Principal's Message

Dear Families, Cadets, and Staff,

Hello and welcome to the 2018-2019 school year here at Maritime Academy Charter School.  We are extremely excited to let you know that our charter renewal was approved by The School District of Philadelphia this summer and we were even given the go ahead to expand our enrollment.  In a time when the district is looking to close charter schools we were asked to increase our numbers.  This is undoubtedly because of our hardworking teachers, staff, and most importantly our cadets.  

Safety and security are two things that parents value the most when it comes to their children.  We kept this in mind when we reconfigured building 107 this summer.  Adults will no longer be allowed into building 107 without an adult escort.  The main office has been relocated to building 11 and that is where any adult, including parents, that have business with the school will report.  We hope that this added layer of security will go even further in keeping our school safe.

Responsive Classroom is an exciting initiative that we will begin to utilize during the upcoming school year.  Responsive Classroom is an evidenced-based approach to teaching that takes into account both academic and social-emotional learning.  This practice has led to better grades for students and calmer classroom and school environments as a whole.  Used effectively; this approach will also reduce the number of discipline referrals and suspensions given out by staff and teachers.   The first step in implementing this program will be the usage of morning meetings, which teachers began to be trained on last school year, and training will continue throughout this year. 

We will continue to identify ways to use maritime concepts in all of our classes.  The maritime theme is a very important component of instruction here and we expect all of our cadets to participate in learning about maritime ideas and practices.  Not only will selected cadets attend maritime studies class but teachers will ask cadets to incorporate maritime thinking in all of the subjects that they participate in.

We are also striving to get more parents engaged with the school this year so please be on the lookout for information about upcoming parent events and programs.  When we work together, as a community, we can continue to build on our successes. 

Sincerely,

Peter Saunders,

Middle School Principal