Charter school capitalizes on Saugus connections

SAUGUS – The Pioneer Charter School of Science, an institution that aims to develop some of the brightest minds in math and science, has arrived in Saugus.The school’s chief executive officer, Barish Icin, explained that the number of Saugus students continued to climb after the first campus opened in Everett seven years ago.”We always had that Saugus connection,” he said.Icin added that although some students from Everett and Revere attend Pioneer Saugus, “Saugus and Lynn, by far, have the biggest representation.”A single-floor Pioneer School was opened on Aug. 16 atop the hill at 97 Main St.Icin said there are 230 students in grades 7 through 10 at the Saugus location for a breakdown of 22 students per class.However, Icin said grades 11 and 12 will be added over the next two years, bringing the number of students to 360.He explained that next summer a second level will be added to the small, modular-style building to accommodate more students.Icin pointed out that a modular building is more cost-effective and has “the same life expectancy as a brick and stone building.”Icin said he was proud and surprised when Pioneer was listed in Boston magazine’s “Top 50 Schools in Boston” for 2014. Only one other charter school was included on the list.”There are so many great charter schools in Boston and that publication decided to pick us,” he said.Campus Director Shayne Turkolu pointed out that parents choose to send their children to Pioneer because they are dissatisfied with the public schools’ curriculum, find there is a lack of communication at the schools or want to avoid bullying and overcrowding.”Parent-teacher communication has been mentioned a few times,” he said.Icin said that 91 percent of his ninth-graders achieved proficient or advanced scores on this year’s science MCAS standardized exam.”This school, being a first-year school, did very well on the MCAS,” he said.Icin explained that this can be attributed to a 200-day academic year, an eight-hour school day and a highly skilled faculty.”Our teachers are really dedicated,” he said. “If you drive by at 8 or 9 p.m., you will see lights on, we don’t ask them to stay that long.”In addition, he explained that students must complete five math courses and five science courses in order to graduate.”We are a school that focuses on math and science,” he said.Although Pioneer will not dismiss students based on poor academic performance, Icin said they must score 60 or higher in their core classes to move on to the next grade. Classroom interaction also plays a key role.”Sitting in class silently and not causing the teacher any trouble, that won’t get you an A or a B,” said Icin.After leaving Pioneer, he said the majority of graduates go on to schools such as Columbia, Brown, Cornell and MIT.