The Acera School is an independent, co-educational day school in Melrose, Massachusetts

Melrose, Massachusetts

-Government:Robert J. Dolan is the mayor. Melrose is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives by Paul Brodeur . Katherine Clark is the state senator for wards 1 through 5 and Thomas McGee is the state senator for wards 6 and 7. Melrose is part of the seventh Congressional...

 serving gifted and talented students in grades K-8. The first school year began in September 2010 using a portion of Melrose's vacant Decius Beebe Elementary School. For the school's second year, it was renamed the Acera School and moved to the First Methodist Church's annex building.

History

The Acera School was founded in 2010 as the Anova School by Courtney Dickinson, a teacher, corporate executive and consultant. Dickinson was inspired by her own family's challenges in finding appropriate opportunties for gifted students in Massachusetts public schools.

Acera leased a portion of the vacant former Decius Beebe Elemtary School building from Melrose Public Schools

Melrose Public Schools

Melrose Public Schools is a school district located in Melrose, Massachusetts. The district controls several schools in the city and is led by superintendent Joseph Casey...

, opening in September 2010. For its second year, the school moved to the First Methodist Church's annex building following Melrose Public Schools' decision to lease the Beebe School in its entirety to another program.

Student body

In its first year, the Acera School offered three multi-age classrooms serving grades K-6. It has announced an expansion through grade 8 for the 2011-12 school year, with further expansion through grade 12 at a pace to accommodate current middle schoolers. Class sizes are limited to a maximum of 14 students.

The school serves "high-ability learners," including academically gifted/highly successful students, creatively gifted students, highly gifted/profoundly accelerated students, and twice-exceptional students who present both giftedness and disabilities.

Curriculum

The Acera school curriculum is individualized to each student based on readiness and interests. Subjects such as math (Singapore Math curriculum) and reading are taught in flexible cross-age groupings.

Learning is interdisciplinary and project based, with schoolwide themes built around the Museum of Science Engineering is Elementary (EiE) program. Destination ImagiNation

Destination ImagiNation

Destination ImagiNation Inc. or DI is a creative problem solving organization for youth and adults. Destination ImagiNation's educational goals are to foster creative and critical thinking, to develop teamwork, collaboration and leadership skills, and to nurture research and inquiry skills...

 and FIRST Lego League

FIRST Lego League

The FIRST® LEGO® League is an international competition organized by FIRST for elementary and middle school students ....

teams are also incorporated into the regular curriculum.

External links

• Official school web page