Curriculum
National Educational Partners, Inc. (NAEP) is the Charter Management Organization (CMO) and all-inclusive Educational Management Organization (EMO) for PM Wells Charter Academy. We are committed to providing quality, actionable educational solutions, teacher effectiveness support, standard- based curriculum, and comprehensive assessment practices.
Our Core Instructional Philosophy
At PM Wells Charter Academy, our unique and innovative curriculum and overall instructional program is designed to provide our scholars with CHOICE. Whether it is exposing them to exciting science and mathematics concepts through our STEAM program or providing the latest, research-based curriculum for core subject areas, PM Wells Panther graduates are empowered with the CHOICE to pursue their academic and career goals.
The Whole Learner Approach
Our aim is to educate the learner as a whole, therefore, we value the individual experiences, interests, voice, and talents each student adds to the school community. To meet this goal, PM Wells Charter Academy works to understand student Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) needs and support each student’s development, ultimately promoting academic success. We use research-based programs to establish a safe and inclusive environment in which students learn healthy behaviors and skills that support engaged citizenship. Additionally, attention to each student’s learning style and providing areas with flexible seating allows learners to grow in a way appropriate to how he or she learns best.
Individualized Approach to Learning
Data-driven instruction is at the very core of our individualized approach to learning. Through formative and summative standards-based assessments, analysis and action planning will take place to target the needs of learners and drive student success.
Since every student is unique, teachers and students work together to create personalized learning pathways used at each grade-level and designed to track individual students’ strengths, weaknesses, and progress in attaining a year’s worth of learning (or more). This process empowers students to establish and track learning goals, conduct student-led conferences, and make informed decisions as learners. Most importantly, students are challenged with the responsibility of understanding their data and learning needs in meeting or exceeding grade-level standards.
STEAM Education at PM Wells
STEAM Education is an approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking.
Using STEAM education results in students who take thoughtful risks, engage in experiential learning, persist in problem-solving, embrace collaboration, and work through the creative process. These are the innovators, educators, leaders, and learners of the 21st century! This comprehensive article will help you understand the keys to a meaningful STEAM effort.
STEAM Education helps students:
- Ask questions
- Connect the dots
- Problem solve
- Think creatively
- Be innovative
Why the A in STEAM?
Here are some of the concrete benefits of incorporating the arts into science and engineering:
- It helps remove idea inhibition (there’s no wrong answer in art!)
- It focuses on the process which helps drive innovation
- It teaches the power of observation, of people and your surroundings
- It helps hone spatial awareness and mathematical concepts like geometry
Explore the STEAM Model
- STEAM is an integrated approach to learning which requires an intentional connection between standards, assessments and lesson design/implementation
- True STEAM experiences involve two or more standards from Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and the Arts to be taught AND assessed in and through each other
- Inquiry, collaboration, and an emphasis on process-based learning are at the heart of the STEAM approach
- Utilizing and leveraging the integrity of the arts themselves is essential to an authentic STEAM initiative
PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
Project-Based Learning requires students to think deeply as they study and investigate a real-world topic or problem. Students use knowledge from several disciplines to develop realistic responses to problems and develop models for new ideas or products.
At PM Wells, project-based learning does not focus on learning about something. It focuses on doing something to master that concept, truly.
Our students are active participants in the learning process, guided by teachers who know how to help students tap into higher-order thinking and that has students producing a product, presentation, or performance that demonstrates mastery at the end of each project-based learning unit.
The unique advantage of Project-Based Learning at PM Wells is that we intentionally design the following digital age competencies into every project, preparing our students for the demands of the workforce they will face:
- Information Literacy – locating, organizing, and presenting information; evaluating, analyzing, interpreting data
- Problem-solving and project management – thinking analytically
- Communication – communicating ideas verbally, visually, and symbolically
- Collaboration – Working with others to achieve a goal
- Systems thinking – troubleshooting, improving, and designing a system
- Cultural Literacy – appreciation of diversity
Innovative Practices
Developing 21st Century Learners requires PM Wells Charter Academy to operate with the needs of digital natives and the goal of developing lifelong learners in mind. One way we achieve this is through the integration of 21st Century Learning and Innovation skills, the 4C’s, within each lesson. This helps develop student Communication, Critical-thinking, Collaboration, and Creativity across subject areas. Teachers facilitate hands-on activities and challenge-based learning to help students make real-world and global connections as they practice the 4C’s.
Technology is placed in the hands of students to support an interactive and motivating learning environment. Through blended learning, adaptive instructional software, collaborative learning spaces, and infusion of technology, students acquire the skills needed for future success. Classrooms utilize the SMART Learning Suite and most classrooms are equipped with SMART Interactive Flat Panels which support teachers in designing more engaging lessons, including the ability to incorporate a gaming approach to instruction. Each classroom is also equipped with tablets and/or student laptops to maximize digital learning when appropriate.
PM Wells Charter Academy is committed to growing innovations in teaching and learning from the classroom level up. We support our teachers and students in implementing new and exciting resources, strategies and ideas as they are proven to have a positive impact on learning.
PM Wells will give students an opportunity to develop moral and democratic values on an intellectual level during their daily activities. We believe that a deeply rooted education in the content areas facilitates a firm foundation for the skill set needed to compete in the global market. We require that each student make a determined effort to take every opportunity toward their own fulfillment as an individual and as a member of the community via the established structures and support systems provided by the School.
We believe that the student understands more by using the 5E’s as our instructional support:
