Anne Smith's Contact Details

Anne Smith's Company Details

Polaris Charter Academy

Chicago, Illinois, United States • 51 - 200 Employees
Nonprofit Organization Management

The mission of Polaris Charter Academy is to educate students to be self-motivated, creative, critical thinkers, with the ultimate goal of shaping life-long learners and citizens with a strong sense of personal and civic responsibility.While on sabbatical in the fall of 2005, three Golden Apple Award winning teachers identified the common thread of their best practices in teaching: learning by doing. Each founder had attributed their success in the classroom to a specific approach focused on participatory, hands-on, project-based learning and in-depth study of compelling topics. So what would it look like if an entire school was focused on this approach? The vision of these award-winning teachers came to fruition when Polaris Charter Academy opening its doors in 2007 as the city's first Expeditionary Learning school, a comprehensive educational reform model which grew out of a partnership between Harvard University and Outward Bound. PCA opened with grades K through 2nd and now serves 450 students in grades K through 8th.Polaris Charter Academy structures its sciences and social studies curriculum around "learning expeditions." These in-depth investigations are different from traditional thematic units. Learning expeditions are long-term investigations spanning one or more trimesters that are developed around specific Illinois State Learning Standards. They related to real-world topics or concerns that make learning relevant to students' lives. Learning expeditions provide a rigorous, stimulating educational experience that requires the application and mastery of a wide range of skills, including conducting research through interviews, surveys, books, and the internet. Students conduct fieldwork, learn from experts, work collaboratively and create authentic, high-quality end products for audiences beyond the classroom. Final products have been featured in the Chicago news, public libraries, organizational education programs, and more.