March 17, 2022

Celebrating Women’s History Month: A Teaching Workshop

As the zoom room began to fill, Jill Clingan wished participants a Happy Women’s History Month! A few people danced and sent celebratory emojis.  Later, Kathryn Fishman-Weaver challenged the group to audit their lessons for that kind of joy. “In our work to affirm young people and teach more complete stories, we want to offer stories of joy and celebration.”  The twenty or so participants attending this workshop hoped to learn more about teaching Women’s History Month in the middle and high school classroom. They also brought ideas, resources, and invaluable perspectives to share.  Most of the educators in…

Feb. 4, 2022

Teaching and Learning with Global Neighbors – Faculty Spotlight, Kimberly Kester

Since fall of 2021, Missouri has recently welcomed close to 2,000 Afghan refugees. Several members of the Mizzou Academy faculty are involved in resettlement and welcoming efforts. This month, we want to highlight Kimberly Kester’s work teaching an English class to a group of Afghan refugee women in the Joplin, Missouri area.  Ms. Kester shared that in her class, “There are eight women and many children. As newcomers who have lived through trauma, navigating these early needs is multi-layered. Before we work on academic learning, we have to focus on food and shelter. Access to educational resources is a cultural…

Jan. 11, 2022

Mizzou Academy is Recognized as a “Hometown Hero”

Earlier this month (January 2022) Mizzou Academy was recognized as a Hometown Hero by New Chapter Coaching, a non-profit consulting and coaching group. Last year, our leadership team worked with New Chapter to develop and launch our current strategic plan. We were honored to be featured in their recent newsletter. Please find this bright story below. Hometown Hero—Mizzou Academy Mizzou Academy Graduation Housed in the University of Missouri’s College of Education and Human Development, Mizzou Academy is a blended, global school system. Mizzou Academy serves close to 8,000 students annually in its elementary, middle, and high school…

Dec. 8, 2021

Socks of Hope – Mizzou Academy Service Initiative

Our Mizzou Global Scholars program teaches young people that they don’t have to wait to start making a difference on the issues that matter to them and their community. In this service feature, read about how a group of Grade 8 scholars inspired action in both São Paulo, SP, and Columbia, MO. Grade 8 student leaders organizing socks during the project The Grade 8 Scholars at Colegio Magno (São Paulo, SP) wanted to do something meaningful to support the homeless community near their school. After researching key needs of the housing insecure population, they learned that socks are a priority…

Dec. 3, 2021

Karen Scales – Winter Honor Award Recipient

Our Townsend office was buzzing with activity around our cookie-filled table as those who could attend in-person and those on zoom swapped stories from the recent Thanksgiving holiday. To kick off our first cookie exchange, Dr. Kathryn Fishman-Weaver and Interim Dean Lembke gathered the group together for some surprise announcements. One of these announcements was the presentation of our winter Honor Awards. The Mizzou Academy Honor celebrates, appreciates, and honors the contributions of our team. The quarterly, peer-nominated award is open to all Mizzou Academy employees. Each quarter, the administrative team has the difficult task of sorting through exceptional…

Nov. 15, 2021

From the Online Classroom to the Ice Rink – Student Feature, Ava Fleury

When Greg Soden, our Lead Speech and Debate Teacher came across Ava Fleury’s recent assignment in the Mizzou Academy Introduction to Speech course he was so impressed that he shared it with several faculty members. This assignment asks scholars to demonstrate a skill of their choice. Ava produced a fantastic video confidently outlining figure skating basics for a lay audience.

Oct. 7, 2021

Megan Lilien, Technology Innovator Award Recipient 2021

Megan Lilien, Science, Health, and P.E. Division Chair at Mizzou Academy, was named the winner of the Technology Innovator Award by the Science Teachers of Missouri (STOM).  As an online and blended teacher, Megan Lilien has honed her skills in instructional design, teaching at a distance, and building relationships through technology-mediated methods.  Lilien’s work helps expand access to the sciences and health education locally and internationally. Additionally, she served an important role in mitigating learning disruptions due to COVID. Below are five examples that speak to these commitments: Local Impact—Middle School: She authored and supported middle school science…

Oct. 6, 2021

September School Leadership Conference

On Friday, September 10, 2021, the Mizzou Academy Team held a school leadership conference with coordinators and administrators from our Brazil partner schools. The conference had nearly 50 attendees with more than 30 schools represented. The theme for the conference was A New Season in School Leadership. “Mizzou Academy has always operated on the belief that the world is small and deeply connected,” shared Executive Director Dr. Kathryn Fishman-Weaver in her opening remarks on the conference theme. “This last year, however, has shown us new dimensions and possibilities for our connected world. Without leaving our homes,…