“Imagine Schools has had many reasons to celebrate this spring.
Imagine Clay Avenue Community School had one of its teachers advance to the national level for Teacher of the Year and three of its students place in a national essay contest.
Imagine Madison Avenue School of Arts has had several of its graduating students accepted to the Toledo School of Arts and a full capacity crowd attended the annual Night Under the Stars performance. In addition, both schools are expanding for next fall.
Both Schools Expanding
Imagine Madison Avenue School of Arts, located at 1511 Madison Ave., is undergoing an ambitious expansion this summer, adding many new classrooms, growing its capacity to accommodate up to 250 additional students. Imagine Clay Avenue Community School, located at 1030 Clay Ave., is expanding its campus to an additional building by updating the former St. Martin De Porres, located at 1119 W. Bancroft St., where students in grades 4-7 will attend. Clay students in Grades K-3 will attend at the school’s current location on Clay Avenue.
Teacher and Student Achievements
Imagine Madison Avenue School of Arts annual student showcase Night Under the Stars continues to grow in scope and popularity.
The students played to a full capacity crowd as they performed band, violin and guitar selections. The dance team and show choir gave rousing performances as well.
Student artwork also was on display. Several Madison students have been accepted to Toledo School of Arts for the rest of their education journey.
Two students from Imagine Clay Avenue Community School won national recognition for their essays on character and virtue in the Fifth Annual Imagine Schools National Character Essay Contest.
Clay Avenue fourth grader Jeremyah Belcher won Second Place in the national contest for his essay and Moet Tharpe, also a fourth grader, was awarded Honorable Mention for his essay in the national contest. The contest drew 700 entries from 60 different Imagine schools from across the country. To review a sample of the winning essays, visit the Imagine Schools website: www.imagineschools.org.
Parent Choice
Imagine Clay Avenue Community School and Imagine Madison Avenue School of Arts have been growing by leaps and bounds. Imagine parents are asked to grade their school in several areas each year, and both schools were graded an “A” in Parent Satisfaction.
Imagine Clay Avenue Community School emphasizes math, science, technology and foreign language and offers activities and athletics, including drama club, chess club, basketball and cheerleading. It jumped two categories in its ODE ranking in just one year to Continuous Improvement. It enrolled nearly 100 additional students in one year and met AYP in 2009-10. Imagine Clay Avenue is located at 1030 Clay Avenue. It is currently enrolling new students in Grades K-6.
Imagine Madison Avenue School of Arts emphasizes arts education and offers visual arts, dance team, violin, guitar, band, show choir, art club, and other activities.
The many benefits of an arts education include cognitive, motor, language and social-emotional development. It is currently enrolling students in Grade K-5.
Both Imagine schools offer free tuition, free transportation on school buses; free summer school and free tutoring with free transportation to and from school; quality after-school programming by Kids Unlimited; interactive white boards in every classroom; 100 percent highly qualified teachers; positive behavior reinforcement and character development programs and a safe, loving learning environment.
‘Specials’ are still special at Imagine Schools. Art, music and physical education are valued parts of the curriculum.
Students at both Imagine Schools make outstanding learning gains, averaging 1.05-1.50 years learning growth each school year, as supported by Scantron data.
Julie McLaughlin, Imagine Clay Avenue school leader said, ‘Class openings go quickly at both Imagine Schools and both schools have had to resort to a waiting list in the past. Parents should enroll their child now for 2011-12 to guarantee their spot.’ Daphne Williams, Imagine Madison Avenue school leader said, ‘Imagine Schools place a high value on physical education, music, art and technology and we are committed to keeping these subjects a vital part of the curriculum at our schools,’ she said. ‘I encourage parents to schedule a tour of both of our wonderful Imagine schools and get as much information about their options for their child’s education as they can.’ Both Imagine schools are offering Tuesday Tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 14, 21 and 28 without appointment or any day by appointment.
For more information about Imagine Clay Avenue Community School, call 419-727-9900.”
Article published on June 10, 2011 by the Toledo Journal