A renovation of Mae L. Feaster Charter Middle Academy has invigorated the campus community, fueling enrollment as the school plans for its first eighth grade class next year. The middle grades academy held a Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Tuesday, April 8.
Feaster provides students an academically rigorous accelerated program that is centered around the new Common Core State Standards. With a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM), students are exposed to a variety of extra-curricular programs and opportunities that are unique to Feaster. Feaster is accepting applications now for its seventh and eighth grade classes for the 2014-15 school year.
Originally known as the Flower Street School when it opened in 1950 at 670 Flower Street in the historic heart of Chula Vista, the school was renamed in 1965 upon the retirement of Mae L. Feaster, a teacher and principal there. In March 1997, Feaster became the second charter school in the Chula Vista Elementary School District and used the tenets of the Edison Project, a New York-based for-profit company, to build its curriculum and philosophy.
This school year, Feaster added a seventh grade with 45 students to its K-6 ranks. That initial seventh grade class is part of an innovative pilot project with Qualcomm to promote engineering and creativity through its “Thinkabit” Lab. The lab is located on the campus of Qualcomm, and has been called part art studio and engineering lab. Students learn all things engineering, from salaries earned to the products that Qualcomm engineers and other engineers create.
The students experience what it is like to work at a world-class employer like Qualcomm, which targets and hires the best and brightest in their respective fields, said Superintendent Francisco Escobedo, Ed.D.
“The experiences gained at this innovative learning environment will create an outstanding medium for college and career readiness,” Dr. Escobedo said. “The merging of the arts with STEM fully engages our students’ strengths and creativity.”
Feaster has two pathways for students to follow: the STEM Academy and the VAPA (Visual and Performing Arts) Academy. Kindergarten and seventh grade are more STEAM-oriented with a melding of the two pathways; in grades 1-6, students concentrate on one pathway. In addition to traditional daily course work, students in all grade levels, even kindergartners, rotate into special STEM and VAPA electives once a week such as dance, music, health, engineering, digital storytelling, robotics, and photography.
For more information about Feaster Charter Middle Academy, call (619) 422-8397 or visit us on the web at www.cvesd.org/schools/Feaster
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