Your student can thrive here. Find out how.

Is UMA for You?

As a public charter school, we provide high-quality education through innovative teaching methods that foster the innate creativity of every child and help promote achievement through practical applications and relational learning.

Top 10 Reasons UMA is Unique

10) MOTIVATED, INSPIRED STUDENTS engaging actively and collaboratively in class and in their communities.

09) COMMITTED, PASSIONATE PARENTS volunteering their time, sharing their talents, and singing the praises of UMA.

08) DYNAMIC, INSPIRED STAFF embracing professional development and unique “teacher as designer” concept.

07) DEDICATED HIGH SCHOOL TEAM working with students on capstone projects, internships, and post-secondary options.

06) HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT promoting academic growth, self-advocacy, and social-emotional resilience.

05) CULTURE OF INNOVATION and PROGRESSIVENESS empowering out-of-the-box thinking.

04) AUTHENTIC, EXPERIENTIAL learning opportunities promoting success in school and maximum opportunities in life.

03) TOOLS, MATERIALS, and RESOURCES enabling active, hands-on investigations.

02) EXPANDED SCHOOLYARD offering frequent interactions with neighbors and nature.

01) EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PATHWAYS!

Follow these steps to learn more and determine if this is a good learning environment for your student.

Our Curriculum

To support our primary goal of providing a practical, high-quality education, our middle school and high school teachers have designed a unique curriculum through Experiential Learning Pathways, which foster creativity and promote achievement through hands-on practical application. Our program design not only addresses academic standards, it provides students with skills that are directly applicable to everyday life and experiences they can build on throughout the rest of their lives.

Our Values

UMA provides a unique environment in which students and teachers are engaged together in learning that is rigorous, relevant, and relational.

The following values guide our program design, inform academic experiences and provide significant and meaningful opportunities for collaboration with peers, teachers, and community experts in all content areas.

Together, we are more than the sum of our parts.

We achieve more by working together. Our students, parents, faculty, administration, and Board nurture a collaborative environment to remove artificial barriers between subjects, grade levels, and our school and community. This collaborative spirit allows us to do more with less, develops important 21st-century skills, and produces a welcoming environment for all.

We learn best when exercising our creativity.
We recognize that all students are inherently unique and creative. Our focus on active learning and design-thinking requires our students and teachers to innovate throughout the learning process.

We celebrate the freedom to discover.
We view failure, not as an end itself, but as a way to nurture learning, innovative thinking and persistence.

We engage in our communities.
We are a presence in our dynamic community. Our students see academic content in real world context, network with neighbors and local business leaders, exhibit their creations, and shape their current and future role in a global society.

The best way to learn more about UMA? Stop by for a tour.

Upper Mississippi Academy

Upper Mississippi Academy is a public charter school providing high-quality education for students in grades 6-12 in the St. Paul-Minneapolis metro area. Located in downtown St. Paul, UMA’s experiential, collaborative environment encourages dynamic teaching and learning through an interdisciplinary and multi-dimensional instructional approach.

General

Attendance

p. 651-528-8091, opt. 2
[email protected]

School Bus

p. 651-251-8080