing, dynamic process between student and instructor that often takes both small and large tweaks to be as effective as possible.
Christa McAuliffe Academy School of Arts and Sciences 鈥 Continued
Additionally, every student is assigned a Personal Education Coach (PEC). This person聽is the first point of contact for their family and provides consistent, 1:1 mentorship throughout their CMASAS experience. Depending on their tuition program, students receive daily or weekly check-in meetings from their PEC, where they get to know each other and discuss progress and goals. PECs also help foster connections within the larger CMASAS community and empower students to develop life skills like personal advocacy, accountability, time management, and planning. Accordingly, many PECs, students, and families have extensive, close-knit, years-long relationships.
Finally, CI and PEC support is not just for the student鈥攊t鈥檚 for the whole family. Parents receive monthly check-ins about their student鈥檚 progress to make sure everyone is on the same page. They can also lean on the PEC whenever additional support and guidance are needed.
What types of courses can I take at CMASAS?
The Christa McAuliffe Academy School of Arts and Sciences offers nearly 300 courses in all major subject areas as well as health & physical education, visual & performing arts, and career & technical education. Moreover, 70+ STEAM courses (including science classes with physical lab kits), 14 AP courses, 9 world languages, and 60 dual enrollment courses (credit provided by Arizona State University) are on tap. Any core course can be taken at an honors level. Also, new courses are consistently created to help provide credit to students for their interests and passions outside of school, whether that is a private pilot鈥檚 license or a love of baking. Student athlete? NCAA-approved courses are available as well.
In addition, traditional and special interest classes are offered in all subject areas. For example, science classes include everything from Physics and Chemistry to Earth Space Science, Forensic Science, and Renewable Technologies. English classes range from classic offerings in British and American Literature to unique options like Cinema as Literature, Lord of the Rings, and Gothic Literature.
Finally, electives are vast and include courses across a variety of disciplines. These include Painting, Ukulele, Theatrical Performance, Digital Publishing, Marketing Foundations, AI in the World, 3D Modeling, and Sports Medicine鈥e could go on and on. If you have an interest in a particular subject area鈥攏o matter how niche鈥攃hances are CMASAS has that course available. If not? They鈥檒l create it for you.
What is the CMASAS student community like?
It鈥檚 critical for students to feel as if they are part of a community. Accordingly, the Christa McAuliffe Academy School of Arts and Sciences delivers on that front in myriad ways.
Firstly, PECs host weekly homerooms for their students, where they have the opportunity to socialize and chat with their peers. School-wide assemblies with guest speakers鈥攊ncluding movie directors, military veterans, animal conservationists, and award-winning authors鈥攐ccur on a regular basis. Student Council events do, too (think: Halloween costume contests, bake-offs, and talent shows) as well as virtual hangouts. 30+ student clubs meet regularly via Microsoft Teams, and cover a variety of interest areas. These include Animal Exploration Club, Art Club, Cooking Club, Debate Club, Mythology Club, NHS, and Writer鈥檚 Workshop, among others. Clubs typically meet in the morning or early afternoon, depending on time zone.
Amazingly, CMASAS also makes sure that students have opportunities to take their friendships and connections offline. In-person regional gatherings are facilitated on a regular basis. Also, one international trip per year is offered (past destinations have included Costa Rica and South Africa).
What type of students attend the Christa McAuliffe Academy School of Arts and Sciences?
CMASAS is for any student who wants something different than traditional brick-and-mortar education and is willing to take a brave leap into CMASAS鈥檚 educational model. Via their Personalication philosophy and asynchronous delivery, CMASAS is experienced in supporting all types of needs and lifestyles.
Need some alumni examples? Past and current CMASAS students include鈥
- Pilots, sailors, and equestrians
- Olympic and professional-level athletes
- Movie directors, photographers, painters, and potters
- Singers, pianists, and professional dancers
- Business owners
- Actors/actresses, Broadway performers, models, and pageant/competition show contestants
- Military children
- Homeschooled students
- Those with mental health challenges
- Those who are neurodivergent
- Those who鈥檇 like more time for their extracurricular passions, whether drawing or pursuing equestrian sports
- Those with significant health issues
- Those who travel frequently
- Those with full-time jobs
Moreover, many CMASAS students are interested in an accelerated high school experience and have a goal to graduate early. (CMASAS students have graduated with a high school diploma as young as 13 years old!) Whether you want to get a head-start on your college or professional education plans, plan to start your own business, or are training to become a professional artist, performer, or athlete, among a host of other outcomes, CMASAS can help you get there.
What are CMASAS鈥檚 college admissions highlights?
Well-prepared for a collegiate environment academically as well as personally, CMASAS students routinely go on to four-year colleges and universities around the country and the world. Notable past acceptances include elite schools like USC, Yale, Vassar, Harvey Mudd, Princeton, Columbia, NYU, Caltech, Duke, Cornell, Brown, MIT, Boston University, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, Oxford, University of St Andrews, and Johns Hopkins, among others.
Additionally, admissions highlights for the Class of 2023 included prestigious private institutions like Santa Clara University, Drexel University, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Lewis & Clark College as well as top-notch public institutions like Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Davis, Clemson University, Texas A&M, CU Boulder, and the University of Arizona. Overall, 2023 CMASAS graduates collectively earned acceptance into over 60 colleges and universities.
I鈥檓 interested in transferring to the Christa McAuliffe Academy School of Arts and Sciences. What are my next steps?
CMASAS offers three types of programs: Gold Plus, Gold Standard (most popular), and Gold Flex. All programs include CMASAS鈥檚 signature Personalized Education Plan as well as comprehensive academic support, including a Personalized Education Coach. The main difference between the three is regarding course pacing and support. Gold Flex is best for students who would like to add courses as needed (usually students who are on a faster or slower trajectory than average). Hoping for a higher level of support? Gold Standard includes weekly PEC meetings and Gold Plus includes daily PEC meetings.
CMASAS also offers the opportunity to take an individual course. Whether you are looking for a course that your current school doesn鈥檛 offer, need to recover lost credits, or want to test drive attending school online, their flexible schedule allows students to begin any time of the year.
The best way to see if CMASAS鈥檚 model is the right fit for you is to take a as well as . This way, you鈥檒l get to see all the benefits of Personalication in action.
Finally, the Christa McAuliffe Academy School of Arts and Sciences is not constrained by a typical academic calendar. This means that students can enroll at any time and get started immediately.
Christa McAuliffe Academy School of Arts and Sciences 鈥 Final Thoughts
If you are a student who wants to take control of your educational journey, learn in a safe, nurturing environment, and be mentored and cheered on by experienced educators whose main goal is to see you succeed, look no further than . Here, you can expect nothing less than the very best in personalized, flexible online education.
Looking for additional resources to assist you on your high school journey? If so, you might consider checking out the following:
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- 11 Life Skills for Teens
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