We are Tennessee's first public charter school, founded in 2003, we serve students in grades 6-12 with a school wide focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Local schools like the Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering continue striving to attract new students to their engineering programs to train the next generation of engineers. “We were established by the Memphis Bioworks Foundation essentially to address the workforce development issue that faces Memphis,” said Harold Wingood, former executive director for the Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering charter school, which serves grades 6 through 12 and has an enrollment of about 550 to 600 students per year. MASE accepts students, regardless of test scores or grades, who attend schools that are failing to make adequate yearly progress as determined by the State's accountability standards; students who are in "at-risk" situations as defined by the Tennessee Charter School Act of 2002; or students who qualify for free or reduced lunch. The goal at MASE is to help students develop the academic tools they need to become effective and productive members of the 21st century workforce. MASE is the first science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) charter school in Tennessee. We believe that these fields are essential disciplines for the future of our students and the nation. Students at MASE are taught that education is a vehicle for their personal success and the transformation of their communities. They learn that their work and their accomplishments must be rooted in a set of assumptions that affirm the inexorable connection between technological progress and the greater good.