Academics

Entrepreneurship • Technology • Humanitarianism • Scholarship 

At the Power Center schools in Hickory Hill, the strong belief of the founding team and the community as a whole was the need for increased financial literacy and more entrepreneurship. 

Current research findings show that Tennessee is one of the highest-ranking states for numbers of annual personal bankruptcies filed per household. This information coincides with a survey conducted by Lewis Mandell, Dean of Business at Marquette University in Milwaukee, whose results show a connection between states that have adults declaring personal bankruptcies and students scoring poorly on personal finance subjects such as counting, saving, spending, budgeting – subjects important to master in becoming a financially successful individual.

To this end, the Power Center schools offer a curriculum built, in part, by an emphasis on financial literacy and an entrepreneurial mindset. We believe it’s never too early to start building a solid foundation of financial literacy knowledge. The curriculum focuses on a progression of thematic units based on the essential elements of financial literacy. 

As the basis of its program at Hickory Hill, Power Center teaches the National Content Standards for Entrepreneurship Education from the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education, and the National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education from the Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.

Integrated technology tools empower student and teacher productivity. Every child has access to a laptop and digital curriculum during class, and every teacher uses technology to gain real-time data about scholar understanding. Technology roots Power Center Academy classrooms in the constructivist approach, which offers students the opportunity to design their own learning experiences.

Power Center scholars use computers for individualized, digital learning groups. These groups provide assignments based on the individual learner’s skill deficits, thus creating a customized, differentiated assignment for every child in reading and mathematics. In addition to face-to-face instruction, scholars use online assignments customized to their individual areas of strength and weakness. Teachers add integrated technology simulations, presentation tools, and audio, such as iMovies, to enhance instruction. 

Our teachers use the power of technology to assess and receive real-time data to drive instruction. To gauge how students are performing, teachers employ a set of assessments, including daily checks for understanding, weekly informal assessments, and formal assessments geared to state standards. This data helps teachers determine whether she or he can move on to the next lesson because all scholars understood, or she needs to work one-on-one with a few scholars who struggled with the lesson, or she needs needs to re-teach the lesson to the entire class.

Parents, scholars, and staff can all access student data anytime with easy-to-use software such as Gradebook, PowerSchool, and Schoology. 

Power Center scholars, parents, and staff are all charged with the mission to leave our community better than we found it. Power Center Academy service learning is anchored in the National Youth Leadership Council evidence-based standards. Our service learning includes: 

• Meaningful Service: Engages participants in meaningful and personally relevant service activities.
• Link to Curriculum: Used as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals.
• Reflection: Incorporates reflection activities that prompt deep thinking and analysis about oneself and one’s relationship to society.
• Diversity: Promotes understanding of diversity and mutual respect among all participants.
• Youth Voice: Provides youth with a strong voice in planning, implementing, and evaluating service-learning experiences.
• Partnerships: Partnerships are collaborative, mutually beneficial, and address community needs.
• Progress Monitoring: Engages participants in an ongoing process to assess quality and progress toward meeting goals, and uses results for improvement and sustainability.
• Duration and Intensity: Includes sufficient duration and intensity to address community needs and meet specified outcomes.

Community Service learning example: a first grade class may plant seeds in a community garden while learning about weather. A group of thrid graders may clean up a park or collect recyclables while learning about the environment. 

All adults maintain high expectations for Power Center Academy scholars; years of research prove a direct link between expectations and academic achievement.  

Students have an increased reading, dedicated daily writing, and extended mathematics program. The root of the academic design is to utilize the full day to present challenging content in core subjects, while providing enrichment such as fine art, physical education, and business. 

Power Center focuses on the basics of reading and math, but not to the detriment of other key real-life learning such as financial literacy, persuasive reasoning, or scientific exploration. Students drill, but also think critically and express themselves through such methods as project-based learning assignments and individual student presentations. 

Understanding each child’s areas of deficits and mastery is essential to creating an environment of high expectations for achievement. As a result, scholars take assessments every week, and the teacher uses the results to structure the following week’s small group instruction. During small groups, scholars work in teams of 3-5 members for direct instruction with the teacher. While one group of scholars work in these small teams, the rest of the class is broken down into two other groups: one learns through collaborative projects with peers, and the other learns individually using digital curriculum. After 30 minutes they rotate. These groups make up the Power Center blended learning rotational model.