Trailblazers Academy Charter Middle School
Trailblazers Academy is a public school of choice for 150 students in grades six, seven, and eight. These students had not been successful in traditional school environments and needed a different learning environment to reach their full potential. A rigorous academic focus, paired with a comprehensive human development model and small classes of 12 students, allows students to excel academically and build critical social and emotional skills needed for success in high school and beyond.
Private funds are raised to fund critical needs that cannot be addressed with the State and City funding we receive. Thanks to a variety of private investors, we now have four literacy specialists that enable our students, who typically enter the school reading at least two grades below level, to greatly increase their reading skills. Highly effective reading instruction occurs throughout the day thanks to the specialized teacher training and advice they provide, and the vital one-on-one instruction they give students continues our model of individualized instruction to build on student strengths and hone in on areas of challenge.
Family advocates are employed to work with students and families around nonacademic issues, helping remove all external barriers to learning. When families struggle with major illnesses, poverty, death, substance abuse, and other traumas, focusing on school work becomes next to impossible. Our family advocates help children and families address these challenges so school-day learning doesn’t take a back seat to life’s troubles.
This approach to learning continues to yield significant results, with growth that outpaces almost everyone else (see chart here).Our students may come to us a little or a lot behind, but they don’t intend to stay there.
The Lion’s Den, the school’s before- and after-school program, is 100% privately funded. This program enables students to meet with certified teachers on homework challenges as well as provides enrichment and academic activities in literacy, team sports, and the arts.
Created in 1999, Trailblazers Academy is currently co-located in a wing of a State vocational technical school, allowing us to put funds normally used for rent toward program needs. Trailblazers Academy is a partnership among Domus, the Stamford Public Schools, and the City of Stamford. The school board provides an annual grant to enable us to pay teachers a competitive wage, and the mayor of Stamford helps us secure space for the school.
Photographs by Richard Freeda www.richardfreeda.com
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