Parkway Gifted  Education

The Academy serves highly and exceptionally gifted students by providing depth and acceleration of learning in a specialized environment to meet the identified students' unique learning needs. 

In order to submit an application for the Academy, students must first have met criteria for participation in MOSAICS, level 3 programming, in their home school and participated in the program. The MOSAICS Academy program is 5 days a week and teaches core subjects (Math, ELA, Social Studies, and Science). Students at the Academy elementary level are served at Pierremont Elementary, while Academy middle school students attend Parkway West Middle School. Students may continue their studies at West High School or go back to their home school. There are not specific classes at the high school level because honors and AP courses are offered.

Information regarding the MOSAICS Academy application and evaluation process can be found here:  Academy Evaluation Process.

Elementary Academy: Pierremont Elementary (Grades 3-5)

Elementary Academy Facebook Page

Within the Academy, students work in multi-age groups on real-world problems and solutions. A typical day in the elementary Academy is split into three distinct sections:  workshop time, character development, and a time dedicated to problem-based learning (PBL). Student voice and choice and differentiated levels of support are embedded into all three sections. 

Workshop time occurs during the morning hours and provides students with an opportunity to complete identified learning activities which are placed on their menu at the beginning of each week. As students progress through the week, they are provided with opportunities for direct instruction, partner work, and in-time feedback from all academy instructors, based on their progress in each content area. Students at the academy have quickly proven themselves to be independent learners, thinkers and problem-solvers.

The second portion of the day, character development, provides students with explicit instruction in learning related to social-emotional and developmental progress of each age group of students. The four units of character development are based on the Parkway Character Standards and provide each student with the foundation for establishing a goal to continually improve his or her character. 

The final part of the day, PBL time, provides students with the opportunity to apply their learning in multi-age groups as they tackle a real-world problem. While the content for  PBL Unit, which lasts 5-7 weeks, has already been determined, the students determine the driving question based on research and data, and then work collaboratively to answer the driving question.

Middle School MOSAICS Academy: West Middle School (Grades 6-8)

The Academy strives to meet the individual needs of each learner. The teachers, counselors, and administrators work as a team with parents to develop a learning plan for each student. The curriculum is trans-disciplinary with an international focus, incorporating Parkway's grade level expectations and standards. The curriculum utilizes components of a variety of middle school, high school, and college level model curricula. Student inquiry, Problem-Based Learning, Design Thinking, Socratic Dialogue, and Critical Thinking are key components in guiding the learning process. 

Below are the courses offered for the 2025- 2026 school year.

English Language Arts

• Academy ELA 6th and 7th Grade

• Academy ELA 8th Grade

Social Studies

• Academy Social Studies 6th Grade

• Academy Social Studies 7th and 8th Grade

Math

• Academy Accelerated Math 6

• Academy Math 8

• Academy Algebra 1

Science

• Academy Science 6th Grade

• Academy Science 6th and 7th Grade