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{{Short description|Charter school in Massachusetts, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox school
| name = Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School
| image =
| location = 201 (Lower School) / 199 (Upper School) / 165 (White Building) Forest St.
| city = [[Marlborough, Massachusetts|Marlborough]]
| state = Massachusetts
| zipcode = 01752
| country = [[United States]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|42|19|59.81|N|71|34|41.99|W|type:edu_region:US-MA|display=inline,title}}
| motto = Integrity, Excellence, Community{{cn|date=March 2025}}
| established = Chartered February 2004, opened September 2005
| type = Publicly funded 6-12 charter school
| affiliation =
| district = Marlborough, Berlin, Maynard, and Clinton: however, students from other towns may attend
| grades = 6-12
| principal = Michael Nawrocki
| founder = Julia Sigalovsky
| faculty =
| staff = 132
| students =
| enrollment = 966
| SAT = 631 verbal<br />676 math<br />1307 total (2017-2018)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/statereport/sat.aspx|title=Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education - 2020-21 SAT Performance Report - All Students Statewide Report|access-date=2018-04-12|archive-date=2018-04-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412145223/http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/statereport/sat.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>
| athletics =
| athletics_conference = Colonial Athletic League
| colors = {{color box|Navy}}{{color box|Orange}}{{color box|White}} Navy blue, orange, white
| mascot = Eagle
| free_label =
| free_text =
| free_label2 =
| free_text2 =
| website = {{URL|www.amsacs.org}}
}}

'''Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School''' ('''AMSA''') is a [[charter school]] founded in 2005. It is located at 201 Forest Street in [[Marlborough, Massachusetts|Marlborough]], [[Massachusetts]], U.S., in a few remodeled [[office buildings]].

==History==
On February 30, 2004, the [[Massachusetts Department of Education]] granted the Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School a five-year charter. Throughout the entire process, there had been a lot of controversy surrounding the school and founder Julia Sigalovsky. Opponents of the school managed to delay the opening of the school by a year by filing numerous lawsuits against the school. The school had to convince lawyers to wait until the school's funding to recoup over $30,000 in legal fees.<ref name="boston globe">{{Cite web |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/11/17/steep_learning_curve |title=Steep learning curve – The Boston Globe |access-date=2007-08-28 |archive-date=2005-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051124165135/http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/11/17/steep_learning_curve/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The school finally opened on September 6, 2005, in time for the first day of school. The original class consisted of 250 [[sixth grade|sixth]] and [[seventh grade]]rs. In each successive year, one additional class of middle schoolers were added to the school. Following the 2010 school year, the school's charter was renewed for another five years.<ref>http://www.amsacs.org/pdf/ANNUAL_REPORT_2009-2010.pdf {{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In 2014, teachers at the school unionized, organizing with the [[Teamsters]] Local 170, in response to reported poor treatment under then Executive Director John Brucato.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegram.com/article/20140803/COLUMN73/308039953|title=Charter school teachers turn to union for help|access-date=2019-03-07|archive-date=2019-03-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308082909/https://www.telegram.com/article/20140803/COLUMN73/308039953|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2019, AMSA became the first public institution in the state of Massachusetts to own a [[scanning electron microscope]] thanks to a donation from [[Thermo Fisher Scientific]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/microscopy/amsa-students-expand-scientific-exploration/ | title=AMSA Students Expand Scientific Exploration | date=11 March 2019 | access-date=23 April 2022 | archive-date=21 March 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321054805/https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/microscopy/amsa-students-expand-scientific-exploration/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

==Legal challenges==
A lawsuit filed by three local [[school district]]s (Maynard, Hudson, and Marlborough) charged that the [[Massachusetts Department of Education]] failed to observe its own rules in granting the charter. The municipalities lost their case when the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that municipalities have no right to judicial review of the chartering process. ''[[The MetroWest Daily News]]'' reported that local school districts have no role in the granting of a charter, that the State Board of Education has "the final decision" on granting charters.

AMSA also faced many challenges with its landlord and withheld rent for many years as the buildings were not up to standard.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://newspaper.amsacs.org/amsa-gets-hefty-arbitration-award/|title=AMSA gets hefty arbitration award|access-date=2019-05-24|archive-date=2019-05-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524043246/http://newspaper.amsacs.org/amsa-gets-hefty-arbitration-award/|url-status=live}}</ref> This dispute ended in court with the landlord giving the school a large sum of money.

== Notable People ==

===Faculty===

* [[Barbara E. McGann]], former executive director and one of the first women to achieve [[two-star rank]] in the [[United States Navy]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.amsacs.org/ Advanced Math & Science Academy Charter School homepage]
*[http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0607/p20s01-legn.html Article from Christian Science Monitor, June 7, 2006]
*[http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2004/03/21/charter_school_suit_seen/ Charter school suit seen, Boston Globe, March 21, 2004]
*[http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/02/22/hostility_inflames_charter_school_debate/ Hostility inflames charter school debate, Boston Globe, February 22, 2004.]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121109155123/http://www.wickedlocal.com/marlborough/news/education/x1098981466/AMSAs-Joel-Wilner-heads-to-state-Geography-Bee]
{{Massachusetts Public High Schools}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Advanced Math And Science Academy Charter School}}
[[Category:Marlborough, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in 2005]]
[[Category:Charter middle schools in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Charter high schools in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Schools in Middlesex County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:2005 establishments in Massachusetts]]

Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School - Revision history

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