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Columbus Signature Academy

Find our more about CSA at Central Middle School

Columbus SignatureAcademyFind our more about CSA at Central Middle School

What is CSA!

CSA is a pathway at Central Middle School that uses project-based learning as its foundation to learning. If you are interested in learning more check out the rest of this newsletter!

What is CSA?

Mr Payne CSA
Columbus Signature Academy-Central uses Project-Based Learning to engage students in authentic and meaningful learning opportunities. One of the critical functions of CSA at Central is the use of interdisciplinary project planning. What this means is that nearly every project a CSA student completes will involve two different subjects. This structure of projects allows for deeper engagement within the content areas while also connecting learning to help students understand that content is not learned in isolation.


CSA also focuses on the development of "soft skills," meaning students do not just leave the program with a better understanding of the content standards but with a greater skillset in a number of areas. Some of these areas include the following:


  • Oral communication
  • An ability to give and receive feedback
  • Professionalism
  • Community Involvement
  • And so much more
CSA Central Info Video

What makes CSA different from other academic programs?

CSA: What Makes CSA Unique?

How does CSA prepare students for high school and beyond?

CSA: High School Readiness

Parent Perspective

CSA Parent

CSA For Developing Language Learners

Project-based learning on the CSA teams provides many opportunities for English language enrichment and community and social connections for multilingual students. The EL teacher at Central Middle School works directly with CSA teachers and students, to provide support and incorporate language objectives into student learning. During projects, students improve speaking skills through collaboration with their peers while solving real-world problems and through public speaking during presentations. Additionally, projects incorporate academic language and vocabulary, which enhances the learning of content to prepare students for high school and beyond. On CSA, students explore and build community connections. Students are able to make connections and be part of the Columbus community in meaningful ways. The CSA team provides a supportive family culture within the classroom. The connections between students and teachers are strong and allow students of all cultures and backgrounds to grow and thrive.

CSA Project Examples

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Horizon House

"My favorite project that I’ve done in CSA was the Horizon House decoration Project in 7th grade because in that project we got to be with a group and design the Horizon House with cardboard and put mini decorations that we wanted on the actual building. At the end of the project, there was a gallery walk and we could vote on who’s group did the best job on decorating and building the house. The top groups with the most votes got to decorate either the Lincoln Central Neighborhood Family Center or the Horizon House. I really enjoyed that project because it was hands-on and I made new friends."

- Mitchell

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Genetics

"The genetics project includes math and science, my favorite school subjects. In the genetics project, all of the students got to learn about how genes are passed down from generation to generation and how to predict the probability of traits. I've learned so much from this project and it has even led me to my own research outside of school."

-Savannah

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Fairytale Books

Uno de mis proyectos favoritos fue "Fairytale Books". Fue un proyecto en el que tuve que crear un libro. Para hacer ese libro tuve que crear una historia. También tuve que dibujar y escribir el libro. Después de hacer ese libro, tuve que leerlo frente a algunos niños de la escuela primaria. Y eso fue algo muy divertido y nuevo en mi vida. Ya que era algo que nunca hice.

-Suanette

Frequently Asked Questions
Click here to find out more of the frequently asked questions that have been received regarding the CSA Program at CMC.