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Community Corner

Construction Begins on Monarch Global Academy in Laurel

The Children’s Guild closed on the purchase of 8.5 acres of land on Brock Bridge Road in Laurel and construction has started on the property for Monarch Global Academy. A groundbreaking ceremony will be held on Nov. 4, 2013.
 
This new contract school is planned as an International Baccalaureate School for students from kindergarten to fifth grade and there will be an Information Technology curriculum with an international focus for students in grades 6 to 8. The school will open in the fall of 2014 with 474 students and grow to serve 740 students in 2015.
 
The $12 million building is The Children’s Guild’s third Monarch Academy, with Monarch Academy Public Charter Schools in Glen Burnie and in Baltimore City. Students from Jessup Elementary, Brock Bridge Elementary, and Maryland City Elementary are eligible to attend Monarch Global Academy.
 
“Monarch Global Academy is a collaboration of three models that prepare students to be successful in the 21st Century: Transformation Education (TranZed), the International Baccalaureate (IB) model, and Information Technology with an international focus,” said Children’s Guild President and CEO Dr. Andrew Ross.
 
Following the IB model, Monarch Global Academy believes student learning is best done when it is authentic – relevant to the “real world”; and is transdisciplinary – where learning is not confined within the boundaries of traditional subject areas but is supported and enriched by them.  The IB model will promote international-mindedness as a key cultural feature to the Monarch Global Academy School; where teaching and learning will address human commonality, diversity and multiple perspectives.
 
TranZed is an organizational philosophy that infuses a school’s beliefs and values into the look of the school building, instructional approach, teachers’ mindset and behavior, and operating systems.  TranZed also integrates the arts and newest neuroscience findings into its instructional approach and school culture and creates a brain-compatible environment consistent with how a child’s brain learns.
 
The foundational values of TranZed foster a sense of self-worth and a student’s desire to serve, care and contribute to their family, school, community, country and planet. The values and operating systems of TranZed assure that the school’s administration is flexible and makes decisions within the context of a situation rather than within a rule-oriented, one-size-fits-all approach. Decisions are made to benefit the student rather than the needs of the faculty.
 
The Information Technology component of the program will be developed with the input of professionals from Northrop Grumman to assure the prerequisite skills taught are consistent with the skills needed to prepare students to contribute to private industry and defense contracting.
 
“We are very excited to be able to bring this unique and enriched learning experience in a brand new school building to children in Laurel, and we would like to thank Richard Polm for helping to make it financially feasible for The Children’s Guild to purchase the land on which to build this new school,” Ross said.
 
For applications and more information about Monarch Global Academy, go to www.monarchcharter.org or email callaways@childrensguild.org or call 410-444-3800, ext. 1108.

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