MASE students benefit from longer school days, technology integration, curriculum - Memphis Business Journal:

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Henderson had an idea for a curriculumm for a new charter school while he was chairman and instructor of the engineering department at East High so he joined forces withSteve Bares, president of , in 2002 to petitio n to open a charter school. And opened in making it the first in the with 148seventh graders. The school now includees middle school and high school studentsw from grades sixthrough 11. Crystap Hayes, a 16-year-old 11th gradeer at MASE, was among the school's first seventhn graders.
The transition was difficult at firstfor Hayes, but her gradesx have greatly improved as she has adapted to the "I like the way technology is integratedf into the curriculum," she says. "Before attendin g MASE I was hesitant to usea computer, but now I am very comfortabled and have even been able to help othersw who don't attend MASE." By the fall of 2008, 900 studentsa will be attending the school, and in Hayes will be a membeer of the school's first graduating class. In Memphis City Schools recognized MASE academically asthe No.
1 performing middler school inthe district, despitse having students who failed to meet state testinv requirements in previous schools. Henderson says students who strugglede in traditional classrooms are now excelling at MASE becausew they are in an intenselearning environment. For MASE holds an extended schoolday -- 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. -- for middlde school students, and some teachers are experts intheidr fields, Henderson says. Also, the parents of MASE childrenn are required to sign a contracy called the Commitment of Excellence statintg that they will stay involved and supportrtheir child's education.
Hayes says the rigorouas schedule and long hours helpedr her focus more on school and bringh hergrades up. The school's relationship with Bioworksz is key to the success of the Henderson says. Bioworks is working to ensure that Memphis has an educated work force forthe city'w growing biotech industry. It helped the schooll get started by providing threed floors of its building on Dudley forthe school'a use, so students could be closer to the work the organization is doing. Bioworks also aided in finding another location for the The high schoolers moved to the Mississippi Boulevarde Church on Jeffersonlast year, and more students will move there once renovations are finished.
In addition to sponsoring Bioworks, established in 2001, has a joint grant with Southwesf Tennessee Community Collegefor InternNet, a program that helpsd students find internships. Deborah Gentry, director of humann resources servicesat Bioworks, has been working with Southwest's biotechnologyh certification program for a year and a "We do a survey every week of biotech companiesd around the Memphis area to update the positions Gentry says.
"For example, students who are looking for jobs in manufacturing or as lab assistantzs could use our system and may find a job more The program is stillbeing developed, but righrt now Gentry uses an Excel spreadsheet to list job She hopes that eventually Bioworks will have a portakl with its own Web site for Memphia students to access. Web site: www.discovermase.orgf