MYSA Curious

[Anonymous]

Anybody have first hand knowledge about MYSA and high school? How many students per class? Good or bad feedback? No tuition information listed on their web site - cost?

[Anonymous]

Tuition is $20K. We looked at it for high school. It was very small at that time in upper school grades - maybe 10-15 kids total. It may be bigger now after the pandemic. I liked it a lot, but it was not enough structure for my kid, so we went elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Can any families with students who are currently attending Mysa or who previously attended Mysa share their experiences with the school, academics, and community? How have your children liked it? How are the teachers? Would you recommend it for an elementary student?

[Anonymous]

What is MYSA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is MYSA?

A micro school: https://mysaschool.org/

[Anonymous]

I didn't seriously consider it for my DC because it wasn't a good fit. He needs sports and a bigger school to be happy, but I have a friend whose kid goes to MYSA and they love it. The kid is very quirky and it's worked quite well for them.

[Anonymous]

How are the academics at Mysa? Is the curriculum interesting and challenging? Is there a lot of screen time?

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have current experience at Mysa for elementary students? How strong are the teachers and academics?

[Anonymous]

Their model was too dependent on computers for us. There are other micro schools that are less technology focussed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Their model was too dependent on computers for us. There are other micro schools that are less technology focussed.

Thanks. Which other schools use less screen time?

[Anonymous]

We've had our elementary age child at Mysa for the last year and our whole family has loved it. The teachers are thoughtful and engaged, and the curriculum is flexible and personalized to meet each child where they are ready to learn. I actually heard about it through this forum, as the personalization was important to us. It's a small school for independently motivated kids, and the model is not for everyone, but it seems to be working really well for us. Kindness and trust are high priorities, and the teachers and staff have worked hard to build a community of safety and trust for the kids. I haven't found it to be too dependent on computers, but my child is mostly with the younger kids, so I can't speak to the experience of older kids.

[Anonymous]

I don't have direct experience, but like a pp thought it too dependent on computers. I know two kids there, in different grades, who love it.

[Anonymous]

We have a child at Mysa and have been really pleased. He came to Mysa from a large public school where he was doing well but increasingly anxious and unexcited about learning. This was a red flag for us because our child has always loved learning.

In Mysa, we found an environment that nurtures his intrinsic love for learning. He is flourishing. He comes home talking about what he is learning and the projects they are working on. The school isn't resourced like a fancy private school or a public school but they have figured out how to create an engaging and enriching learning environment.

I don't know that my Mysa child is on the computer any more or less than kids at other schools. Computers are very much a tool in schools today, and with some notable exceptions, most middle schoolers and high schools rely on them to complete work. Mysa maybe is unique in giving their students more scheduled time on computers to complete work and practice that which they have learned in the classroom but again haven't see much difference based on my experiences of my other two kids.

I'll just conclude by saying that the teachers have been amazing. He feels challenged academically but to learn material not earn grades. As he gets older, grades will become more important, but for now we're hanging on to learning being the goal.

One more thing, I love that his teachers know him. This was reinforced for me in the narrative reports that they send home twice a year. Each teacher produces a narrative report for each of their students. I read my son's reports and felt like they really understood him, including his personality, social interaction, and academic strengths and opportunities for growth. I saw my kid in those narrative reports. Haven't really had that with the schools that my other kids have gone to and I think it's really important.

Mysa may not be for everyone. The kids who do best tend to be those who have self-discipline and love learning. Conversely, probably doesn't work well for extroverts who want big friend groups or kids who want to participate in schools sports and clubs.

Happy to answer questions based on our experience.

[Anonymous]

Springwell is another micro school in Silver Spring MD. I have two children enrolled there, and they have a nice balance around tech. Students can use screens for research and writing, but it's balanced with plenty of time outside and instruction/enrichment. www.springwell.school is their website.

[Anonymous]

Mysa was on ABC channel 5 yesterday (April17th). It's $20,000.