For many children, the constraints of the traditional school day can be challenging to navigate. With increasing demands on children both in and outside of the classroom and with so many different unique personalities, backgrounds and educational needs, it is only logical that schools offer customized curricula and schedules to better ensure the success of its students.
This personalized model of education is not as commonplace as it should be, but Fusion Academy has paved the way for students to access school as it should be with programs designed to meet kids where they are at. A fully accredited middle and high school serving students across grades 6 to 12, where students benefit from a completely personalized education program with the most optimal student-to-teacher ratio in education: one-to-one. At Fusion Academy, teachers are able to completely customize the curriculum, lessons, and assignments to ensure students are accessing material in ways that best meet their needs.
“An assignment that they're working on might include a poster that they're using the art studio space for, to create a visual depicting various battles that they're learning about. It could be that they're really loving our music space and using our studio to create a podcast that offers a public service announcement from something they've learned in history,” Director of Education Carissa Strother describes. “We've had students record a play-by-play narrative of a shark dissection, and that served as their final presentation; that was their course assessment.” The results are undeniable: Fusion student achievement scores grow 33% more than their peers nationally and a staggering 65% more than their national peers in mathematics.
Fusion Academy has more than 250 course options that include college prep, honors and AP courses that may be taken in a remote, hybrid or in-person capacity. Asynchronous classes allow students to complete material at different times and in different locations. Especially post-pandemic, many students face mental health, financial or transportation challenges that would ordinarily hinder their education in a traditional public-school setting. With these flexible options, students are provided with equal opportunities and the ability to attend to other priorities.
“We have always been a pioneer in virtual learning. When COVID hit, all of our teachers seamlessly transitioned to a virtual platform; we already had it in existence. We have been able to seamlessly support families coming out of COVID who are looking to have a hybrid learning model.,” Strother affirms.
A holistic approach is at the heart of Fusion Academy, with a philosophy that caters to the student’s social, emotional, and academic wellbeing inside and outside of the classroom. Of course, what happens after or before school may influence a student’s educational journey. An array of extracurriculars enhance the personalized curriculums at Fusion Academy, so students are truly able to try new things and dive into their passions.
Introduced this year is Fusion Academy’s Global Neighborhood, which allows students from any Fusion campus to participate in clubs virtually. The programming is designed to reflect students’ interests, and some examples for this fall include video gaming, cooking, dancing and “Fusion glow.” For any clubs that are not as popular on one campus, students can still participate in it with others with the Global Neighborhood program for that valued collaborative element.
Independence is fostered by Fusion Academy with inclusive learning and social environments such as its Homework Café: a supervised space where students can decompress between classes, socialize, or complete any homework assignments so that their academic day is done before leaving campus. Activities and special events take place there and it becomes a designated hangout spot when the whole campus is off at 12:30.
“We have the privilege of having students interact with each other from all grade levels, all walks of life that would never have conversations in traditional school settings, who end up making friendships and bonding over campus events in the Homework Café,” says Head of School Doug Albright-Pierce. “Carissa does such a fantastic job facilitating, planning and building out these days so that they are memorable, special, and create opportunities for students to have very novel, community-based experiences that really leave a lasting impression.”
There are endless opportunities to explore at Fusion Academy, with curriculums specially crafted to best support each student. Students have their voices recognized as programming evolves with their preferences in the school’s research-based approach. This inventive style of learning that embraces creativity and the strengths of each student is the way of the future that Fusion Academy is actively spearheading – and its friendly team encourages families to be a part of it. The open enrollment model allows students to begin at any of the year, on par with their mission of offering students the freedom to choose what is best for each of them.
“We are the only school in the United States that has class sizes at the college prep, honors and AP level with a one-to-one student-teacher ratio. We have seen time and time again that our students outpace their peers nationally in growth in reading and mathematics,” says Albright-Pierce. “We know the absolutely positive impact that our program has socially, emotionally and academically for our students and our families when students – whether full time or part time – are able to invest in and take advantage of what we have to offer here at Fusion Academy.”
Fusion Academy
Cherry Hill
(856) 229-9329
FusionAcademy.com
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Family Magazine, Volume 15, Issue 2.
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