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What is a Traditional Academy?

Older and younger student read together

Ward Traditional Academy is a choice school in Tempe Elementary Schools, serving students from kindergarten through eighth grade. Through acceleration and direct instruction, Ward provides learning experiences that challenge students and encourage them to reach new heights.

We sat down with Principal Amy Bemis and Literacy Coach Jody Marquis to learn more about this accelerated elementary and middle school option.

One of the pillars of Ward’s curriculum is Spalding. What is that?

Amy: Spalding is a systematic and structured way of teaching English Language Arts (ELA). So students are learning reading, writing, comprehension, and spelling. They're also learning printing and cursive handwriting.

This structured way of teaching foundational literacy skills really creates that strong foundation for kids. They are able to encode and decode words when reading, and they're writing in a very structured and systematic way. 

Jody: Spalding is a reading and spelling curriculum that we use in our K-5 classrooms. It relies on direct, explicit instruction starting at the very beginning with our youngest learners. Spalding works on the phonemic and orthographic levels of language to ensure that our kids have the foundational skills that they need to be successful readers and writers. When they have Spalding skills, they can really focus on the task at hand, rather than spelling and reading the words correctly.

Principal taking a selfie with a group of students
What does math instruction at Ward look like?

Amy: Ward Traditional Academy is an accelerated model. So our students come into kindergarten and they learn kindergarten math standards combined with first grade math standards. Through their foundational years, they'll continue to be a grade level above. As students enter their middle school years, this allows for them to take algebra and/or geometry while they're in middle school with us. Those courses are high school level courses, so students then have two credits of mathematics as they move on into their high school. 

Part of the traditional school experience is the direct instruction model. Can you describe how Ward integrates this philosophy while also incorporating collaborative groups?

Amy: Ward Traditional Academy starts out with direct instruction for all new topics. This is the teacher presenting the new concepts through direct instruction and structured activities. As students become more fluent and comfortable with those topics, they are given opportunities for collaboration to develop those critical thinking, problem solving, and collaborative opportunities that really creates the whole child.

Students exploring artifacts at museum
What makes Ward Traditional Academy an exceptional choice school for students?

Amy: We are a choice school so parents and students choose to come here. There's great pride in students coming to Ward Traditional Academy. There's a long standing reputation for hard work and acceleration, and students want to achieve. They want to be part of the Warrior community. When students move on into high school, they are proud to say that they were a Ward Warrior. 

Learn more about what it means to be a Ward Traditional Academy student at the Open House on Tuesday, December 3 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. 


About Ward Traditional Academy
Ward Traditional Academy is a K-8 neighborhood choice school in Tempe Elementary Schools with approximately 450 students. Ward uniquely focuses on blending traditional instruction, educational research, and high student achievement through a positive climate and high academic expectations. Learn more about Ward Traditional Academy.