Imagine North Manatee: Portrait of Success

admin Imagine Schools in the news

Article published on October 25, 2012 in the Bradenton Herald.

Photo Courtesy of the Bradenton Herald

At Imagine Schools North Manatee, it’s all about “emphasizing academic excellence and character development as the essential elements of life-long success,” according to Principal Jennifer Lucas.

Imagine Schools North Manatee opened in Palmetto in 2006, and serves pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The tuition-free charter school teaches students with varying types of learning abilities, including education for gifted students and students with exceptionalities.

Imagine Schools North Manatee is the only school in Manatee County to deliver the core curriculum using Project CHILD (Changing How Instruction for Learning is Delivered). CHILD offers students an innovative way to learn by working in collaborative groups, completing hands-on learning projects, and having a team of three teachers who specialize in each content area. The school already uses a rigorous curriculum based on the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards, but this year Imagine Schools North Manatee
is getting ahead of the curve by implementing Florida’s new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) by “helping teachers and kids understand where they need to go.”

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) “provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them,” according to the Florida Department of Education.

Lucas says CCSS will challenge her students even more to achieve.

“It is increasing the academic expectations of children for every grade level,” she says. “It’s harder.”

Although the CCSS is required to be implemented completely in all grades by 2014, Imagine Schools North Manatee is implementing the Core Standards into curriculum sooner. The standards already are structured into academic lessons for kindergarten through second grade, while third through eighth grades are blending the standards into their rigorous academic activities.

“While we are busy helping the strugglers, we are also busy pushing the gifted students to achieve as well,” says Lucas.

Imagine Schools Manatee North continues to strengthen student success by forming solid partnerships between parents, students and staff. That includes educating the parents about the expectations of the new CCSS, so that they may better help their child succeed in their education. The school held a literacy night, and a parent workshop, and plans to hold additional literacy nights where the students present their progress data.

The mission of Imagine Schools North Manatee Campus is “building an educational system that partners with students,  parents, teachers and community members to develop a school filled with creative and exciting opportunities for success. Our motto matches our focus, “Together we can!”

Imagine Schools North Manatee
9275 49th Avenue East,
Palmetto, FL 34221
941-981-5345
www.imaginenorthmanatee.com
Principal: Jennifer Lucas