Mountainburg Middle School Brain Academy
Mountainburg Middle School Brain Academy (MMSBA)serves students in grades 5 - 8 and is located within the Mountainburg School District. As a FY2020 APSRC CSP Subgrantee, MMSBA was awarded $1,250,000 in December 2019.
The mission of Mountainburg Middle School Brain Academy is to ensure high levels of learning for all in an environment that promotes wellness and brain development and allows students to investigate their potential in areas such as STEM research.
BRAIN-BASED LEARNING
Utilizing brain breaks and an outdoor challenge course to encourage, chart, and assess student growth in physical health and achievement is a new research-based intervention that MMSBA is implementing. The School also has plans to adjust its methods of instruction and curriculum to provide academic challenges to students. Brain-based learning focuses on recognizing stressing factors, minimizing cognitive load, and teaching coping strategies.
MMSBA Administration and Staff is completing a series of professional development sessions with author, Liesl McConchie, using their CSP Subgrant funding. They were also able to purchase the outdoor challenge course which will be used frequently throughout the school days as students take multiple extended brain breaks.
Learn more about Liesl McConchie and her research:
RESEARCH-BASED CURRICULUM
With a focus on student achievement, MMSBA has selected two research-based curriculums. Wit and Wisdom as the literacy curriculum and Project Lead the Way as the science curriculum. Literacy teachers participated in professional development to launch the Wit and Wisdom literacy curriculum for grades 5-8. Committees visited neighboring schools implementing the curriculum, attended training on young adult literature, and reviewed alignment of the units with state standards. Teachers established user accounts, signed up for and attended training, and prepared materials orders. Science teachers met with the area Project Lead the Way specialist and science specialists to become familiar with PLTW, review the courses and modules, and determine the alignment of courses and modules within each grade level’s science or elective offerings. Teachers established user accounts, signed up for and attended training, and prepared materials orders.
Wit & Wisdom is a K–8 English curriculum developed by teachers, for teachers in collaboration with the nonprofit Great Minds. Its learning design is based on the premise that texts lead and standards follow. Instead of addressing standards in isolation, Wit & Wisdom lessons integrate standards from multiple Arkansas State Standards strands based on the demands of the text.
Project Lead The Way provides transformative learning experiences for PreK-12 students and teachers across the U.S. They help teachers create an engaging, hands-on classroom environment and empower students to develop in-demand knowledge and skills they need to thrive.
FLEXIBLE DESIGN
MMSBA has met the goal of having 95% or more of faculty participate in professional development in the brain-based learning model focused on incorporating flexible learning classroom designs, and classrooms have been re-assigned, re-organized, and set up for learning. The master schedule supports the need for two blocks of instruction daily for 5-8 literacy, and shortened, more frequent daily periods of physical activity for all students in grades 5-8, daily periods for advisory, intervention, and enrichment, as well as re-organizing the elective wheels to allow more STEM electives.