International Academy at Francis Hammond Middle School

Why International Academy at Francis Hammond Middle School was nominated

International Academy at Francis Hammond Middle School takes a comprehensive approach that supports the linguistic, academic, and socio-emotional development of recent immigrant and refugee youth through a blend of language-rich, interdisciplinary, collaborative, and experiential learning., The International Academy is a program of academic services within Francis C. Hammond Middle School offered to recently arrived immigrant students who are learning the English language. Students are on a team with teachers who are specially trained to teach students the core academic content and the English language simultaneously. In addition, students have a school counselor and administrator dedicated to meeting their specific needs. Students have access to all elective classes, physical education and health classes, and extracurricular activities and clubs that are offered at Francis C. Hammond Middle School. Strong adult teaming at the International Academy supports multilingual learners through a coordinated system of instruction, student supports, and tiered interventions. Students engage in project-based learning while collaborating in groups with diverse levels of language proficiency and native languages; this approach accelerates students' learning of academic English while studying a rigorous curriculum.