Numbers should add up to more than a right answer. They should inspire aha moments and joyful connections. Eureka Math® and think! Mathematics® set a new standard for rigor, coherence, and focus in the classroom so students gain a deeper understanding of the why behind the numbers, all while making math more enjoyable to learn and teach. Both series utilize a Concrete-to-Pictorial-to-Abtract (C-P-A) approach to mathematics with the aim of developing conceptual understanding.  Students are encouraged to use various mental strategies to solve problems and to focus on the process instead of the answer. 

The Urban Academy’s ELA program is anchored in the Wonders Series, Fundations & Heggerty, each designed to meet the challenges of today’s classroom and reach all learners. The Wonders Series provides support for building a strong literacy foundation, gives students the opportunity to access and analyze complex text, engage in collaborative conversations, and opportunities to respond to what is read in writing and process writing within the CCSS genres: informative, narrative, and opinion/argumentative writing. Wonders can be taught in print, digital or blended format.  

Phonemic awareness
Phonics/ word study
Sight word study
Reading fluency
Vocabulary
Comprehension strategies
Handwriting
Spelling

The Science Team uses the Science Fusion series to guide standards-based instruction in the subject. Throughout the year students focus on life, environmental, earth, and physical sciences through text, video, experiments, and field trips. Students participate in a project-based assessment each quarter which integrates black studies and technology components. The science lab doubles as a maker space where students have the opportunity to design and build using items like screws and wood as well as one of two 3D printers.  

The Urban Academy believes that technology aids expression and therefore our technology program includes a one-to-one student to Chromebook ratio, 3D printers, Google expeditions, and virtual reality goggles. Through our weekly technology instruction, students learn to make visual presentations, code, and prepare book reports. We encourage daily use of technology in the classroom and at home to help our students understand various software tools and the importance of technology in our day-to-day lives. Our students will have a basic understanding of how various classes of technology work. 

Our art program is designed to give our students the wonderful benefits of artistic expression through fullscale integration into their entire educational experience. Students explore a variety of great Black and African artists, movements, and mediums which inspires our art instruction. The program operates under the explicit belief that involvement in the arts is associated with gains in math, reading, cognitive ability, critical thinking, and verbal skills.  Our scholars develop motivation, concentration, confidence, and teamwork through artists that look like them.  

The Urban Academy social studies program uses the Harcourt Horizons series to enable students to understand, participate in, and make informed decisions about their world. Social Studies content allows our students to explain relationships with other people, to institutions, and to the environment, and equips them with knowledge and understanding of the past. Our focus is to provide students with skills for productive problem solving and decision making as well as for assessing issues and making thoughtful value judgments. Above all, our social studies program is designed to help our students understand and become responsible citizens participating in locally, nationally, and globally.  

The Urban Academy’s Black Studies Curriculum is designed to promote self-confidence, pride, positive self-identify, and responsibility among the Urban Academy’s students and staff. The curriculum fosters curiosity, geographic exploration, and political and civic leadership. Lessons and units include relevant and meaningful exploration in cultural, societal, geographical, political and economic conditions of Black people in Africa, the Americas and throughout the world. Black Studies is strategically integrated into all core subjects which helps to further develop a harmonious learning environment based on the seven principles of Nguzo Saba and inspired by Dr. Molife Asante’s African American History: A Journey of Liberation.   

The Urban Academy Enrichment Program is a newly implemented program that helps provide students with opportunities to help their learning come to life. The program is grounded in our school’s belief that our scholars are high ordered thinkers and kinesthetic learners, who excel in hands-on projects and activities. Our scholars will have the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of enrichment activities and classes that are designed to enhance their educational experience. The program will include solving puzzles, creating structures, building with Legos, unraveling mysteries, and having fun pushing their minds by applying their knowledge in core subject areas.