International Charter Academy of
Georgia (ICA Georgia), a new dual language Japanese-English charter school, will
start accepting applications for August 2019 on January 10, 2019. Applications will be available online at www.internationalcharteracademy.org.
As a statewide charter school located in Peachtree
Corner, GA, the school is open to any K-5 student residing in the state of
Georgia. ICA Georgia uses the Dual Language Model for Japanese and English
instruction, which
is supported by a wealth of research and recommended by experts in dual
language acquisition. In this innovative model, the ratio of time spent in each language
favors Japanese in younger grades and shifts to balance more evenly with
English as students age.
All core subjects will be taught in
both languages, exposing students to a wide range of content
learning areas in the target language and enhancing academic achievement in
general.
The
school will employ a number of other state-of-the-art techniques to further
enhance students’ education. English and Japanese teachers will use a team
teaching approach, and
pull out classes will
be available in both languages to ensure the success of non-native speakers. Hands-on
inquiry based learning and a student-centered environment conducive to lifetime
learning and open-mindedness will be hallmarks of ICA Georgia’s program. A
special emphasis will be placed on writing in all grades, particularly research
paper writing. Effective use of IT will further enhance cooperative learning
and differentiation. A high level of
Japanese will be attained by using the Japanese Ministry of Education
curriculum in the Japanese department.
Beyond
learning the Japanese language, ICA Georgia students will also be exposed to Japanese school life, including Japanese
physical education, music, haiku, cultural events, healthy Japanese food
(recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO), and Japanese calligraphy.
School days begin at 8:00 am and end
at 3:00 pm Monday through Thursday, with Friday’s dismissal at 2:00 pm. After school
care is available until 6:30 pm from Generation in Focus (www.generationinfocus.com). To balance the academic benefits of
the year-round calendar for students while at the same time maintaining the
convenience of the traditional calendar for parents,
the school will have 190 school days
per year.
ICA Georgia aims to broaden the
horizons of students in Georgia so that they may become global citizens who
promote peace around the world. ICA Georgia students will be expected to contribute
to the local and global community through various service learning projects,
and ICA Georgia will promote parental involvement and build a community that
learns from one another.
According to Georgia State
Representative Tom Taylor (District 79), “Our state needs employees who can
speak more than one language, and there is no better time for its citizens to
acquire language skills than when they are young. This charter school will also
be an excellent educational environment for children with parents who come from
Japan to do business in Georgia.”
Barbara Kennedy, Ed.D, Director of
Dual Language and Bilingual Education at the Center for Applied Linguistics,
states, “We are excited to see the progress in the preparations for the opening
of International Charter Academy of Georgia. Multilingual education is a
research-validated approach to promoting second language acquisition among
students of various language backgrounds. Additionally, multilingual education
can provide opportunities for the promotion of cross-cultural understanding
among students, who, in turn, develop important lifelong skills that enhance
their ability to interact effectively in our increasingly globalized world.”
Chenyi Zhang, Ph.D, Assistant
Professor, Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education, Georgia
State University, states, “In recent years, given the trend of globalization
and international collaboration, supporting children’s early foreign language
learning has become an important educational issue in early childhood and
elementary education. ICA Georgia employs a unique dual language immersion
approach to promote children’s foreign language skills through environment
exposure and adult-child interactions without interrupting typical English
early literacy development…In short, ICA Georgia will provide an
early learning experience that is
valuable for preparing future generations of ‘global citizens.’”
The US State Department designates
Japanese as a Critical Language, and there are more than 600 Japanese companies
in Georgia. Yet despite the increasingly globalized nature of our
society, research
indicates that Global
Literacy is low in American youth (Council on Foreign Relations, 2016). Studies
show that immersion students develop greater cognitive flexibility, increased
attention control, better memory, and superior problem-solving skills
compared to their peers.
(See Lindholm-Leary, Dual Language Education. (2001)). ICA Georgia’s mission is
to provide the students of Georgia with the skills they need to succeed in our
increasingly globalized society.
On Friday, September 8, Peachtree CornersMayor Mike Mason visited the BIA Charter School to read to the kindergarten class of Meredith Huxtable.
The mayor visited BIA as part of the Mayor’s Reading Club. Launched in August, the program is designed to support literacy skills and early reading success for children in Georgia cities.
During his visit, the mayor read “Georgia Caroline Visits City Hall,” and answered student questions. Following his reading of the book, the mayor took part in an interview conducted by the school’s morning news team, that was broadcast to the entire school.
The Mayor’s Reading Club was developed by Georgia City Solutions and is designed to foster partnerships between the city, county, local nonprofits, schools, libraries and businesses. Other elected officials, city staff, youth and community members can participate in the program as guest readers.
Top Row from left, Juliette Ball, Paige Glass, bottom row from left, Suzanne Ragains and Laura Riester (Photo courtesy of Wesleyan School.
The Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) recently named four Wesleyan School faculty members GISA Master Teachers.
After completing a comprehensive application process through GISA this past spring, the following teachers were honored:
Juliette Ball, lower school lead teacher;
Paige Glass, lower school lead teacher;
Suzanne Ragains, a high school modern and classical languages teacher and
Laura Riester, middle school math teacher.
To be accepted into GISA’s Master Teacher program, candidates must submit a portfolio featuring three examples of outstanding work related to the classroom and collaborating with other educators.
The final part of the application is an unedited video of the candidate’s classroom teaching as well as five letters of recommendation from colleagues, administrators, parents and students.
“We are delighted that GISA has acknowledged the hard work of these committed educators through the Master Teacher program,” said Chris Cleveland, Wesleyan Head of School.
“Juliette, Paige, Suzanne, and Laura are outstanding classroom teachers and have been impacting the lives of Wesleyan students for many years. They are each deserving of this honor.”
From June 28 to July 2, the Paul Duke STEM High School Technology Student Association (PDSTSA) chapter left a lasting mark at the 2023 National Leadership Conference (NLC) in Louisville, Kentucky. The group’s dedication to their work and unwavering support from chaperones and advisors led to nine Top 10 finishes and four Top 3 placements.
The Technology Student Association (TSA) is a national Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) compiled of passionate students who are thoroughly involved in STEM. TSA has over 200,000 members nationwide and 2,000 involved schools across 49 states.
The theme of this year’s conference was “A Legacy of Innovation,” a theme that the PDSTSA chapter certainly excelled at.
The PDSTSA chapter competed in the following areas: Data Science and Analytics, Video Game Design, Manufacturing Prototype, Future Technology Teacher, On Demand Video, Virtual Reality Visualization, Biotechnology Design and Geospatial Technology. Within each respective area, Paul Duke STEM High School (PDHS) had great success.
Aside from regional and state-wide competitions, the PDSTSA chapter competed at the annual National Conference where expert judges score groups and individuals on more than 70 different STEM-based educational challenges that covered topics such as architecture, communication, engineering, leadership and technology research.
Pursuit of excellence
Within their group, the PDSTSA chapter had an impressive four awards given out to groups and individuals within places first through third.
Notably, members Donald Iwejuo, Rohan Kumar, Hannah Le, Caleb Odunade, Mihir Pai, Rohan Pai, Phuong Truong and Keon Wilson won an astounding first place for their work in the Manufacturing Prototype category.
Manufacturing Prototype Team
For their challenge, they were asked to create a Fourth of July-themed decoration. The team problem-solved and worked to create a customizable condiment and utensil holder with replaceable tops that incorporated the shapes of fireworks and the Liberty Bell, and symbols of the American flag, winning PDSTSA their first national title.
Additionally, within the realm of Data Science and Analytics, PDSTSA members Oswin Cervantes, Meagan Harris and Rohan Kumar took home third place by using and studying data found online and provided by them through science experiments involving Blue Zones teas, JASP (an open source program for statistical analysis) and the aging of Saccroymeces cerevisie (more commonly known as brewer’s yeast or baker’s yeast).
Data Science and Analytics Team
In the category of Biotechnology Design, Chloe Au, Brandon Auyoung, Meagan Harris, Joshua Odunade, Quincy Robinson and Phuong Truong won third place for finding a solution to adequately address food preparation, storage and sustainability issues in space, specifically for a trip to Mars.
After creating a rocket-shaped display containing their solution, the team was awarded based on their problem-solving abilities.
Biotechnology Design Team
Caleb Odunade won third place in the solo category of Future Technology Teacher. For this category, competitors were required to choose an application that could be used for teaching and then demonstrate how to implement it in the classroom.
Odunade made a video for the preliminary round on how to use TinkerCAD, an engineering and 3D design application, and was challenged to also present a lesson plan he had designed.
Caleb Odunade Future
Technology Teacher
More notable accomplishments
However, the accomplishments didn’t end there. Others include:
Fourth place in Video Game Design for members Ali Akbar, Frank Hammock, Varun Iyengar, Rohan Kumar, Joshua Odunade and Sahana Parekh
Fifth place in Virtual Reality Visualization for members Aqil Afsar, Charlie Boalch, Rohan Kumar and Mihir Pai
Sixth place in Geospatial Technology for members Aqil Afsar, Mihir Pai and Rohan Pai
Sixth place for Future Technology Teacher awarded to member Myra Wu
Tenth place award in On Demand Video by members Baylor Brown, Abigail Donkor, Princess Igwe, Tristan Kim, Rohan Kumar, Caleb Odunade, Joshua Odunade, Rohan Pai and Landon Shell
Video Game Design Team
Virtual Reality Visualization TeamGeospatial Technology Team
Myra Wu Future Technology Teacher
On Demand Video Team
More to come
This was only the PDSTSA team’s second time participating in the NLC. The team is excited with their success and are looking forward to working towards even greater success in the future.
Check out the PDSTSA Instagram at @pdstsa. Learn more about TSA at tsaweb.org.