Major Work Major Joy Major Pride Major Love Major Light

Major Work Major Joy Major Pride Major Love Major Light

Our school model is founded upon four key design elements: 

  • MMM lives at the intersection of gender, choice, liberation, joy and creativity.  Our ‘genderful’ students explore their gender, embrace their own identity, and decide how they will authentically walk through the world.

  • We establish a standards-aligned, justice-oriented, and culturally-responsive curriculum to achieve a high standard of excellence. MMM is committed to delivering a robust problem- and project-based curriculum that marshals the power of discourse and iterative discovery to prepare students for the complexities of life.

  • MMM creates a shared space where we work toward physical and emotional safety for all students.  We prioritize total inclusivity by ensuring that policies and resources are designed with and for trans, gender-nonconforming, queer and ally students and families.

  • We harness the power of creative and self expression as a tool for community engagement, self-preservation, and academic exploration. We embed arts (performing, visual, tactile, digital) into our daily schedules, community gatherings, social justice focus areas, and academic programming. 

Our academic program model: 

  • We define ‘the middle years’ as grades 5-9 to intentionally support the developmental arc of adolescence in a holistically compassionate and structured environment. 

    In 5th grade, students navigate the complexity of increased academic and social independence. Many search for safer, more supportive, and affirming educational environments that understand and embrace their evolving identities. More than 50% of LGBTQ+ youth report being verbally harassed at school leading to increased rates of attempted suicide (Trevor Project, 2023).  From the outset, we proactively address the unique needs of our students. 

    MMM extends our "middle years'' program to an opt-in 9th grade cohort, recognizing this transitional year as a critical juncture for students in New York City specifically. In 8th grade, NYC students typically apply for high schools, pursue specialized educational interests, and set targeted academic goals; but many need more time to prepare. Our 9th grade cohort provides an opportunity for students to explore their academic pursuits, increase their GPA and test scores and continue social-emotional development in our supportive environment. 

  • Our core values align with our mission, bring clarity to our purpose and provide consistency and alignment to our school community.  

    Our core values are:

    Major Work - We try our best.  We listen to understand, to learn, to challenge, to reflect. 

    Major Joy - We laugh, create, dance, and sing.  We uplift and celebrate one another. 

    Major Pride - We are unique, we are brave, we belong.  Our dignity is unshakeable. 

    Major Love - Love is our center. Love is our first response. We show love through service. 

    Major Light - We are brilliant individuals. We are a vibrant community. We share our light.

    Embedding core values into our academic program is essential for our students. Nationally, 83.1% of LGBTQ+ identifying students experienced harassment or were assaulted based on personal characteristics, including sexual orientation, gender expression, gender, religion, and actual or perceived race, ethnicity, and disability. They also reported having lower self-esteem and higher levels of depression as result of the harassment (GLSEN National School Climate Survey, 2022).  Our academic philosophy is one of total inclusivity where safer spaces lead to better outcomes for our kids.

  • Our curriculum infuses creativity and arts-based instructional elements into core classes and offers electives that directly connect to identity and self-discovery.  Instructional and pedagogical approaches include an emphasis on critical thinking through project and problem-based learning and align to Common Core and NYS-standards. Our curriculum incorporates strong literacy practices and significant time for individualized and small group instruction. All students are required to take math, history, STEAAM (Science, Technology, Arts+Activism, Mathematics), English Language Arts, and take Regents exams starting in 8th grade.

  • Our staffing model is built on strong, facilitated connections between veteran teachers, aspiring teacher fellows, and our students. MMM teachers embrace their unique identities, engage in ongoing professional development, and use data-driven practices to positively impact our students and school community.