When I transferred in during sixth grade, I started in the same classes as everyone else. But once my Mentors noticed that I was moving ahead more quickly in math, they made adjustments.

Classical education is experiencing a quiet but significant resurgence. In a January 2026 Wall Street Journal article, “How ‘Classical’ Schools Teach Kids to Be Citizens,” James Traub explores why. Traub examines a growing movement of schools that aim not merely to prepare students for college or careers but to form them into thoughtful, responsible citizens.

At Innovate Academy, education is about more than test scores. We aim to form scholars who read deeply, think clearly, communicate well, and love what is true, good, and beautiful.

"Every moment. Every conversation. Every lesson prepared. At Innovate Academy, we believe the room shapes it all—and we get to shape the room. Join us Friday, March 20, 2026, for Rooms of Renewal, an unforgettable evening at Penn Oaks Golf Club featuring keynote speaker Dr. Louis Markos. Discover how we are investing in the spaces where minds grow, hearts are formed, and futures are built."

At Innovate Academy, entrepreneurship isn’t a theory—it’s a lived experience. Through programs like Boss Club™ and our flexible, collaborative model, scholars learn how ideas become action and how service becomes opportunity. We encourage partnerships beyond our campus so students can develop practical skills while engaging with real communities. 

At Innovate Academy, we believe the arts are a language of the soul—a way students learn to express truth, beauty, and faith. Through partnerships beyond our campus, scholars engage with diverse communities and develop their talents in real-world settings.

For Kennedy Kea, creativity is not just something she does—it’s part of who she is.

At Innovate Academy, athletics are more than competition—they’re a classroom for character, discipline, and wellness. We encourage our scholars to pursue opportunities beyond our campus, partnering with external organizations to develop a broad range of skills and engage with diverse communities.

For Shane Esser, soccer has been part of life for as long as he can remember.

We’re excited to share that the new Innovate Academy website is officially live!

This update represents months of thoughtful work to better reflect who we already are, what we already do well, and where we’re headed next as a growing school community.

At Innovate Academy, learning doesn’t only exist inside the classroom’s walls. Our upper-school internship program invites scholars to step into real responsibilities where imagination meets initiative, service meets skill, and faith meets practice. This year, three interns—Zachary Paulus, Mykah Mazzoli, and Georgia Allemeier—have been pioneering new pathways in community development, worship arts, and literacy education.

Innovate Academy showed me that a learning difference does not limit a scholar’s potential. With the right support, rigor, and vision, dyslexia did not hold me back—it shaped me into a deeper reader, thinker, and learner.

One of the great joys of teaching is helping young people discover that they are capable of more than they imagined. At Innovate Academy, we pursue that goal through Personalized Learning Plans—intentional pathways that recognize each scholar’s gifts, challenges, and pace of growth.

At Innovate Academy, we believe the arts are not extras—they are teachers of the soul. Through music, drama, visual art, and storytelling, scholars learn to observe carefully, imagine boldly, and express truth beautifully. These habits shape not only creativity but also how a young person thinks about the whole world.

As we are well into the Spring of 2021, I find myself reminiscing on recent events where God showed up UNEXPECTEDLY. I call these moments God Sightings. These experiences are those divine but small moments where, despite our own detailed calendar plans, God shows up and interrupts our business as usual.

At Innovate Academy, collaboration is more than group work—it is a way of life. We believe education flourishes when families, scholars, and community members learn around the same table, sharing meals, ideas, and service.

Classical Studies is a core course for our Logic scholars, rooted in a simple conviction: to understand the present, we must first understand the stories of the past. By weaving together history, philosophy, and culture, this class invites scholars to examine earlier civilizations with curiosity, to think critically about their own moment, and to prepare thoughtfully for the future.

When I first discovered Classical education—over twenty-five years ago as both a parent and a teacher—I was never the same. Every other approach to learning suddenly felt thin by comparison. Christian education had already reshaped how I viewed the purpose of schooling, but encountering the Classical model gave that vision structure and depth. From that moment on, my children would tell you that I moved heaven and earth to bring this kind of education to them and to my classroom.

Shaping a student’s affection, which is what true education is, is about telling them the truth and then linking that one truth to another, as like calls to like, making connections about the world around them.

Hello, I’m Katie, a sixth-grade scholar at Innovate Academy, and I’d love to share a snapshot of my year so far.

Let’s be honest, the middle school years can be a weird time.  There is a lot of change that happens. It’s when identities take on a new shape. It is my privilege to journey alongside scholars as they discover their identities, rooted in Christ, and then spur them on to do something about it.

Innovate Academy is grateful to stand alongside a growing national movement of schools committed to classical, Christian education. As part of that commitment, we are proud to partner with the Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS) and the Society of Classical Learning (SCL) while offering the Classic Learning Test (CLT) as our primary standardized assessment.