Courtesy photo Middle school students at 2nd Nature Academy build a model to test its stability on an earthquake simulator. The school will be offering 12 scholarships to qualifying students for a four-year high school education for the 2019-20 academic term.

As noted in the school’s mission statement, the educational community is “student-centered with core values focused on inquiry, exploration, collaboration and problem solving.”

The academy is looking to make its education accessible to as many students as possible and is looking to create more opportunities for underprivileged youth in the community who may learn more effectively a different way, to reach their full potential.

The school’s educational model offers New England Association of School and Colleges-accredited curriculum, small classroom sizes, an emphasis on life skills, multiple-language instruction and hands-on outdoor education.

“We try to have a community of diverse learners and backgrounds and we want to make this education available to as many deserving kids as possible,” said

Deborah Gleeson, academy head and co-founder/president of The Nature of Things.

While the school is inclusive, they also want to make sure the students who come to school are a good match to the school’s mission and philosophy — that it is the right fit for the whole family, Gleeson said.

This school does not offer the traditional education that many high schools do, which typically involves students sitting at desks for much of the day, learning isolated subjects in a very structured manner.

“We’re giving opportunities to have students engaged in real-world, real-life problems,” Gleeson said.

Gleeson said the school offers inquiry-based learning, through which students can advance further and grow as they learn. Students learn through thinking critically and solving problems.

Gleeson also said subjects such as math and science, or history and language arts, are integrated.

“We define a problem, ask a question and research it to find the answer,” Gleeson said.

“Students have to be highly motivated and willing to put a lot of effort into learning,” she added.

Gleeson said they prefer for families to tour the school before they fill out an application. This way, they can meet with parents and students and make sure the school is a good fit.

Students who are interested will then need to fill out an application for both admission and tuition, submit an essay and have teacher recommendations. Parents will also have to answer questions.

Gleeson said students are also required to attend a visit day. Scholarships are need-based and will be granted to qualifying families.

The academy is looking for students who:

• are engaged, innovative, resilient, collaborative, compassionate and mindful;

• possess a strong work ethic;

• understand the importance of community and actively participate as positive members;

• have strong academic records demonstrating effort and achievement; and

• come highly recommended by educational and community leaders.

Scholarships will be reviewed annually and are dependent upon:

• family’s continuing financial need

• student’s satisfactory academic progress

• student maintaining satisfactory behavior

• parental cooperation and support

Those interested in acquiring more information can visit the school’s website at www.2ndNatureAcademy.com.

Grace Pecci may be reached at 594-1243, or at gpecci@nashuatelegraph.com.

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