001[Music] Hi, I'm Chris Merrill, the principal of the Madison Traditional Academy. MTA is home to the traditional philosophy signature program. Students thrive in MTA's traditional learning environment because it instills discipline, confidence, and a love of learning. The structured approach helps students develop strong study habits, critical thinking skills, and a sense of responsibility. The traditional philosophy program at MTA focuses on developing fundamental and highlevel thinking in students using a structured curriculum. MTA's traditional philosophy program comes with high expectations that includes behavior and academics. Part of a traditional philosophy would be direct instruction. We actually do more independent work and the teacher is giving the instruction. I'm the expert in the content. So, they are getting the instruction from the expert in the room and then they practice it independently on their own. An advanced language arts
002class, students engage with more challenging material. They tend to work at a faster pace and they go into a deeper analysis of the text that we read. In my classroom, an advanced curriculum looks like we are working math a grade ahead, higher level thinking. It requires the students to actually break the problems apart. MTA's math program is designed to challenge students with a focus on critical thinking and problem solving. All grades teach math one year in advance and the curriculum builds on foundational concepts moving into an advanced topics like algebra, geometry, and even pre-calculus. I teach math and we're a year ahead and we keep the rigor really high. So, we assign homework every night. We make sure to assess them, give them feedback, and then reassess them. A subject that I really enjoy at
003school is math. I feel like it's just like one big puzzle when I solve for it. We learn a year ahead, so it always makes me feel more prepared as I go into the next grade. My favorite subject is probably math. If there's like a complicated problem, my teacher just breaks it down and makes it um simple. A student that thrives at MTA is one who has the desire to do well and they have support at home from their parents or family members who also have high expectations and want them to succeed and do well. If you're looking for academic rigor and structure, MTA is definitely the place for you. I think you'll be blown away at your child's success here. What inspired me to enroll my kids at school here was a friend of
004mine told me about this hidden gem of a school here in the Madison school district called MTA. My husband and I toured the school and we were blown away. So, we started our kids at the preschool and then they've gone all the way through. They love it so much that they tell me at 7:15 that we are going to be late because they want to be here as soon as the door opens. So, it's always a good feeling as a parent to drop off your kids when they want to be there. Not only am I an MTA teacher, I'm an MTA parent. I choose to send my son to MTA because of the rigorous learning environment. My kids have been set up for success here because the bar has been set high from the very
005beginning. I already have two kids who've gone through high school and have found success and really felt like MTA prepared them. In fact, they were nervous to start high school and then realized, "Oh, this isn't that hard." Because they already had the skills in them. I think MTA prepared me for being able to believe in myself. I'm just ready to go on to the next step. And MTA is such a beautiful campus. It's so clean and it's just it's been an amazing home ever since I was in kindergarten. My favorite thing about MTA is the community. I've had the opportunity over the years to teach multiple students from the same family, to get to know the parents and the students, and then the community within our staff. I really enjoy coming to work every day.
006The community here at MTA is like no other. It is unique in the sense that parents and families choose to send their kids here and they choose to have an active role in their child's education. And that really is what sets us apart. At MTA, we do have a lot of parent involvement, and I think that's what makes it feel like a really close-knit community. The kids are here for several years because we're a K8 school, and so over the years, we become a family. Through the MTA family commitment, parents play an active role in their child's education. from volunteering in classrooms and participating in school events to supporting homework and projects at home. The volunteer requirement is five hours per quarter. There's so many ways to get involved. You can help with field day,
007um the family funfest. There's so many ways to get involved and to get your volunteer time. If you're interested in sending your kids to MTA, I would strongly urge you to schedule a tour. It really is the best way to get a feel for the campus. can also reach out on social media, meet other parents that are here. Once I met another parent that was here, and they could explain to me all the things that were so beneficial about the school. It was a no-brainer choice for our family. If I had to use one word to describe MTA, I would say excellence. I would describe MTA as a community. Exceptional impact. Positive impact on our students, on our community, and our future. In one word, I would say MTA is structured, smart. It stands for
008safe, mindful, accountable, respectful, and trustworthy. MTA is great.