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To have all members of the Metro community seek to improve their practice of the Metro Habits of Heart and Mind.

1. Effective Communicator: I can communicate my ideas clearly and can reflectively consider others' ideas, even when those ideas are different from my own.

2. Critical Thinker: I can be a creative thinker, approaching new and perplexing problems with positive energy, uniqueness of thought, drawing from my own experiences and prior knowledge.

3. Effective Collaborator: I can work independently and as a contributing member of a team, accepting and reacting to improve myself based on feedback and critique, and demonstrating compassion and honesty in all interactions with others.

4. Engaged Learner: I can exhibit persistence, sustaining a problem-solving process over time while remaining focused and producing multiple drafts, to achieve success.

5. Inquiring Learner: I can be an inquisitive thinker, not only asking questions, but acting on those questions to discover the answers, accepting confusion, uncertainty, and the risk of failure as part of the process.

6. Active & Responsible Decision-Maker: I can make decisions rationally and purposefully, considering all available alternatives in order to find the best possible course of action.

Our vision is to provide a small and intellectually vibrant learning community designed to serve students who want a personalized learning experience that prepares them for a connected world where math, science, and technology are vitally important. All Metro students engage in a personally relevant and academically rigorous curriculum within a safe and trusting environment.

Metro has a holistic approach to educating students—focusing on cognitive, social, emotional and physical development through experiential learning, service learning, and family and community support. 

Metro is guided by the Ten Common Principles of the Coalition of Essential Schools:

1. The school’s central intellectual purpose is helping students to use their minds well.

2. An essential body of knowledge, skills and dispositions will be identified for student mastery.

3. The school’s goals apply to all students.

4. The school will be highly personalized.

5. A governing practical metaphor will be “student-as-worker, teacher-as-coach.”

6. Teaching and learning will be documented by student performance on real tasks.

7. The tone of the school will be one of trust and decency.

8. The principal and teachers will act as generalists first and specialists second.

9. Resources will be modest and therefore positioned toward teaching and learning.

10. The school will emphasize democratic, fair and equitable practices.

How We Operate

Metro operates on a Mastery-based system. In order to receive credit for a class, students must attain a 90% or higher, with opportunities to remediate work until the benchmark is met. The goal is to ensure students gain a working knowledge of course content so they can successfully move into the next course in the curriculum.

Classes are given in longer blocks to help develop strong student/teacher relationships, motivate deep inquiry, and help prepare for future learning. Students participate in Advisory (our version of home room), ensuring they have an adult to serve as their advocate and to provide a framework for goal-setting and personal skill-building.

Middle School Curriculum

Metro's Middle School Curriculum is designed to prepare students for the rigors of high school. Coursework is aligned with state of Ohio standards and challenges students to be engaged and inquiring learners. 

Students begin taking ownership of their progress through self-reflective reviews of their work called Roundtables. Those who successfully complete all required coursework in a core area can progress to high school credits.

High School Curriculum

During 9th and 10th grades, students complete core credits in math, science, social studies and language arts along with required electives. As they demonstrate proficiency, they acquire the skills necessary to complete Ohio graduation requirements and to navigate the early college programming.

Upon successful demonstration of mastery in the core curriculum, students move into the Early College Experiences (ECEs) in 11th or 12th grade. ECEs include corsework at The Ohio State University or Columbus State Community College and a research/internship experience. The College Access phase focuses on practical experiences, skill development, social maturity, critical thinking, and responsibility.

Metro Expansion

Metro's original goal of being a "small school with a big footprint" was intended to ensure our programs of study would be accessible to as many students as possible. This mission has been accomplished through shared programming with area districts and the adoption of best practices by schools beyond our state through the Ohio STEM Learning Network.

From a small high school, we have grown into a 6-12 program and have plans for expansion to elementary grades by the fall of 2025. We are excited about the future of Metro Schools and the opportunity it will grant us to continue offering quality programs.

Metro is working in collaboration with our partners for the next phase of growth. You can view an outline of the expansion plan presented to the school community in spring of 2021: Metro Expansion Update. Visit the Construction & Expansion Page of our website for updates!