Academics
“A significantly greater number of students fail science, engineering, and math courses that are taught lecture-style than fail in classes incorporating so-called active learning that expects them to participate in discussions and problem-solving beyond what they’ve memorized. Enough with the lecturing!
– National Science Foundation
A place for Mastery
Traditional schools are not designed for students, they are designed for textbooks, for standardized testing, and for uniformity. However, this model is rooted in a pre-Google ideology of learning that ignores the fact that any person with a smartphone or computer literally has the entirety of humanity’s knowledge in their hands.
Mastery and Project-based learning strategies focus on the acquisition and retention of skills. Memorization of fundamental facts, equations, and vocabulary are the means to an end rather than the end itself. Primus Academy will be utilizing a Mastery Transcript that allows students to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and dispositions and enable teachers to coach students on where they need to improve.
Science – A Place to discover
In a world of boundless information at our fingertips, it can be difficult to find true awe and inspiration from the world around us. Science through project-based learning introduces our students to the fundamental laws and principles of nature and then gives them the room to explore, experiment, and innovate.
Skill Mastery Examples:
Sustainability, Advanced Botany, Certificate of Nursing Assistant (CNA)
Mathematics – A place to calculate
Without a story, numbers on a page can be hard to relate to. Using the world-class resources of brilliant.org as a framework, we are building innovative math courses that focus on the development of logic and problem-solving skills. Our higher tier math courses take this a step further by applying mathematical processes and principles into story problems in Economics, Architecture, and other real-life formats. In this context, students will quickly recognize the power of mathematics and learn how to confidently use it to solve challenging problems.
Skill Mastery Examples:
Probability, Statistical Economics, 3D Geometry
Cultural Studies- A place to remember
History in its purest form would be an account of the past, but as it is often written by the powerful and the victorious, it has the risk of bias woven into every page. To understand humanity is to try to lift this veil of bias and understand the cultures, religions, and ethnicities of our diverse human race through their own voices.
The Silk Roads by Dr. Peter Frankopan is our core text for the meta-timeline of human history. Many other secular and religious texts will be used to dive deeper into specific cultures and time periods.
Skill Mastery Examples:
World Geography, Global Interdependence, US Citizenship Test
Literacy – A Place to express
Storytelling is a foundational part of what it means to be human. Through oral, written, and more recently digital media, we are able to take the thoughts of the mind and form them into a reality that can be shared with the world. Mastery in reading, writing, and critical thinking are powerful skills and the greatest leveling agents for success in our world. Our students will be more than readers, they will be authors, speakers, and storytellers to our community and to the world.
Skill Mastery Examples:
Advanced Fluency, Biographical Study, Authoring & Publishing
Creativity – A place to Innovate
Creativity and Innovation are the realms of art and technology. These subjects are often downgraded to “elective” status in traditional schools. However, these skills are critically needed in today’s workforce! We need our youth to design, to create, and to be challenged to push the boundaries of what they can produce. The arts and technology are just as “core” as any other area of study at Primus Academy.
Skill Mastery Examples:
3D Art Mastery (ceramics, sculpting, 3D printing), Video Production, Architecture, Coding & Programming
business Studies- A place for Enterprise
At Primus Academy, Business Studies is as much a core subject as Literacy or Mathematics. The global economy is truly interdependent, and social media has come to dominate the digital worlds of marketing, networking, and even journalism. In order to rise above the noise, students must be well versed in personal and business economics, they must be able to express themselves professionally in public and digital environments, and they need opportunities to lead others, to build a business, and present their ideas if they are to make an impact in this world.
Skill Mastery Examples:
Personal Finance, Spreadsheet Formulas, Market Strategies, Entreprenuership
Fitness & Wellness – A place for strength
In most schools, fitness and wellness is generally defined in terms of physical strength. At Primus, we recognize that strength of mind, strength of spirit, and emotional strength are just as important, if not more important than physical power. Through cognitive training apps and training exercises, our students will see an increase in their IQ and EQ (emotional intelligence quotient) during their years at Primus Academy.
Through our Mastery Transcript model, students will earn credit for strength building activities on campus and outside of school. Completing a triathlon, obstacle endurance race (Tough Mudder, Spartan, etc), or advancing their IQ to a Mensan-level (top 2% nationally/globally) are feats that require significant training and aptitude to achieve. These feats and others can earn advanced credits at Primus and should be showcased on students’ transcripts, resumes, and college applications.
Skill Mastery Examples:
Core Fitness, Cognition – Lumosity, Moving Meditation, Biomechanics
