Sonoran Science Academy (SSA) is a tuition-free public charter school

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...

 with several locations in Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

. SSA, a college preparatory school, emphasizes, though is not limited to, science

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

, math, and computer science

Computer science

Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...

. SSA is owned and operated by the Daisy Education Corporation, which is a non-profit 501(c)(3)educational organization in Tucson, Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...

.

Member schools

• Sonoran Science Academy Tucson (2000, K-12)

• Sonoran Science Academy Phoenix (2004, K-12)
• Sonoran Science Academy Broadway (Tucson, 2008, K-8)
• Sonoran Science Academy Davis-Monthan
  Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
  Davis–Monthan Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located within the city limits, and approximately south-southeast of downtown, Tucson, Arizona....
  
   (Tucson, 2009, 6-10; first charter school on an Air Force base)
• Daisy Early Learning Academy (daycare facility)
• Sonoran Science Academy Ahwatukee (2009, K-8)
• Sonoran Science Academy Phoenix-Metro (2010, K-8)

The SSA model was replicated to create Paragon Science Academy (K-11) in Chandler

Chandler, Arizona

-Demographics:As of the Census of 2010, there were 236,123 people, 86,924 households, and 60,212 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 73.3% White, 4.8% Black or African American, 1.5% Native American, 8.2% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 21.9% Hispanic or Latino, and 8.3%...

 which opened in the 2008-2009 school year and expanded in the 2010-2011 school year to a second campus.

Enrollment and Staffing Details

SSA's enrollment for the 2010-11 school year was estimated at over 2,000 students across six campuses and from grades K-12. SSA employed over 200 full-time and part-time staff and faculty within the same school year. These numbers increased to more than 2,500 students and more than 250 staff members as of 2011-12 school year within eight campuses.

The vision of SSA

The Mission of SSA

Achievements of SSA

SSA has won numerous awards from various math, science, engineering, robotics, art, drama, and language competitions. The school has won awards at the regional, state, and National MATHCOUNTS

MathCounts

Mathcounts is a middle school mathematics competition held in the United States. Its founding sponsors include the CNA Foundation, the National Society of Professional Engineers, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The competition is designed for sixth, seventh, and eighth...

 competitions, and SSA students have qualified to participate in prestigious competitions such as Intel ISEF, USAMO, FIRST Robotics Competition

FIRST Robotics Competition

The FIRST Robotics Competition is an international high school robotics competition organized by FIRST. Each year, teams of high school students compete to build robots weighing up to , not including battery and bumpers, that can complete a task, which changes every year...

, National History Day, Academic Decathlon, and Voice of Democracy

Voice of Democracy

Voice of Democracy is an annual nationwide scholarship program sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars . It is an audio-essay contest for high school students in grades 9-12. The program annually provides more than $2.3 million in scholarships...

. In addition, SSA student Stan Palasek received the 2010 Future Innovator of the Year award.