Sixth grade classes will focus on Collaborative Learning, 7th grade on Innovation, 8th grade on Leadership, 9th grade on Career Awareness and 10th  grade on College Readiness. Each class will present their end product at an exhibition attended by a mixed audience of students, professionals and community leaders.

As we enter our second year of TAF Academy, we are all eager to act on the lessons learned from last year, which are all outlined in the TAF Academy Network Report... Have you had a chance to read the report? I hope you will check it out. At about 50 pages, it is quite a tome, but the results are definitely interesting. As you read it, keep this question in mind: What can I do to help TAF advance this work?

One of the lessons learned was how to deal with the many levels of math skills our students bring with them. This was a topic that led to very spirited discussions with the Principal and a few teachers. The solution: employ block scheduling so that all kids are doing math at the same time and at the level they need to master before they move on. That sounds easy, but the notion of "mastery before moving on" runs counter to many teaching models and staffing systems.

Over the last week, TAF Academy has distributed benchmark assignments. When students are finished, we will have a really good picture of what each student needs to attain mastery and success in math. That's a great example of how TAF Academy curriculum responds to students.

I thought you'd also like to know that TechStart classes are nearly full in Seattle and we just started making presentations to students in Highline to fill our classes there! Watch this student recruitment video (you'll be redirected to our YouTube channel) to give you a flavor of what TechStart students are excited about this year: