RECOGNITIONS

You can read our new Charter and contract by clicking HERE.  

We want to thank the following people for their role in helping us achieve this milestone: our Charter Renewal Committee (Nada Diab - committee lead, Kristina Leidner Eisenhardt, Niki Fox, Ehab Jaleel, Wanda Hopkins-McClure, Cherisse Campbell, Craig Dean, Christian Harden); Laura Stowell, Fulton County Charter Schools Coordinator; Niya Harden Kennedy, Georgia Department of Education; the Fulton Board of Education; and the Georgia Board of Education.

 Congratulations to the following students who were nominated by their teachers as Student of the Month Citizen Scholars.  These students were chosen because they demonstrated behavior consistent with Amana's Expeditionary Learning Design Princpals and our Habits of Work & Learning. The Habits of Work and Learning (HOWLs) for our school are based in the language of our Core Values - Respect, Stewardship, Intellect and Curiosity, Success and Failure, and Advocacy. HOWLS demonstrate our ability to put our Core Values into action on a daily basis in all classes.

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EXPEDITIONARY LEARNING DESIGN PRINCIPLES

• The Primacy of Self Discovery (students undertake tasks that require perseverance, fitness, craftsmanship, imagination, self-discipline, and significant achievement)
• The Having Of Wonderful Ideas (curiosity about the world)
• The Responsibility for Learning (responsible for directing their own personal and collective learning.)
• Empathy and Caring (help foster a community of respect and mutual trust)
• Success and Failure (confidence and capacity to take risks and meet increasingly difficult challenges, learn from their failures, to persevere)
• Collaboration and Competition (compete not against each other, but with their own personal best and with rigorous standards of excellence)
• Diversity and Inclusion (Embraces, investigate and values their different histories and talents as well as those of other communities and cultures)
• The Natural World (stewards of the earth and of future generations)
• Solitude and Reflection (ability to explore their own thoughts, make their own connections, and create their own ideas, as well as exchange their reflections with other students and with adults.)
• Service and Compassion (As a crew, students show attitudes and skills to learn from and be of service.

Wills Park grounds and features, including the baseball fields, which are also used by the Alpharetta Youth Baseball Association.  At their September 17th general body meeting, the Amana's Partners in Education parents organization (PIE) wanted to show their support toward the good work AYBA does.  

 As an Expeditionary Learning school, we are big believers in teaching and promoting fitness and wellness.  Sara Ead, PIE President presented AYBA President Scott Williamson with a $500 check and remarked, "It is our pleasure to assist AYBA in maintaining this beautiful space!"  

Ms. Sara Ead, Amana PIE President, presenting a $500 donation to Scott Williamson (center), President of the Alpharetta Youth Baseball Association.

LEARNING SNAPSHOTS

Building STEM & Character Structures For All to Succeed

By Ms. Cherisse Campbell, Middle Grades Principal

As an Expeditionary STEM school, the principles of Purposeful Design and Quality Craftsmanship are pervasive in our classroom culture.  These principles are also present in the design of our instructional program.  Just as supports are put in place to encourage high quality work from students during the phases of a project, similar structures have been put in place to support all students in growing as Citizen Scholars to do "more than they think possible".

Nearly 50% of our middle school students are enrolled in advanced STEM courses. All middle school grade levels offer advanced math classes; while in 7th and 8th grade, students also have the opportunity to take high school level biology and physical science for credit. Students are continuing to do the differentiated and rigorous work of the interdisciplinary learning expeditions but now some will receive high school credit upon demonstrating mastery of the content standards. Through our advanced Expeditionary STEM programming, our students receive the best of both standards-based education and real-world application.

All middle school students, regardless of whether they are enrolled in advanced STEM courses, have the opportunity for enrichment during Power Hour.  During this class period at the end of every day, middle school students continue to grow beyond what they think possible.  During Power Hour all students participate in STEM enrichment experiences in Science Olympiad, Math Counts Competition, Robotics, Future Cities, Science Fair or E-Cybermission.  Most of these competitions occur in the beginning of the second semester, but students have been hard at work developing the skills necessary for competition.

Finally, building a culture of excellence is not based solely on a rigorous and authentic academic program but is supported by our social curriculum.  When a student extends beyond their current abilities and experiences, they are taking a chance; and chance involves risk.  Risking failure at any age is challenging, but even more so in the middle grades when self image and peer opinions are so important.  To continue to help students grow without fear, middle school students are provided with a small mixed-grade level, single-gender Crew with whom they meet daily to express concerns and help each other navigate early adolescence.

Therefore, by combining a rigorous and relevant instructional program with our comprehensive social support programs we have positioned students to not only work to their personal bests, but to do more than they ever thought possible.

By Ms. Wanda Hopkins-McClure, Elementary Grades Principal

I recently attended an annual summit that focuses on stories and storytellers. The people at Business Innovation Factory believe that "business model innovation is on the critical path to transforming important social systems including education, health care, and government. Tweaking our existing models and systems won't work. We need to imagine, prototype, and test new models and systems in the real world."

 

School days have been structured in the same way for decades - the bell rings and school begins. Another bell rings and you are tardy. Another bell signals lunch. A final bell ends the day. Yet, if you walked into Amana Academy, you would see the shifts that have been made to regular school day routines or structures that invite innovation and imagination.  One of these routines is based on establishing traditions and culture.  

 

Community Meetings are a common structure in Expeditionary Learning Schools that help to build a culture of pride, success and celebration in both academics and character. Most Expeditionary learning Schools, like Amana Academy, have some form of effective, regular school-wide gathering with a predictable, routine structure. Anyone whose business deals with sales understands the concept of a routine meeting- employees meet to review the sales quota, establish goals based on the projected growth of the department or company, and throw in a chant to end the meeting. Then everyone disperses to their office or cubicle and gets to work, oftentimes, unhappily. In many ways, CREW mirrors what happens in businesses around the nation.  So, how is CREW different? CREW is a structure that has been a part of Amana since its inception. CREW is where students gather in homerooms or small groups to begin their day with discussion, activities or initiatives, and goal setting. It's precisely the predictability of the structure that allows the school to create a safe environment where students feel free to risk, fail, and try again.

 

The leadership of the school met to determine what needed to be "re-imagined" in the process to promote the culture of the school consistently across all grades and the suggestion was for CREW to happen in every classroom at the exact same time. Shut down the entire school shut for CREW. This is a deliberate shift would signal the importance of the structure and the value we have as a school for building character along with academics. This year, we began that shift which now signals that everyone should pay attention because something amazing happens in CREW - relationships are formed.  Character is built as students learn explicitly what it looks like to demonstrate empathy to each other, how to question, how to listen, and how to express themselves. Second, the building of relationship gives CREW purpose and allows an environment of success and failure to thrive. This tweak is in the structure that deliberately invites students to talk about what went wrong and share their stories. Knowing what's not working is half the battle to achieving what works.

 

CREW culminates weekly with a campus-wide community meeting called Community Circle. Grade levels or CREWS rotate presenting to other students based on a determined set of value statements that Expeditionary Learning calls design principles. Students learn storytelling skills as they draft presentations and skits based on their learning and present to authentic audiences comprised of peers, parents, and teachers.  This structure and process is not without failure either. Microphones are often not working. Students forget their lines, sometimes caught up in the silliness of the moment or just too shy to continue. Yet, the magic of Community Circle is always there despite, or maybe because of, the failures.

 

 A recent article from Harvard Business Review emphasized the importance of storytelling in business.  Robert McKee writes, "A great CEO is someone who has come to terms with his or her own mortality and, as a result, has compassion for others. This compassion is expressed in stories." The article goes on to explain why becoming a good storyteller is important to the future of a company - something BIF advocates through its annual storytelling summit.

 

At Expeditionary Learning Schools like Amana Academy, rethinking the structure of the school day invites students to re-imagine and investigate new models of thinking, and fosters curiosity.  Through structures like CREW and community meetings, students are given dedicated time to develop their storytelling abilities through public speaking.  These routines have little to do with direct instruction or student achievement on the surface, yet they build the skills in students that talent management executives look for in candidates - critical thinking, risk taking, and public speaking. Sounds like CEO material in the making, doesn't it?

 

So, what are your structures and processes? Your routines? How are you empowering your people to tell their stories and what do you need to re-imagine or re-think? 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Before Amana Academy's Annual Fund Campaign kicks off on October 25th at World Day, we thought this would be a good time to let you in on three things that will make a difference in how you support Amana students:

1. MEET THE GAP:  What is one big difference between how the State and Fulton County fund charter schools compared to traditional schools?  Hint: think bricks.  Our authorizers do not automatically provide charter schools with free buildings.  So, you are probably wondering how do we pay for our facility?  

Well, we make mortgage payments and building improvements straight out of our operating budget - the same budget we use for teacher salaries, books, computers, and other resources.  This results in what we call "The Facilities Funding Gap" (say it in Darth Vader's voice), which in our case amounts to about $1,000 per student.  

2. WE DON'T LIKE THE GAP:  Evidenced by our clear choice, we all cherish Amana Academy's unique educational model and setting, and we are passionate about what Amana offers.  So, how do we partially bridge The Funding Gap? Like other charter schools, we are cost efficient by running a leaner organization with less support staff; and our staff members make sacrifices and "wear many hats".  We also seek grant opportunities from private foundations and corporations, and government grants.  Finally, we ask for your support through donations to our Annual Fund Campaign.  

3. I AMANA TO THE RESCUE:  This year's Annual Fund Campaign will be themed I AMANA, connecting all of us personally to the goal of raising $75,000 to address Amana's most pressing needs and to directly support the mission of the school, giving more and better learning opportunities for our students. 

For example, only 8 schools in Georgia are STEM certified, and we want to be the next one.  STEM is the blending of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics; and the certification process is rigorous and it requires specific standards are met.  For 21st Century skills, our students will benefit from more instructional technology. 

Also, investing in Amana's community garden will enable teachers to integrate science and gets kids outdoors more!  

Another example is that Fulton County only funds middle school foreign language instruction, so the Annual Fund can help us support Arabic in elementary to boost overall student learning and to broaden cultural understanding.  For greater proficiency and a second high school credit, students will benefit from an Arabic listening lab.

Now that you have met The Gap and you feel the same way about it as we do, we hope you agree that the Annual Fund is a vital part of closing The Gap so that Amana Academy can fulfill on our mission to prepare students for high academic achievement beyond what they think possible, so that they can become active contributors to building a better world.  

Please donate generously.  All gifts and pledges made during the campaign will count toward our goal.  Thank you!

Our Future is Student-Centered

While it was impossible to incorporate every idea that was presented, the Strategic Planning Committee did the best it could to include the highest priorities aligned with our new mission statement.

Amana Mission - Prepare students for high academic achievement beyond what they think possible, so they become active contributors to building a better world.

Getting parent input for strategic plan during March focus group.

In line with Amana's commitment to high achievement, active learning, character growth and teamwork, Amana parents are encouraged to be fully invested in their child's leaning environment through volunteering.  What better way is there for parents to teach character, teamwork, and responsibility to our children than by modeling it for them?  As such, we ask that each parent volunteer a minimum of 10 hours per school year (10 hours per single-parent household, 20 hours for two-parent households) as per our charter.  

Ways You Can Volunteer:

• In you child's classroom
• In the media center
• With a club
• Planning or working at special events
• Much more! 

Who to Contact?  Contact your child's teacher or their Crew Parent.  You can also find contacts on our website by clicking HERE.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Mr. Jaleel Speaks at Riverwood on Why Adventure Matters 

Last April 26th, Ehab Jaleel, Amana Academy's Executive Director (shown on right) had the unique opportunity to speak at a symposium that served as a first step in discussing new building options for Riverwood International Charter School in Sandy Springs.  Mr. Jaleel joked that he was "the warm-up act" for the other speakers who included thought leaders in the fields of education and innovation.  

His speech centered on the role of adventure in sparking the learning process.  Adventure can be any physical, artistic, or intellectual experience that involves risk, challenge, and discovery. Every adventure has a strong element of entering the unknown and not being certain of the outcome. Expeditionary Learning promotes the kind of adventures that create opportunities for leadership and collaboration as groups of students and teachers face challenges together. 

You can read more about Riverwood's project and the speakers and hear Mr. Jaleel's speech by clicking on the following links. 

http://www.fultonschools.org/en/SPLOST/Pages/Riverwood_Symposium.aspx

https://www.google.com/calendar/render?tab=oc

Learning Best Practices from Experts

During the week of September 15-19th Mr. Ehab Jaleel, Executive Director, and Ms. Niki Fox, Advancement & School Services Director attended various sessions sponsored by the Georgia Center for Nonprofits.  The innovative series was called Field Trips and focused on authentic learning from experts. The sessions they attended dealt with topics such as fundraising, public-private partnerships (Atlanta Beltline), and Converting Your "Know-How" into Strategic Advantage (Southface).

On October 8th, Amana administrators visited Neighborhood Charter School, a K-8 Atlanta public school.  Many thanks to Executive Director Matt Underwood who hosted Ms. Wanda Hopkins-McClure (Elementary Grades Principal), Ms. Cherisse Campbell (Middle Grades Principal), Ms. Niki Fox (Advancement & School Services Director), and Mr. Ehab Jaleel (Executive Director).  Mr. Underwood shared successful structures for instruction, fundraising, and parent involvement.  Neighborhood charter was one of the first charter schools Amana founders benchmarked, and it was great to see how they have thrived.

CONNECT WITH US 

If you ever have any questions or concerns, please contact your child's teacher directly, or any one of our Administrative team members.  If your question was not addressed, then feel free to contact our Governing Board.  Amana's main number is (678) 624-0989 and you may also find email contact information for all of our staff by visiting the Amana Staff Directory.

On behalf of the Governing Board, the Amana faculty and staff, and the school Administration, thank you for entrusting your child's education to us.  With your continued support, we will continue to mold the very best and brightest global leaders!