One City Preparatory Academy (OCPA) is a unique school that combines the features of an EL Education Network School and an Early College and Career Model. OCPA will offer the highly regarded Expeditionary Learning curriculum in sixth through eighth grades and a high school experience that gives you college credit and real career experience.
We Are Designed To Do School Differently
Emphasis is placed not just on academic skill development, but also on individual and community character skills such as empathy, flexibility, curiosity, and grit. By emphasizing doing instead of memorizing, our scholars are taught how to be lifelong learners and thinkers, equipped to approach unpredictable challenges ahead with confidence.
Grades 6 - 8
Middle School
Understand Your Rhythm
Middle schoolers are encouraged to find their own rhythm through interdisciplinary expeditions guided by our community. Our middle school program embraces how adolescents learn best: through engaging and grappling with content that connects across disciplines.
Dive Into Learning through four 8-week expeditions that allow scholars to discover a range of related ideas and concepts.
We guide differently. At One City, scholars are empowered to create their own rhythm by crafting their personal high school experience with mentors by their side.
One City offers a technology-free classroom environment. Our children do not use handheld devices or computers in their classrooms. The only exception are assessments our children may complete to determine their learning growth and development
The Pleasant T. Rowland Leadership Campus
A fully renovated 157,000 square-foot school facility, outdoor playgrounds and recreational space and a new 165,000 square-foot athletic center that will be open to community use beyond school hours.
A Large Exploration Space for Learning and Innovation
Inside the building we are developing innovative spaces, including everything from a beauty/barber salon, to a student-run DJ booth, coffee shop, school store, and Summit Credit Union branch, to teacher training suites where new teachers can learn from seasoned professionals through one-way glass.
Come see for yourself what makes One City unique
Learn more about One City Schools. Review and prepare for our Enrollment Process for 2023 - 2024 School Year.
Our middle school program embraces how adolescents learn best: through both engaging and grappling with content that connects across disciplines.
The Expeditionary Learning (EL) curriculum provides the foundation for truly interdisciplinary units of study for our scholars in Grades 6-8. Each day, in addition to two interdisciplinary periods of study, scholars engage in stand-alone courses in math and Spanish as well as clubs, activities, and athletics.
We embrace a whole child approach to education and believe firmly in learning as a social and ongoing process that lasts a lifetime. We believe that knowledge is a process, not an endpoint, and we design our program accordingly.
Our high school students are immersed in growth opportunities ranging from traditional academics to character and life skills, with college coursework, career internships, and life skills programs. We aim to graduate thinkers, learners, and problem-solvers ready to tackle life’s challenges and provide effective leadership in their lives beyond high school.
Our Middle and High Schoolers will be Ready to Take Their Place in the Rapidly Changing Global Economy
Offering Early College and Career Learning Opportunities
As we develop our secondary school, we are in the process of establishing partnerships with local, state, and national organizations who share our mission of eliminating obstacles for our Black, Brown, Hispanic, Latino, and low-income scholars.
One City Schools Uses a Standards-based Assessment System
Showing off Their Journey
Scholars will be asked to create a portfolio of their school experience by selecting evidence of their learning throughout their journey as a scholar. Portfolios are collections of scholars’ best work across a semester, a year, and eventually their entire high school experience. Portfolios are structured around learning goals, include artifacts of student learning, are assembled with teacher feedback and student revision, and are assessed using standards-based rubrics. In many ways, they are a much better reflection of how adults work in their personal and professional lives than traditional school assessments.
Our Process
The process begins with teachers identifying the learning targets, including content and skill goals and core competencies that foster holistic growth. All work completed for classes is aligned to teacher-identified competencies and standards. Scholars receive multiple opportunities to master these goals while receiving feedback that will guide them through the process. For their portfolio, scholars are asked to identify personally meaningful work products to show their mastery. Our belief in the importance of a growth mindset is illuminated by this process.
Our Extra Mile
Longer School Days
Scholars enrolled in One City Expeditionary Elementary School (OCEES), in grades 4K and above, attend school for 219 days during their school year compared to scholars in other traditional public schools in Wisconsin that attend school for 180 days.
Our scholars begin school the first weekday in September and complete the last Friday in July of the following year, every year. We also offer a tuition-free full-day 4Kprogram unlike other local public schools that offer half-day 4K programs.
Our children typically attend school from 8:00 am to 4:30pm daily. Start and end times are staggered during the COVID-19 pandemic for the safety of the One City community.
Student Support Services
One City Schools offers a broad set of support to both scholars and families as part of its two-generational model.
For scholars, this includes a full range of Special Education services that are coordinated by our Special Education Department including speech and language pathology, occupational therapy services, and IEP administration and support.
One City’s Vice President of Family and Community Initiatives and team strive to pair scholars and families with opportunities that are beyond the scope of a typical school program. This includes organizing Families and Schools Together, an 8-week family engagement program that runs multiple cohorts throughout the school year. The team also organizes One City’s Extended Learning Academies, which expose scholars to a range of extra-curricular offerings during the school day.
All One City scholars have access to daily free meals (breakfast, lunch and afternoon/afterschool snack) through One City’s participation in USDA’s Community Eligibility Provision.
Extension Opportunities
One City Preparatory Academy provides enrichment opportunities for its scholars by offering clubs and athletics, both in-house and with outside specialists, as part of its daily schedule. Additionally, 1 or 2-week immersive workshops are offered for secondary school students throughout the year.
Extended Day Learning Academies
One City enhances its curriculum for children by offering 4 to 8-week co-curricular learning experiences that many parents without financial means cannot afford for their children.
We offer marital arts to support the development of strong character and positive self-discipline. We offer visual and performing arts, sports and fitness programs, and opportunities for children to engage in free-play with materials that inspire complex problem solving and group learning.
Our children will also learn to swim, ice skate and play soccer. They will learn yoga and mindfulness, and take field trips that build on their personal interests and learning in school.
Our Graduates
One City Scholars will graduate from our school but will always remain part of our community
They will emerge from our program as thinkers, learners, and problem-solvers ready to tackle life’s challenges with effective communication skills. They will be prepared to lead in the local and global community and serve as role models, mentors, and problem solvers. They will understand the importance of reflection, perseverance, compassion, and risk-taking. One City scholars, to put it simply, will make the world a better place.
Community Members Part of This Growing Family
We (and you) are part of this ONE CITY
We seek community members eager to help us lay the groundwork for higher education partnerships, businesses who want to visit our school and enrich the daily learning experience, and organizations looking for interns, apprentices, and career exposure opportunities that will help our scholars determine their personal paths.
Please, Reach Out If You are Interested in Working With Our Future Scholars
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FAQs
Are you open to all students?
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We are a free public school open to all students in Grades 6-12 in the state of Wisconsin. We are an independently authorized charter school, which means we are not part of nor associated with a school district.
What is a charter school?
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A charter school is a free, public school that is created under a contract between an authorizer and an operator. Charter schools are given the autonomy and flexibility to be creative and innovative in return for higher expectations and more accountability. At One City, our mission is to seed a new model of public education. We take our mission seriously and innovate in ways we hope larger districts can imitate once our data proves our methods to be successful.
Do you provide meals?
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We have a head chef and multiple sous chefs who provide healthy, prepared-from-scratch breakfast, snack, and lunch on a daily basis to our scholars. We strongly believe in the importance of physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being.
Do you provide special education services?
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We have a full special education department, including speech and language services. For specific questions related to your scholar, please reach out to our Director of Special Education, Kimberly Anderson, at kanderson@onecityschools.org.
Do you provide transportation?
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No. We are a commuter school located on a Madison bus line. Families must arrange transportation to and from school for their scholar(s).
What are the school hours?
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We run a longer school day and longer school year in order to provide as many opportunities as possible for our scholars. Our school day runs from 8:15 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. (or longer depending on whether your high school scholar is involved in athletics). Our school year runs from September 1, 2022 through July 28, 2023 with standard school year breaks such as Thanksgiving, winter break, spring break, and national holidays that typically align with the MMSD School Calendar There is a 1-week intercession in June as well as August vacation for scholars.
What are your homework policies?
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Every child is unique in their individual pacing and course selections. With a longer school day, we aim to build in time for individual, small group, and large group work. However, we will have highschool scholars taking college level courses and they may need to do some work outside of school hours depending on the course and their involvement in other activities.
Are your classes integrated or taught separately?
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In middle school, we offer four fully-integrated 8-week expeditions and 3 1-week stand-alone workshops. In high school, we offer a combination of integrated and stand-alone courses as well as workshops, job shadows, apprenticeships, and internships.
Are your teachers certified?
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As a public school in the state of Wisconsin, our teachers are required to be certified.
What standards do you use?
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Our standards are based on Common Core standards as well as standards provided through various subject-specific organizations such as Next Generation Science Standards. The Expeditionary Learning curriculum is an ELA-based curriculum which uses the Common Core ELA standards.
How many scholars will you serve?
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Middle school (Grades 6-8) will serve 72 scholars per grade with a maximum of 24 scholars per classroom. High School (Grades 9-12) will serve 96 scholars per grade with approximately 24 scholars per class (number may vary slightly depending on course choices). In 2022-23, we will serve scholars in grades 6, 9, and 10.
When will you have your first graduating class?
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Our first graduating class will be in July of 2025!
What is your technology policy?
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In brief, we encourage safe and informed usage of technology to aid in teaching and learning. We understand many scholars have cell phones. We do not permit cell phones to be used during the school day except with explicit permission. We will provide computers for scholar use during the school day.
What are your expectations of families?
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A collaborative and respectful partnership between families and One City is critical to the success of our scholars. We expect our families to be engaged in their scholars’ education, to get them to and from school on time, to ensure they are getting necessary sleep and nutrition, and to communicate with us on a regular basis. We greatly appreciate and need parent volunteers on a regular basis. We offer parent education and networking opportunities through FAST (Families and Schools Together) and Leader in Me throughout the school year.
Will the WIAA have approved your school for sports for the fall season?
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We are in the process of applying to the WIAA and have every reason to believe we will be approved for the fall season. Specific sports will be determined depending on scholar interest.
Will scholars have lockers?
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Yes, scholars will have lockers where they will be expected to place their winter gear (jackets, boots, gloves, hats) each day.
Zero Hour: 8:15-9 Breakfast: 9-9:30 Academies: 9:30-11 Break: 11-11:15 Reconstruction/ Project Lead the Way/ Leader in Me/ Online Courses/ Projects: 11:15-1 Lunch: 1-2 Reconstruction/ Project Lead the Way/ Leader in Me/ Online Courses/ Projects: 2-3:15 Sports/Clubs/Activities: 3-15-4:45+
Will scholars be able to work a job to help support their family?
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Our high school scholars will absolutely be able to work a job–in fact, we encourage them to do so and look forward to partnering with their employer to ensure the scholar is meeting expectations both at work and at school.
What level(s) of math will be offered for high school freshmen?
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Every scholar will have both a stand-alone math course as well as opportunities for math application built into their multidisciplinary seminars. Each scholar will be working at their own individual math level.
Will the students rotate for the whole day with the same group / class of 24 or mix between classes as they go to different classes?
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Scholars will mix depending on their course selections.
How will the arts be incorporated?
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We will infuse arts into our interdisciplinary units, our workshops, and our club and activity offerings. Specific offerings (e.g., Jazz Band, Show Choir, etc.) will be determined by scholar interest.
Welcome
Dear Families
Ms. Devon Davis
Welcome to One City Schools! We are eager to partner with you in our first year of One City Preparatory Academy. This is an exciting time as we develop and hone our offerings to meet the needs of the children of Wisconsin.
We owe this momentous occasion to the hard work and passion of hundreds of community members who believe that quality school experiences build the foundation for future success for our children. Our donors, including anchor donor Pleasant Rowland, made the purchase of our new home at 1707 W Broadway a reality. Kaleem Caire, founder and visionary of One City Schools, planted a seed seven years ago that will continue to grow and blossom in the years to come. Our new home, on the borders of Madison and Monona, includes large outdoor space that will be developed into usable exploration space. Inside the building we are developing innovative spaces including everything from a beauty/barber salon, to a student-run DJ booth, coffee shop, school store, and Summit Credit Union branch, to teacher training suites where new teachers can learn from seasoned professionals through one-way glass.
We have created an interdisciplinary, student-centered, project-based learning experience in a school organized around the principles of community and equity. Emphasis is placed not just on academic skill development, but also on individual and community character skills such as empathy, flexibility, curiosity, and grit. Our scholars are taught how to be lifelong learners and thinkers, equipped to approach unpredictable challenges ahead.
We are excitedly anticipating the arrival of our inaugural OCPA scholars in September of ‘22. In the meantime, please reach out with any questions.
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