Memphis Charter School Focuses on Math, Science
Published Apr 07, 2003
The Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering, with Principal Tommie Henderson at the helm, opened its doors in August 2003.
That could be the mission statement of the Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering, which opened Aug. 18, 2003, as a center of excellence for teaching math, science and engineering to students in grades 7 through 12.
The Memphis Biotech Foundation spearheaded the school’s establishment and is raising private dollars to renovate and retrofit a downtown building. The state’s first charter school, MASE accepted 125 seventh- graders for its first year in operation and will add a new seventh-grade class annually until it reaches capacity.
Principal Tommie Henderson explains that “the absolute ultimate goal” is a better workforce, one trained to answer business and industry’s call for science-savvy pros. Born and raised in Memphis, Henderson returned to his hometown to help rejuvenate his high school alma mater’s engineering program. With a degree in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Henderson also spent time drafting what he believed would be an ideal high-tech curriculum. He says his idea and the Biotech Foundation’s nonprofit status were the perfect combination to launch a charter school.
MASE is open to all students, but in keeping with the intent of state law, the school works to give at-risk students a chance at a better education. Henderson says 75.2 percent of the school’s first class is composed of students who otherwise would have attended a school under state oversight for academic problems.
MASE students attend school for 10.5 months per year, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and on Saturday mornings. It’s a regimen the students relish.
“You should see these rising seventh-graders as they sit in discussions with their parents,” Henderson says. “We talk about the long hours and the intensity of the classes, and these young kids are saying, ‘I can’t wait!’ ”
Story by Sharon H. Fitzgerald
Photo by Harrison McClary
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