La Academia De Estrellas (LAE) is a charter school in Dallas, Texas catering to students from pre-K to 6th grade. Dallas has a robust charter school sector, with nearly 60 charter schools for families to choose from. At LAE the mission is, “to provide innovative learning opportunities for students, by honoring diverse cultures, languages, backgrounds and academic abilities.” LAE’s foundation of instruction is based on inquiry-based instruction, community based learning, and differentiated small group instruction. There are several things about this school that stand out, but two are their focus on instruction for English Learners (EL) and their outstanding athletics program. Often, English Learners face many challenges due to language barriers, however charter schools are making strides to level the playing field, thus improving EL student learning. A 2015 report by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University found that Hispanic EL students attending charter schools showed the greatest learning gains of any student subgroup, with 72 additional days of learning in math per year and 79 in reading. La Academia De Estrellas stands out in that it provides a bilingual program specifically for Spanish-speaking students. Also, parents are given bilingual access to school documents to encourage partnerships between teachers and parents providing high-quality education for students with academic accountability coming from both school and home. Moving from the classroom to the athletic realm, LAE has a stellar athletics program. The mission of their athletics department is, “to provide a culture that gives student-athletes an opportunity to develop success in academic and competition to achieve excellence in life.” The 2015-2016 athletic season has been great for the school. The girls volleyball and basketball teams are reigning District Champions and the school’s football team came in 2nd place in the District. With a targeted focus on supporting English Learners and engaging students through extracurricular activities, La Academia De Estrellas’s holistic approach benefits their students both in and out of the classroom.
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