Innovate Academy collaborates to combine on campus, satellite, and service-to-community learning.
As such, we spend four days on campus (Mondays — Thursdays) teaching our K-8th grade scholars from 8:30 a.m. — 3:30 p.m.
We provide a full five-day curriculum and a user-friendly learning platform so that our scholars can engage with parents and mentors on satellite days.
Finally, we have service-learning opportunities each trimester, as we engage with local and global community partners. For the lower school these become monthly service projects that involve families, and for the upper school they are ongoing projects tailored to each scholar. Please check out our events page to see what we are up to!
Schools
Primary School (Pre-K & Kindergarten)
Our pre-kindergarten scholars begin at age 4 years old, as long as they are able to use the bathroom independently. Pre-kindergarten scholars must be 4 years old before September 1st. By the time our scholars reach kindergarten they will have benefited from a hands-on, gently classical approach to learning. This age group represents the widest gap in maturity and ability, and each child’s experience is unique. Therefore, a teachers assistant is on-site in order to differentiate and personalize learning. We love the Charlotte Mason approach as well as the original methods of Montessori, which are both rooted in Christianity. Wellness and leadership skills are taught with an emphasis on safety, habits, listening, manners, and personal responsibility. Our smallest scholars engage in nature study, gardening, storytelling and dramatic play. Coding is introduced at an introductory level.
Lower School (1st - 4th Grades)
Our first through fourth grade scholars begin to study history chronologically, integrated with literature, science, math, art, music, physical education, and other subjects. They are introduced to Spanish as well as Latin roots, recognizing that, with a Latin foundation, language arts and other foreign language skills are more readily acquired. Each scholar’s worldview begins to takes shape and passion emerges as they discover their own unique gifts and story within a grander narrative. Wellness and social skills are taught and emphasize character or virtue formation and emotionally healthy practices. These scholars also begin cursive writing and continue to learn coding.
Upper School (5th - 8th Grades)
Our fifth through eight grade scholars experience a truly collaborative approach to learning with multiple mentors instructing them in specialized disciplines. Scholars continue with a chronological study of history, progressing from Ancient to Medieval to Early Modern to Modern times. These studies connect with language arts, literature, writing, science and the art and music of the time period. Physical education is woven into overall wellness as well as spiritual formation, communication arts and farm to table entrepreneurship. A more formalized study of Latin and coding are offered as well as hands-on STEAM projects weekly. Electives such as worldview, speech and debate, music, band and film are offered, as well as our signature class called Culture Makers, combining civic engagement with service learning. Individual passions emerge as scholars discover and walk in their unique gifts. Innovative leadership skills continue to emphasize character (virtues) formation and service to community. Our goal is to prepare these scholars to become entrepreneurial leaders of culture.
Curriculum
We emphasize blended classes wherever best suited and this fluidness is helpful when a scholar academically needs to adjust to an appropriate level. Research shows that younger scholars are more cooperative in a blended-age setting and gain self-confidence and maturity by being exposed to older scholars (while older scholars learn to be positive, mature role models for the younger ones). In addition, the blended - age classroom facilitates the ability to develop friendships across grade levels and instills a greater sense of community.
With a low mentor to scholar ratio, each combination allows for the option to master higher level subjects or continue to work on necessary skills, as scholars joyfully explore learning with structure as well as flexibility.