Dr. Marques Stewart - Principal - “Whatever it takes!”
18440 Hoover, Detroit, MI  48205

Brenda Scott Academy has been selected to transition to the Education Achievement Authority (EAA) of Michigan. The EAA’s mission is to develop a new approach to educating children who are growing up in a 21st  century digital world and must achieve academic success.

The new Brenda Scott Academy opening in the fall of 2012 will feature a student-centered system of education that emphasizes a culture of continuous improvement. Students will no longer progress through school based on their age and “seat time,” or the required time a student must spend in a class to receive official credit for the class. Students will be organized by instructional levels based on completion of course content rather than by grade levels based on age.

In partnership with Matchbook Learning, a blended curriculum and instructional model will be implemented in 2012 that will radically change the possibilities for teachers and students.  Faculty will participate in an active learning community that builds trusting relationships with administrators, peers, students, parents, and the community.
Enthusiastic classroom teachers and other school leaders are needed—people who are committed to changing the lives of children who have been underserved in this school system.  Though academically lagging, this school will be turnaround with great teachers who are fully committed to the mission and vision.

Principal Profile
Marques Stewart was appointed as Principal at Brenda Scott in June 2012. Dr. Stewart was born in Wiesbaden, Germany and was raised in Pensacola, FL, where he later graduated from Woodham High School in 1996.  Upon graduation from high school he continued his educational career at Alabama State University in Montgomery, AL., where he received a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education.  He continued his pursuit of a acquiring a higher education at Alabama State University and received a Masters in Administration & Supervision and also acquired an Education Specialist Degree in Education Leadership. Dr. Stewart later earned the Doctorate in Education Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Missouri in Columbia.

Dr. Stewart began his teaching career in Montgomery Public Schools in 2001 in Montgomery, AL, and later within Selma City Schools in Selma, AL.  In 2005, he entered the field of administration in Lowndes County Public Schools in Hayneville, AL and served in various administrative capacities spanning from Reading Coach, Assistant Principal, Principal, and as a Middle School Education Specialist.  During this time Dr. Stewart helped with the implementation of the Alabama Reading Initiative, Men in Motion mentoring program, wrote and secured several grant proposals, and assisted in the development of a new curriculum.  During the 2009-2010 school year, Dr. Stewart served in an administrative capacity within the Tuscaloosa City Schools system at Eastwood Middle School.  In 2010, he relocated to Kansas City, Missouri and became the principal at Longfellow Elementary School from 2010-2012. 

In his spare time Dr. Stewart enjoys playing basketball, golf, and spending time with his family.  He is excited to join the EAA and eager to help to ensure that students are college, career, and work force ready.  He prides himself on the ability to stress and demonstrate the importance of relationships with students, parents, staff, and all other community stakeholders.  At Brenda Scott the mantra will be to do “Whatever it Takes” for all students to master the learning goals and make more than adequate progress as it relates to measurable student achievement.

Read more on how Brenda Scott Elementary and Matchbook Learning have partnered together.

A.L. Holmes (ALH) is a K-8 school within the Detroit Public School District.  While the school is a turnaround school, it was given a School Improvement Grant in 2011 to launch a three-year transformation process.  This means that there are great opportunities for the school itself, the faculty, the students, and for top-quality teachers who want to be part of a cutting-edge blended learning program that will be a model for others to follow.  Even though it was historically a bottom 5% school performance-wise in Michigan, the ALH Team is deploying a 21st century blended model of traditional face-to-face and virtual instruction.  Matchbook Learning is the Lead Turnaround Partner that is working closely with the school, District and State leadership in implementing our model.

THE ACADEMIC PROGRAM

Following the Matchbook blended instruction model ALH teachers and administrators take a non-traditional approach to the classroom experience.  This blended model uses live interactive teaching combined with online curriculum and a learning management system, giving students the ability to learn through a highly customized, differentiated format.  Matchbook Learning has implemented the Individual-rotation model of blended learning at A.L. Holmes. Within each subject, small groups of students rotate on a customized schedule among learning modalities, at least one of which is online learning.  The students all have netbooks and rotate on a fixed schedule among modalities, but each group has a unique playlist of where to be and when. They spend roughly half their time with face-to-face teachers, and half with online teachers.

At ALH the children are expected to be able to reteach, reinforce, and repeat the skills and concepts that they have learned, building toward mastery of the key elements in the curriculum.  Not only are the teachers and students involved in the learning process, parents are encouraged to participate as well.  They now have the ability to access their child’s grades and teacher comments from anywhere on the web.

THE FACULTY CULTURE

Matchbook Learning’s vision is to completely turnaround underperforming public schools by designing and implementing a unique teacher-centric blended model of school that coaches teachers to personalize instruction via content that is delivered through technology, but enhanced by a teacher’s own experience of autonomy, mastery and purpose over their instruction. This highly engaged personalized experience for teachers leads to personalized learning for each student who in turn will experience high levels of autonomy over their learning, mastery of the content and habits for success and a life purpose on which to set goals and make decisions. The transformation of schools like ALH will only happen through highly engaged and motivated teachers who are the core of the Matchbook model. 
We’re looking for teachers who:

• Love teaching and truly have the gift to teach
• Love inspiring children to learn
• Engage their heart, mind, and spirit in building a great school and student success
• Love learning and invest in their own professional development
• Enthusiastically embrace hybrid teaching
• Love to share with peers and work as a team

THE AREA

Though it has suffered greatly during the economic upheaval over the last decade, many people love Detroit. With all four seasons of the year, the Eastern Market, world champion sports teams, The Detroit Institute of Arts, Belle Isle, American Coney Island, The Motown Museum, and Pewabic Pottery, there is always something exciting to do. The Main Detroit Public Library on Woodward offers a wonderful place to learn and admire the architecture. The history, architecture, wonderful neighborhoods, and the friendly people of Detroit make it an attractive place to live.

Read more on how A.L. Holmes Elementary and Matchbook Learning have partnered together.