Mastery Charter Schools is a nationally recognized leader in school turnarounds. We believe that educational inequity is the most pressing social problem facing our country—the civil rights issue of our day. Mastery exists to solve the problem.
Mastery currently operates four schools in Philadelphia serving 2,100 students in grades 7 through 12. Through a unique partnership with the School District of Philadelphia, three of the schools were turnarounds of low performing District schools. After Mastery assumed management of these schools, test scores increased an average of 52 percentage points per subject in every grade while violence dropped 80% and student retention increased dramatically. We are proud that all of our turnaround schools have closed the achievement gap in 8th grade math and two have closed the gap in reading. These are the same students in the same buildings, showing breakthrough results.
Here’s what President Obama has to say about Mastery Charter Schools:
“There’s a charter school called Mastery in Philadelphia. And in just two years, three of the schools that Mastery has taken over have seen reading and math levels nearly double –- in some cases, triple… One school called Pickett went from just 14 percent of students being proficient in math to almost 70 percent. Now -- and here’s the kicker -- at the same time academic performance improved, violence dropped by 80 percent -– 80 percent. And that’s no coincidence. Now, if a school like Mastery can do it, if Pickett can do it, every troubled school can do it. But that means we’re going to have to shake some things up. Setting high standards, common standards, empowering students to meet them; partnering with our teachers to achieve excellence in the classroom; educating our children -- all of them -- to graduate ready for college, ready for a career, ready to make most of their lives -- none of this should be controversial.”
-- President Barack Obama, July 29, 2010, during remarks on education reform at the National Urban
League Centennial Conference
In fall 2010 Mastery will open three new elementary schools in Philadelphia. All three will be turnarounds of low performing District schools.
It Can Be Done: Turning Around America's Lowest Achieving Schools
Watch Department of Education Video highlighting Mastery
Mastery insists on high expectations and high support so all students can achieve success.
Our teachers are outstanding and relentlessly committed to student achievement. Mastery instruction means teaching and supporting students until they learn. Student performance data directs every aspect of our work. We create achievement-focused schools by sweating the small stuff while fostering personalized relationships between students and adults. We live by our motto: "Excellence. No Excuses."
Mastery Charter Schools Awarded the Gold AND the Silver!
For the 2nd consecutive year, Mastery Charter Schools was awarded top honors by federally funded Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC) program for our dramatic increases in student achievement. Three of our schools were among the 22 national winners and our newest turnaround school, the Pickett Campus in Germantown, was a runner up.
This puts all four Mastery Charter Schools among the 22 highest ranked charter schools in the EPIC National Charter School Consortium nationwide.
