The future is now at Quest Academy. As the West Point charter school celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, it’s easy to see that technology takes center stage.
The school, which teaches students grades kindergarten through 9 is technologically based and STEM certified, according to Nicki Slaugh, Quest’s vice principal for grades 6-9.
“Our mission is to provide students a challenging, technology-rich environment.” Students’ computer learning is dual-platform — they learn on PCs, as well as MACs. “We have our own technology standards. We use Common Core standards, and we also have technology standards of our own we want them to master.”
At the beginning of this school year, Quest began to fully implement mastery-based learning. Slaugh noted that prior to this year, educators began noticing that students were getting A’s in class, but they weren’t necessarily mastering the concepts that had been presented.
Since the switch to mastery-based learning, the students are assessed at the end of the week and the end of a unit, and must show they truly have a handle on the concepts.
Quest’s faculty meets each Friday and determines which students have not achieved 80-percent mastery. “We provide intervention,” Slaugh said. That might include after-school tutoring, retaking tests, or re-doing projects as needed.
In the school, iPads are a common sight, as are laptops. There is also a lot of hands-on learning and teacher-led discussions.
“We start computer programming classes in kindergarten,” Slaugh said. Every grade takes it. Our motto is it’s all about the children. Every decision we make, it all comes down to what is best for the children. Kids come first, no matter what.”
Learning at Quest Academy is individualized. In classrooms, students are placed according to where they are academically.
When teachers present a concept, they make sure that every student understands it before moving on. Recently, one of the elementary teachers gathered a few students at the table in the back of the classroom to reteach a math concept they hadn’t quite grasped. Such individualized focus helps the students master the concepts, Slaugh said.
Quest also prides itself on helping its 9th graders gain as many credits as possible before moving on to high school, with many of them having 9 or 10 credits when they finish their freshman year.
The school has an individually paced math program. Slaugh noted that one 9th-grade student has already completed Secondary Math 1 and has moved onto Secondary Math 2.
“We help kids work at their own pace. We don’t want to hold someone back in class if they can work faster.”
Approximately 980 students are enrolled at Quest Academy. Slaugh described the campus as a close-knit environment.
“I open the doors for the kids every morning. The teachers adore them. There are wonderful relationships that have been formed between teachers and families,” Slaugh said. “When people come here, they expect more. We have to provide a lot.”
