Academic Overview

The Mission School of New Mexico is a 12-month, 4 days-a-week school that provides a loving, nurturing, learning environment that maximizes each child's opportunities to succeed both academically and socially. The 12-month school year permits the learning process to continue uninterrupted during the summer months. The 4-day week enables families to make and keep important appointments that are necessary for many students and families. Our school year is divided into four 12-week quarters over 12 months. An evaluative progress report will be compiled during mid-quarter. These reports are given to parents at the end of each mid-quarter. Periodic conferences, at the parents or teachers request, allow the faculty and parents to discuss the student’s intellectual and social growth and provide an opportunity to discuss personal and community concerns.


Assessment Methodologies

Each child's unique learning profile will be identified using the "Schools Attuned" assessment tools. Each child's neurodevelopmental functioning will be assessed in areas such as attention, language, memory, neuromotor ability, and social skills. By considering all of these factors, we essentially describe each child's balance sheet of his or her strengths or weaknesses -- in other words, each child's learning profile. We begin to understand each child's unique brain wiring that affects how he or she learns and performs in school. Based upon this understanding, we then develop concrete, practical strategies for helping that particular child succeed.

Second, we use the above data to identify potential stressors that may overwhelm the child in a school or home setting and thus result in behavior or social difficulties. We then begin to anticipate potential problems and identify creative ways of preventing meltdowns. We brainstorm about potential "bypass strategies" to help each child work around his or her problem areas.

Third, we use a series of skills and subject content assessments such as the Brigance Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills and computer and written grade level assessments to determine each child's academic achievement levels in the various content areas and those particular curricular formats that match the child's learning profile. The Mind Styles Model for Assessment of Modalities is also administered to determine learning style. Each child will then have his or her own individualized curriculum in terms of content area and appropriate teaching methodology. Through preliminary and continual interviews with parents, faculty and families may identify or address each child’s social strengths and weaknesses. Faculty become continual assessors of each child's academic and social successes. Faculty will seek to immediately correct or modify learning situations so that each child's self-esteem and feelings of self-control are protected and enhanced.