Academics

Monarch Academy Glen Burnie Public Charter School follows the Anne Arundel County School System curriculum requirements. What makes Monarch Academy stand out in its academic approach is its partnership with Expeditionary Learning, a school model that supports students’ achievement and engagement through active learning, character development, and teamwork. At Monarch Academy, students spend much of their time engaged in learning expeditions and in-depth studies of compelling topics that engage students in comprehensive research of a subject, hands-on learning experiences, and unique projects that address authentic audiences in the community.

Project-Based Learning

The core idea behind project-based learning is that real-world problems capture students’ interests and provoke serious thinking as the students acquire and apply new knowledge in a problem-solving context. Project-based learning creates opportunities for groups of students to investigate meaningful questions that require them to gather information and think critically. The teacher plays the role of facilitator, working with students to frame worthwhile questions, structuring meaningful tasks, coaching both knowledge development and social skills, and carefully assessing what students have learned from the experience.

Focus on the Learner and the Learner’s Culture

Monarch Academy provides a culturally responsive classroom through:

• Teaching children to strengthen their thinking skills for finding the main idea of what they are reading.
• Incorporating aspects of our students’ languages, cultures, and daily experience so they can bridge the cultures of home and school.
• Using technology for instruction and for demonstrating learning.
• Providing opportunities for small-group work.
• Providing strategies that allow students to “think aloud” and to process their thinking together to make meaning.

Universal Design Learning

Creating flexible goals, methods and assessments that accommodate learner differences to account for the fact that each child’s brain processes information differently.