Academics 
The Mystic Valley Regional Charter School was established in 1998 to provide parents in the communities of Malden, Melrose, Medford, Stoneham, Everett and Wakefield with an alternative choice in public education. The school's charter articulates the vision of the school's founders, an unchanging vision of a school where every child would be given the opportunity for a world- class education in a structured, orderly and traditional academic environment. The school’s basic philosophical and academic design was centered on research-based curricular models with proven records of success. An academic and organizational framework was established in order to implement these models.
The academic and organizational framework was carefully created to meet the student learning expectations of the school’s founders. The founders understood that clearly defined expectations for student learning would be essential to the realization of the lofty goals that they held for school-wide academic success. The entire curriculum structure was based on measurable learning attainments for students in all subjects and grade levels. These learning attainments were primarily dictated by the learning standards set forth in the curricula that would make up the school’s general academic structure. Direct Instruction, Core Knowledge, Saxon Math and the International Baccalaureate became the primary components of Mystic Valley’s general K-12 curriculum structure.
An important distinguishing factor in the school’s original design was an extended school day and an extended school year. Regular school days begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m. The school year includes 200 school days as opposed to the traditional 180 school days found in most public schools. Priorities in daily time allotment for each subject area are given to Reading, Math and English/Language Arts in the foundational years of grades K-6. These priorities provides opportunities for successful achievement in those areas which are the foundation for the increasingly challenging studies of later grades.
The concept of skill practice is also heavily emphasized throughout the curriculum and clearly defined in the school’s written documents. Data collection on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis has always been an integral part of the academic operations at Mystic Valley. Weekly assessments of student progress are conducted for grades K-12. Ability-based instructional groups based on placement standards in Reading and Math are established and consistently monitored. Block scheduling, frequent assessments and augmented staffing provide the necessary support for accurate weekly reports on student progress toward learning objectives. Assessments for competency in grades K-6 are typically conducted every five lessons. The curriculum for all subjects is standardized and codified for all teachers in grades K-12.
Pace of delivery is also monitored and expected to meet specific criteria. Competence in Math and Language Arts is determined by a correct answer rate of 80% for K-6 students in the corresponding ability-based instructional groups. This percentage constitutes a mastery-level learning rate. Students who do not receive a correction rate of 80% are given remedial exercises on the deficient skill. A second assessment is then conducted to determine if the 80% rate has been reached.
Character education is another important part of the K-12 curriculum at Mystic Valley. It is the first class taught each school day in all grades. Core virtues, important civic-oriented values and positive character traits are major objectives of the curriculum. Instructional methods vary in accordance with age and grade-appropriate content. Faculty and staff, throughout all grade levels, uniformly implement a single student conduct code. Communication between teachers in the same academic department and the same grade level is a regular practice at Mystic Valley. The structure that was developed for the fulfillment of this particular academic and operational goal begins with the members of the leadership team. The professional development coordinators hold supervisory responsibility for all personnel and academic operation from grades K-8. The assistant director for the high school holds the same responsibility for grades 9-12. Communication and coordination concerning all academic matters is common among these academic leaders along with the school superintendent and other members of the leadership team.
The next level of coordination involves the department heads for each academic subject. Department heads oversee the implementation of their particular subject matter in all grades K-12. Lead teachers at each grade level for K-8 provide daily operational and academic support to teachers at their level. The school’s master schedule allows for daily team and department meetings. Formal cross-department and cross-grade level meetings take place regularly.
All of the academic leaders mentioned above play a role in the school’s oversight of the implementation of the established learning standards for each academic area. The learning standards have been clearly outlined in the curriculum guides for each subject. From this established structure, all teachers and support services personnel work to help students in their successful achievement of the school’s standards.
After the foundational years passed, the second phase of the school’s design was implemented in the form of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB). The academic virtues of the IB curriculum were a natural fit with the high scholastic ideals that were the vision of the school’s founders. Today, a comprehensive curriculum design for all students is a hallmark of Mystic Valley. A characteristic found throughout the school’s K-12 curriculum structure is the integration of disciplines. Students are clearly able to recognize the many interdisciplinary connections. The Core Knowledge sequence for content that is taught in grades K-8 is vertically and horizontally aligned to promote the highest levels of integration. These common learning standards are reinforced through many effective instructional practices such as multi-disciplinary projects.
The knowledge of subject integration that students gain in preparation for the International Baccalaureate Programme (IB) and the school’s 9-12 college-prep, honors and high honors academic programs is quite beneficial. The IB relies heavily on the integration of subject matter. In the final year of the program, students have the opportunity to take a course entitled The Theory ofKnowledge (TKO). This course is built around the concept of the numerous connections and common themes that run frequently through a wide variety of disciplines. Multi-disciplinary projects and measurable demonstrations of competency in higher-level critical thinking make up a majority of the course work in TKO and other courses throughout the high school curriculum.