The Christa McAuliffe School has become an educational leader, a center of innovation and a school with a reputation for drawing the best from its students. Our aims are simple... to encourage academic and social growth in our children.We have a threefold approach to excellence: 1. Small Schools: Small schools work better. Teachers and students know each other better. No one gets lost in the crowd. The environment is more nurturing and supportive. In today’s reality, no school can reduce its population to become smaller. We have achieved this goal by creating three smaller semi-independent academies within the same building. 2. Interdisciplinary Teaching: Concepts and skills learned in one class can help children with what they are learning in other classes. Teachers working in cooperation with each other can systematically prepare lessons that encourage students to learn across traditional subject areas. Interdisciplinary teaching can help teachers find the best ways to teach all their children. 3. Focus: A theme for a school to focus on provides excitement, interest and motivation for students and teachers alike. At Christa McAuliffe we now have three academies, each with its own theme: The Academy for the Arts and Humanities: The humanities consist of those branches of knowledge, such as language, philosophy, literature, and art, that are concerned with human thought and culture. They provide a compelling focus for this academy. Creative activities in all classes are used to increase student motivation and enhance learning. Our students will be well-prepared in all subjects and skills for a successful transition to high school. Students who enjoy writing, reading, languages, drama, drawing and painting, or other creative activities will benefit from the learning environment at the Academy for the Arts and Humanities. Over a three year course of study, our students will be well-prepared in all subjects and skills for a successful transition to high school. The purpose in having a theme as we do is to facilitate learning in all areas. Although our focus areas are the arts and the humanities, and you would expect us to have strong language arts, social studies, foreign language, music and art departments, we have top flight mathematics and science departments as well. It must be understood that at the Christa McAuliffe School, all the academies are strong in all subject areas across the board. The difference between us is the approach we take to these areas. All middle school students must have a general education and must be held to the same standards of achievement in all subject areas.