Next Generation Science Standards
We use NextGen Science Standards because they are nationally recognized and we consider them to be deeper and more holistic than either TN or GA Science standards.
GLOBE Program
NASA’s GLOBE Program is an international Science and Education program that was launched in 1994 to increase scientific literacy and engagement with the environment by training teachers to empower students to take climate and environmental data on the ground as citizen scientists. Our students will be able to share their data with NASA scientists and contribute to the international database that has been building climate maps and ground-truthing satellite data for the last 30 years.
The Project WILD family of curricula is developed and updated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Our teachers are trained and certified to use these manuals and love to run these field-based these labs and activities with students.
Technology
We incorporate software into our curriculum such as ChatGPT, CoDrone, Lego Spike and Minecraft to facilitate the building blocks of software development and logic based thinking.
Arts:
At the core of our Arts education is the belief that there are attributes within the creative process that is specifically applicable to change-making. Specifically, we approach Arts with the idea that Creatives and Artists should be present in every space that decisions are being made. The focus is on the interconnectedness of our social situations how to use the creative process to respond in a compelling way. We also pull from the time and space we are existing in. This year we will focus on the traditional arts of Appalachia, large scale installation pieces, movement, and sound. We have current partnerships with ClearStory Arts and The Hunter Museum, and look forward to our students exhibiting in both spaces during the school year.
Accessible Scientific Method:
During 2022’s IDEAS (Innovative Differentiated Exploration Activities in Space Science) Conference in North Dakota, Troy Cline of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center presented a more holistic version of the Scientific Method that he developed while working with Navajo children with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Arizona. We use this model because we feel that it is a more authentic, accessible view of the Scientific Thought Process that we all possess.