Triad Math and Science Academy is a Public Charter School with a STEM focus from grades Kindergarten level through Grade 12 in Guilford County.
The mission of Triad Math and Science Academy is to prepare students to become competent, responsible and successful individuals in our globalized and technology-based society through a strong academic program, school-family-community partnership, and a strong teacher-student relationship.
The TMSA is committed to providing high quality and enriching educational experience that targets 21st-century skills for elementary, middle and high school students in North Carolina. As a result, students will be equipped with strong core knowledge and higher-order skills, including critical and creative thinking, problem-solving, effective communication, and collaboration skills. To fulfill its mission, the TMSA implements well-defined curriculum, supported by research and with a strong emphasis on science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, builds strong school-family-community partnerships, creates a safe, nurturing, engaging, caring and culturally-responsive learning environment, and facilitates strong teacher-student relationships.
Core values of TMSA are responsibility, respect, resilience, diversity, courage, and industriousness. Fundamental to our mission is commitment to the active involvement of students, competent and caring staff and leadership, innovative and effective teaching strategies, and striving for academic excellence for all students.
Triad Math and Science Academy is designed to:
Utilize current best practices in teaching to improve student learning in all areas.
Prepare interested students for regional, statewide, national, and international competitions, and
Offer free after-school and weekend tutoring programs for students especially those who are at risk of academic failure and need extra help to pass their classes,
TMSA Offers education in elementary, middle and high school (K-12) levels. Its instructional program is aligned with North Carolina Standard Course of Study and Common Core Standards as well as with nationally recognized standards, such as National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards and National Science Education Standards.
TMSA employs active learning methods that aim to enhance the learning process by shifting the focus of teaching from teacher to learners. In its active learning structure, TMSA also applies the following techniques to improve student learning.
Curriculum-Led Improvement:
The curriculum-led improvement focuses on ―improving the quality, pattern, and structure of day-by-day learning activities in the classroom‖ to meet the ―best of national and international standards. Based on the recommendations by the Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education, the TMSA offers a curriculum that:
- is designed based on what students have already learned
- specifies what all students should know, understand, and be able to do, and
- specifies how students‘ learning will be assessed by students using a computer
Technology-Supported Instruction:
A variety of technologies are incorporated into instruction:
Technology for inquiry
Technology for communication
Technology for construction and
Technology for expression
Assessment-Driven Instruction:
Student progress is monitored where teachers can access and analyze students‘ assessment results and use these results for educational and instructional planning.
Cognitively Oriented Instruction:
This type of instruction refers to instruction that promotes the use of metacognitive skills such as reflecting their own thinking process and developing effective learning strategies. This is achieved when students are provided opportunities to solve problems, reflect on the process of tasks, and use critical thinking skills and model the process.
Family-School-Community Partnership:
Family involvement is facilitated through classroom and school newsletters, parent-teacher conferences, home visits, parent volunteering, and family nights. Community partnership is accomplished through collaboration with the local colleges and universities and institutions by inviting professionals, visiting places of interests, field trips.
Extended Programs:
Research has shown that well-designed before and after school programs and extended weekend programs improve students‘ academic skills, enhance students‘ social and emotional well-being, and reduce rates of substance abuse, juvenile crime, and vandalism. Before and after school programs and extended weekend programs are offered. These programs offer various activities such as homework help, tutoring, foreign language learning, sports, music, and art.
A Community-centered learning environment is created to help students build confidence in themselves that ―they can do well, find the meaning and value in the material learned and feel that they are valued members of the learning community
Small class size:
Research has demonstrated that students are more engaged in learning activities and show more learning gain when class size is smaller and teacher to child ratio is lower. TMSA targets a teacher-to-student ratio of 1:16 with a maximum class size of 24.