Each Catalyst campus held assemblies this week to celebrate the holiday season, with incredible performances by our AMAZING scholars!  Check out a picture below from Catalyst Maria:

Catalyst Circle Rock hosted United States Representative Danny K. Davis today!  This was a great event where Congressman Davis visited with school leaders and was able to tour the incredible instruction that is occurring in CCR classrooms!  Check out the picture below of Congressman Davis and Principal Ms. Mitchell below:

Catalyst has placed an emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programming in grades K-12! This educational priority has been done in collaboration with the national organization Project Lead the Way (PLTW).  One example of PLTW in action has been demonstrated by  scholars in grades 3-5, who are energetically learning about the six simple machines that are seen and used in our everyday lives  (such as a lever, incline plane, pulley, screw, wedge, wheel and axle). Scholars have been given a design challenge to work in teams and rescue a tiger that fell into a moat at the zoo. In order to determine which structure will be the most successful in our design problem, scholars have been using Vex IQ kits  to construct each of the six simple machines. Catalyst Circle Rock's K-5 PLTW teacher Mrs. Carlos was selected to present at the organization's Illinois conference!  Mrs. Carlos said of the work scholars are engaging "It is inspiring to see scholars' genuine engagement throughout the engineering design process and the teamwork that goes into each project."  Check out a picture of this collaboration below!

Catalyst Maria High School will host an Open House for prospective students and their families this Wednesday, December 10, 2014. This event will be held from 1:45-3:30 PM.  A detailed schedule is below:

1:45-2:00       Teachers in auditorium lobby to greet potential families

• Parents and scholars will sign in and review an enrollment application when they arrive
• Snacks will be provided

2:00-2:30       Presentation in Auditorium

2:30-2:45       Scholar ambassadors speak on their experience at Catalyst Maria

2:45-3:30       Tours with Scholar Leaders

 

We hope that you will join us!

Catalyst's Maria's Director of College Readiness and Assessment Ms. Sasha Fawaz was recently selected as the OneGoal Program Director at Catalyst Maria! 

As a OneGoal Program Director, she will be a catalyst for student growth and achievement for the students in the high school at Catalyst Maria.

Great leaders like Ms. Fawaz are the heart of our work and the foundation of the OneGoal program model. As the nation’s only teacher-led college persistence organization, she will lead scholars to reach their full potential and graduate from college.

As it stands, only nine percent of CPS ninth graders are expected to graduate from college by age 25.  In stark contrast, 87 percent of OneGoal’s high school graduates have enrolled in college. Of those who enroll, 83 percent are persisting in college or have graduated with a college degree.

OneGoal has seen incredible school-wide impact as a result of our model. GPAs and ACT scores rise, with individual students, in classrooms and school-wide.  OneGoal will welcome Ms. Fawaz as part of a unique collaborative of talented educators who support each other, share best practices, and whose feedback enables us to continually improve upon our curriculum, program model and organization as a whole.   

Congratulations Ms. Fawaz and the Catalyst Maria team!