LYNN — With the school year nearing its end, Lynn Public Schools (LPS) is focused on completing the City Arts and Sciences Academy (CASA).
The school will be based in the Fecteau-Leary building at 33 North Common St., which will receive renovations before the start of the year. The school will be for grades 6 through 12.
“As we prepare to open CASA, our new 6-12 STEAM school, we are not just updating a facility. We are building futures,” Superintendent Dr. Evonne S. Alvarez said. “This school represents our community’s deep commitment to equipping students with the skills, creativity, and critical thinking they’ll need to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
“By integrating science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics, we are preparing our young people to lead, innovate, and shape the future with confidence and purpose.”
LPS has been exploring the idea of CASA for the past two years, according to Executive Director of Innovation and Grants Management Dr. Shannon Gardner.
“We have a growing population of students in the district. This prompted us to really be thinking about all of our learning spaces that we have available,” she said.
Gardner continued that LPS knew the academy was an exciting new choice for students and families to explore.
“All of the new learning spaces that we want to open, we want to be innovative and we want to engage students. When students are deeply interested in a pathway, they are engaged. That’s what we’re looking to build at City Arts and Sciences Academy,” she said.
The district visited two schools while exploring the idea of CASA: Boston Arts Academy and Baxter Academy for Technology and Science in Portland, Maine.
“Both of those schools were using STEM pathways, and we could see a different type of school day that was occurring. Students had pathways for their interest in those schools. Students had independent learning and projects, and those were great models for us to see,” Gardner said.
CASA will have project-based learning to help connect learning skills in multiple content areas to provide students a different type of learning experience.
“What we envision is student are learning their content areas, but we’re bringing it together through projects. Project-based learning is at the foundation of the design at CASA,” she said. “Teachers from different content areas will have one day out of the five days where students will be working on projects that are connected to their content areas.”
When asked what the response has been from parents and students, she said that they’ve heard from many who have recognized CASA as the place for them.
“Artists, musicians, critical thinkers, and problem solvers all can find their place at City Arts and Sciences Academy,” she said.
Gardner also explained that CASA was created with trimesters to give students more opportunities to explore electives.
“There will be more opportunities for students to do more of what they’re interested in and that they love. If they want to spend more time in art, music, engineering, or environmental science, we have more opportunities for them to do that,” she said. Gardner also mentioned that the school days will be longer for this same reason.
The school will be opening in September and has already gone through the lottery and recruitment process. Anyone looking for more information can visit the school’s website.
