The McKinley Accelerated/Explorer Program (MAEP) was founded in 2012 and evolved to its current form in 2020. Our mission is to engage all students in a dynamic, rigorous, and personalized 4th-6th grade learning experience with the end goal of preparing them to become global citizens, problem solvers, and leaders.

This program places McKinley scholars into a homeroom where they will start their day with socioemotional learning. The Scholars will then break out into their Language Arts Mastery Groups. Students will be placed in either the Accelerated or Explorer strand. (Students will be evaluated approximately three times a year to determine the best placement.) They will then come back together for Recess. After Recess, students will break out into their appropriate strand once again for Math. After Math, students will all have lunch together. At the end of the day, students will come back into their Homerooms once more for Wheel (Spanish, Music, Robotics, Science, Social Studies, special projects, etc).

All teachers are trained in project-based learning as well as the Icons of Depth and Complexity which allows for differentiation in all subjects for all students. 

Successful candidates for the Accelerated strand are persistent, resilient, and self-directed students who are interested in and prepared for engaging in a dynamic, rigorous, and fast-paced academic environment. Students are independent workers who are organized and responsible with classwork and homework and can manage the pace and demands of an accelerated classroom. They love grappling with challenging ideas, concepts, and topics, and they currently meet or exceed grade-level standards in reading, writing, and mathematics.

All Accelerated/Explorer Scholars Receive:

• • Personalized 4th-6th-grade learning experience
  • Character development, friendship, and team-building experiences
  • Inquiry-based and student-driven learning
  • Ongoing feedback cycle within the classroom and between the grade levels
  • Opportunities for independent learning (ongoing extension projects and culminating Genius Hour project) based on student interest
  
  
  • Rigorous academic focus
  • Model designed to allow students to explore concepts in a deeper way
  • The curriculum is compacted and accelerated to allow for a deeper and more complex engagement with content/concepts
  • Hands-on, inquiry-, and project-based learning
  • Additional use of pedagogy for accelerated learners (Icons of Depth and Complexity, Universal Themes)
  • Spanish-language instruction through content
  
  
  • Innovative Instructional Core Curriculum
  • Language Arts integration across the curriculum
  • Simulation-based and experiential Social Studies curriculum
  • Math application and synthesis of conceptual learning
  • Hands-on and inquiry-based Science curriculum
  • Spanish-language acquisition through content
  • Music instruction
  
  
  • Opportunities for self-directed, elective courses
  • Coding
  • Drama/Performance
  • Hands-on experiences allow for a deeper understanding
  • Service-learning projects
  • Robotics
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  • Project-Based Learning in every subject area