Success Academy at Ardmore Trail in South Bend is a trailblazer for reimagining elementary education. Success Academy, an independent, public charter school, is also a fully certified science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) school where students — grades kindergarten through fifth — receive an integrated approach to learning STEM. This year, there is a new school leadership team at Success Academy that hopes to disrupt traditional education by embracing innovative approaches to enhance students' progression in STEM education.
“We are all in the business of wanting kids to live their best lives,” said Sybil Snyder, school principal at Success Academy. “We want those reading, writing and math test scores to improve, but that is not our beacon. Our beacon is preparing kids to have an awesome life. To do this, we want to disrupt the traditional educational system. We want kids to try new things, experiment, be entrepreneurial in their work and do hands-on and innovative things without fear of what does not work.”
As the school enters the 2024-2025 academic year, the new leadership team hopes to emphasize more experiential learning within the curriculum to create a supportive culture for growth and involvement. The new leadership team, who all have an immersive history of working in education, includes Snyder; Assistant Principal Heidi Erickson; and Sean Rowell and Ally Jeter as principal interns.
“I know that our number one goal is to enrich kids and help them out no matter where they are from or how they are doing,” said Rowell. “I feel if we can pour everything we can into kids, then that is our future. At some point, none of us are going to be able to do this anymore. The whole point is to make sure that they are in a perfect position to make the world a better place.”
The team plans to integrate methods that proved successful with the STEM-certified middle and high schools of the Career Academy Network of Public Schools. The team intends to engage kids in problem-based learning, provide creative freedom in makerspaces and teach durable skills like communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking.
Success Academy has small class sizes and shared teachers. Flexible learning areas support diverse student needs, including those formerly behind grade level. The academy’s focus on mastery-based learning and personalized assessments commence from the kindergarten-level up. The concepts of ‘job-readiness’ and 'entrepreneurship’ are bolstered by the curriculum and prepare students for entering the future workforce. The hands-on, individualized programs, such as with CNA certification and robotics training, promote high wage jobs and better life expectancy in their chosen fields.
“If we are going to be supporting kids that move on to a STEM-certified school, then I think we have a responsibility to get that done here in the next two years,” said Snyder.
Partnerships with the community emphasize the leadership team’s approach to engaging students from urban backgrounds. Success Academy is proud to partner with the LaSalle Branch Library and Unity Gardens Inc. to promote life skills, literacy and sustainability. Rather than traditional discipline, Success Academy hopes to retain a holistic approach in all aspects of education.
“I started working in a place with very like-minded individuals who put an emphasis on community and a holistic approach to education,” said Jeter. “After moving from different jobs to here, I found that our team embodies that same approach. We want to push the envelope in terms of what we expect for our kids and our school community.”
As the new leadership team makes plans for an epic school year, the need for mindfulness and self-sufficiency are to be integrated from beginning to end of the school year for students.
“We always do a lot of deep reflection,” said Snyder. “At the beginning of the year, when we do our orientations, we ask them to set intentions for the year. Midpoint, we check in and see how we are doing on those goals. By the end of the year, we reflect and set new goals for the next year. It is always with the premise that we are going to get better. Just a hair better every year. If we keep doing that, we will have made our biggest dreams come true for kids.”
Much like the experiential learning promoted within the institution, the team is happy to experiment and find new ways to build up individual student success. Success Academy, with the new leadership, aims to inspire the State of Indiana to adopt its approach and generate bright futures for young Hoosiers.
“I have had many interactions with our bosses – our visionary leaders – and they have set the path of what they want for kids,” said Erickson. “They are giving us the opportunities to bring our vision to life with guardrails, but it feels good to know we are in a space where we can make things happen. A lot of red tape is removed for us, and we can break the constraints of traditional education. We are now getting things ready for our students and we are striving to be an uplifting, strong school district.”
For more information on the Career Academy Network, visit its website at CASBSchools.com.