About Us
Vision
U. S. A. will have a diverse student population which will prepare our young adults to survive in an interconnected world with knowledge not only in the traditional core (reading, writing, and arithmetic) but also in developing the interpersonal skills and understanding of the contemporary world with experiential learning (industry based) and project based learning in various S. T. E. M. fields and teaching. U. S. A. will create a safe and supportive learning environment.
Mission
The mission of the school will be to develop a diverse student body (females and minorities especially) which will use creativity, innovation and critical thinking in S. T. E. M. career areas focused on health sciences to problem solve, communicate and collaborate effectively. The use of digital literacy, career and life skills will be emphasized during project based assessments. Our students will be immersed in project based learning in all content areas focusing on critical thinking so students can analyze and respond well to the new global economy. Students will explore S. T. E. M. areas with online curricula in all grades leading to internships in community by junior and senior years which are focused on experiential learning.
Driving Ingredients of Our School
U. S. A. will inspire students to think outside the box to find solutions, test ideas and find innovative mechanisms to achieve success within the diverse teams needed in the 21st Century workplace and in life. The focus will be for students to increase the quality of their work with constant and immediate feedback from the adults and fellow students in our community.
Experiential Learning and project based instruction will be focus of the school’s action plan. Students learn best by doing! The focus will be to develop student capacity by teaching and modeling for students how to solve problems, look for various solutions, make good decisions, set and achieve high goals, and become independent learners. Students will work in groups to solve challenging problems that are authentic, curriculum based, and often interdisciplinary. All students would be aligned to internships in their junior and senior years to culminate their high school experience. All students would be exposed to various S. T. E. M. careers and teaching over the four years at U. S. A. via external and internal mechanisms and partners.
Technology integration will be key communication device in all content areas as well as electives. Students would learn to present their ideas and argue using various modes of technology (Skype, virtual teams, conference calls, webinars, etc.) for industry partners and teachers to test their ideas and analyze critically their hypotheses. They will need to create a robot to demonstrate their innovative ideas to address a thesis question to solve a medical problem in biotechnology, medical imaging, or pharmaceutical issues. Students will learn to use technology in all their classes as a tool to communicate and present their ideas.
Redesigned classroom spaces focused on collaborative team work, and engaging the learner with flexible furniture for group and team work around tables and technology systems. Smart boards, wikis, blogs and other systems will be used as a tool to communicate in class and out of classroom. Laptops will be used in all classes by all students and teachers.
Local autonomy for teachers to create, analyze and work in teams to align all projects, instructional practices to resources as we monitor student progress and growth. Teacher evaluation would focus on how students accomplish S. M. A. R. T. goals in performance based assessments in each class. Teacher leadership would be developed and encouraged. Students would have a final portfolio project to present in senior year to demonstrate mastery of content and skills to make it beyond high school which they would develop over six year period at U. S. A. Throughout this process, the teacher’s role is to guide and advise, rather than to direct and manage, student work.
One school, one family will be the motto of U. S. A. We will work on having positive relationships with our students where adults model excellent behavior and believe and coach students to reach higher expectations. All students would be focused on an Advanced Regents diploma with honors at U. S. A. Staff will build positive interpersonal relationships and interactions, that contains comfort and order, and in which