WELCOME! Upper Mississippi Academy is a public charter school serving grades 6-12. We are a collaborative community engaging lifelong learners in active, authentic experiences through our four Experiential Learning Pathways.

Our middle school features the best of rigorous curriculum plus fun and activity. With everything from building CO2 cars in sixth-grade science to exploring identities in an eighth-grade exhibition, we build academic skills through hands-on, collaborative learning.

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High school teachers at UMA understand the importance of these four years both academically and socially. Teachers collaborate across subjects to break down traditional silos, and students learn to work together and take charge of designing and discovering their own learning.

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UMA first opened its doors in 2013 in partnership with our authorizer, Innovative Quality Schools (IQS). This fall marks our fifth year of providing engaging and rigorous academic and experiential instruction to students from across the metro area.

UMA’s outstanding faculty and staff are passionate about learning. They take on the role of “teachers as designers”  to develop authentic learning opportunities where students eventually become the designers of their own educations. We provide a high-quality education by infusing all subjects with our four Learning Pathways: River to River, Design & Engineering, Edible Schoolyard, and Essential Ingredients.

We are committed to honoring diversity, both in school culture and in coursework. UMA supports a collaborative, cross-­curricular instructional approach. We recognize that the integration of the arts, sciences, humanities, languages, physical education, and mathematics leads to a complete education. At UMA we recognize that learning is a distinct, personal process. We celebrate and honor individual learning styles and abilities as we help our students develop 21st-century problem-solving skills.

We strive to make UMA a safe and secure environment. It is expected that the adults and students at our school treat each other with respect and dignity.  Our goal is that everyone who enters our school experiences a warm and welcoming environment conducive to learning.

We look forward to seeing you at Upper Mississippi Academy as we commit to making 2017-2018 an enriching year for the UMA Community!

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