LIFE Male STEAM Academy Charter School

The mission of LIFE Male STEAM Academy (LIFE MSA) is to prepare all male scholars for

college success and career readiness. LIFE MSA recruits from the Woodland Hills District, which has a 70% economically disadvantaged population, and the greater Pittsburgh region with a 64% economically disadvantaged population. The overarching vision of LIFE MSA is to operate a STEAM-focused K-12 school that serves male students of all races and national origin focused on nurturing the intellectual capacity of male students whose academic progress has been limited by poverty, community violence, and lack of access to rigorous learning opportunities through inquiry-based science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) education. The philosophy of LIFE MSA is based on the belief that there is a critical need to teach at-risk male scholars from underrepresented and disadvantaged groups how to use technology in a way that fosters their own creativity, critical thinking, and collaborative problem-solving skills. LIFE MSA will also serve as a catalyst to increase the presence of African American males, and youth from other underrepresented groups in the STEM pipeline. LIFE MSA opened its doors to students in August 2021 to serve 46 male students in grades 6 and 7, 97.8% of whom are economically disadvantaged and 100% African American. In 2022-23, LIFE MSA is serving 85 male students in grades 6, 7, and 8 with similar demographics. In 2024-25, LIFE MSA plans to add students in grade 9 and continue to add a grade every year thereafter with a target enrollment in grades 6 to 12 of 350 in 2027-28. CSP funds will support achieving the academic goal of having at least 60% of students scoring at the Proficient level or better on the PSSA Math/Algebra I assessment and 78% of students scoring at the Proficient level, or better, on the PSSA English Language Arts assessment by the end of the 2025-26 school year. Additionally, CSP funds will support our non-academic goals that are critical for academic success. Attaining our goals to hire, train and support highly qualified school administrators, teachers, and staff; to implement an integrated STEAM curriculum aligned to the PA State Academic standards; and to create positive social interactions will ensure that we operate as a school that improves the expected academic and life success of at-risk male students.