Discovering Your Future: Choice and Innovation at Springfield Public Schools

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New Member Spotlight

As the largest school district in Missouri, Springfield Public Schools (SPS) proudly embraces our identity as the District of Choice in the state. To best serve our 24,000+ students, our priority is to ensure every child can personalize their learning path, which will spark their curiosity, inspire their learning, and help them achieve their unique goals.

By offering families and students a multitude of choices, SPS has rightfully earned its reputation as the District of Choice. Instead of confining learning within the traditional four walls of a classroom, we offer students immersive learning that fuels their interests. Made possible by mutually beneficial Family and Community Partnerships, our signature choice magnet school programs place students directly into professional, real-world environments:

• Wonders of the Ozarks Learning Facility (WOLF): Partnered with Bass Pro Shops, fifth-graders explore a comprehensive, inquiry-based curriculum centered on conservation and environmental science.
• AgAcademy: Located at the Missouri State University’s Darr Agricultural Center, students in grades 4-6 dive into agricultural sciences, managing everything from a demonstration kitchen and greenhouse to a chicken coop.
• Health Sciences Academy (HSA): Mercy Hospital is the classroom for eighth-graders who participate in hands-on training and learn from medical professionals, while exploring various careers and implementing projects that impact community health.
• Academy of Fine and Performing Arts: Fifth-graders cultivate their creativity through an arts-integrated curriculum in a Springfield Little Theatre facility where they have access to stages, practice rooms and rehearsal spaces.
• Middle College: This personalized program enables high school juniors and seniors to complete the requirements of high school while earning college credit at Ozarks Technical Community College. It offers a flexible schedule on the OTC campus and provides scholarships including college tuition, textbooks and supplies.

These teachers and programs serve as models of Innovative Curriculum and Professional Development for our entire district. Our educators don’t just teach from textbooks. With the help of partners, they design immersive experiences that provide hands-on, real-world learning that supports Academic Excellence.

True innovation, however, requires equity. Diversity is promoted through our choice lottery system, which is controlled for gender and socio-economic status to break down common barriers. 

Within these non-traditional environments, students develop the confidence to step into Leadership roles, providing them opportunities to develop their communication, problem-solving and collaboration skills at an accelerated pace. They serve as ambassadors for their choice programs, interact with community leaders and engage in presentations and projects that provide solutions for real-world issues.

As we deepen our connection with the Magnet Schools of America network, we are excited to both share and learn. We hope to highlight our successful model for building deep, sustainable public-private partnerships that radically change what we can offer our students within the public school setting. In turn, we are eager to learn from the network’s collective wisdom to help us grow and strengthen the choices we can offer students as we continue on our journey as Missouri’s District of Choice.

 

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