James Madison Preparatory School
Encyclopedia
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
started in 2000 in Tempe, Arizona
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
. The school was founded by brothers Stephen Batchelder and David Batchelder and serves grades 7-12.
History
JMPS was founded by the Batchelder brothers to "challenge committed students with a robust, traditional education emphasizing America’s history and system of government." It is a classical liberal arts school which seeks to promote understanding of American history. The school focuses on developing students' understanding of the United States ConstitutionUnited States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
.
In its first year of operation JMPS had 49 enrolled students. The school population has more than tripled since its inception, with the population capped at around 200 students. The school does not screen the students it admits.
In the second year of the school, JMPS added a junior high for grades 7-8.
Academics
JMPS was ranked as an Excelling school in Arizona for the 2008-2009 school year based on AIMSArizona's Instrument to Measure Standards
Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards is a standardized test administered by the state of Arizona. AIMS is a standards based assessment aligned to the Arizona Academic Content Standards.-Test contents:...
test results.
School Culture and Student Government
JMPS has a dress code for students emphasizing business attire such as slacks, dress shoes, and a polo or oxford shirt.All students are required to participate in a daily chore at the end of each school day, where the students perform minor routine maintenance on the campus such as taking out classroom trash, vacuuming classrooms, and cleaning bathroom windows. The daily chore is scheduled to take between 5 and 10 minutes.
JMPS also has a student-run high school government modeled after the American three-branch system of government
Separation of powers
The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic...
.
- Each year, the school holds an election to decide on the next year's student government president, who then appoints a student cabinet to help manage student affairs, including student fundraisers to fund events such as school dances.
- The Student President also nominates students to serve on a student Supreme Court, which judges and sentences minor student misconduct cases. Up to nine students may serve on the student court, for terms of up to two years. Students may be re-appointed when their terms end.
- Students are placed into homerooms, where they decide on two representatives (for each homeroom) to the school's Student Senate, which votes on Cabinet and Court appointments. The remaining students are encouraged to be involved in the Student House of Representatives, which votes on bills introduced to aid in student government.
A junior high government was installed in 2007 as a liaison between junior high students and the high school government.
Academics
Students at JMPS are required to take and pass several high-school level history, government, mathematics, science, and humanities courses, including (but not limited to):- American History: a two-year course covering the American RevolutionAmerican RevolutionThe American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, the Civil WarCivil warA civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
Era, the Reconstruction Era, the World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
eras, and parts of the late 20th century - American Government: includes courses covering the United States Constitution, the Federalist PapersFederalist PapersThe Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles or essays promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution. Seventy-seven of the essays were published serially in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788...
, and the American three-branch system of government - Mathematics: includes courses in AlgebraElementary algebraElementary algebra is a fundamental and relatively basic form of algebra taught to students who are presumed to have little or no formal knowledge of mathematics beyond arithmetic. It is typically taught in secondary school under the term algebra. The major difference between algebra and...
, GeometryGeometryGeometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
, and PrecalculusPrecalculusIn American mathematics education, precalculus , an advanced form of secondary school algebra, is a foundational mathematical discipline. It is also called Introduction to Analysis. In many schools, precalculus is actually two separate courses: Algebra and Trigonometry...
, and an optional CalculusCalculusCalculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...
course - Science: includes introductory courses in GeologyGeologyGeology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, MeteorologyMeteorologyMeteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
, and AstronomyAstronomyAstronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, as well as more in-depth introductory courses for BiologyBiologyBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, ChemistryChemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, and PhysicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic... - Humanities: includes courses which cover classical literature such as Pride and PrejudicePride and PrejudicePride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England...
and The Great GatsbyThe Great GatsbyThe Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922....
, Shakespeare and other theatre scripts such as Julius CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
, MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
, and The CrucibleThe CrucibleThe Crucible is a 1952 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, when the US government blacklisted accused communists...
, musical appreciation, art history, and the Old LatinOld LatinOld Latin refers to the Latin language in the period before the age of Classical Latin; that is, all Latin before 75 BC...
language
Athletics
JMPS is a member of the Charter Athletic AssociationCharter Athletic Association
In Arizona, the Charter Athletic Association is a sports league system for smaller charter junior high and high schools. It is unaffiliated with the Arizona Interscholastic Association....
, an Arizona athletics governing body for smaller schools. The school participates in:
- Fall: FootballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, Girls VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, CheerleadingCheerleadingCheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
, Ultimate Frisbee, Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road... - Winter: Girls and Boys BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- Spring: Soccer, Track and FieldTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, Boys BaseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, Girls SoftballSoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
Fine arts
The JMPS Fine Arts programs include a choirChoir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
and string section
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
. Both perform rehearsed pieces at school concerts, and are open to any students interested in joining them. The presence of these groups on campus is determined entirely by student interest; the JMPS Fine Arts program also included a jazz band
Jazz band
A jazz band is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands usually consist of a rhythm section and a horn section, in the early days often trumpet, trombone, and clarinet with rhythm section of piano, banjo, bass or tuba, and drums.-Eras:SwingDuring the swing era in the mid-twentieth...
until the year 2007.
JMPS also fields a student drum corps
Drumline
A drumline is a section of percussion instruments usually played as part of a musical marching ensemble. High school and college marching bands, drill and drum corps, drum and bugle corps, indoor percussion ensembles, and pipe bands usually incorporate drumlines; however, drumlines can exist...
and Color Guard
Color guard
In the military of the United States and other militaries, the color guard carries the National Color and other flags appropriate to its position in the chain of command. Typically these include a unit flag and a departmental flag...
, which practices during the fall and performs at football games for both JMPS and (on occasion) Mesa Community College
Mesa Community College
Mesa Community College in Mesa, Arizona, is the largest of the 10 community colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District and is the largest in the United States. MCC began in 1963 as a branch of Phoenix College and later granted independent status in 1965.MCC offers more than 200...
. The drum corps and color guard occasionally perform during the winter and spring at JMPS basketball or soccer games.
JMPS also puts on several theatrical productions
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
each year, including (but not limited to):
- A fall/winter dramaDramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
tic production (open to audition for grades 9-12) - A spring musicalMusical theatreMusical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
(open to audition for grades 7-12) - An optional spring production performed by the 8th grade