Innovator Academy follows a different schedule as a hybrid school. Three days a week, the Eagles attend school together, and the other two days they work from home. Operating in this way allows freedom for our families to travel, freedom for the Eagles to pursue their passions, and it helps keep our tuition low. Sometimes, parents are unsure about what …
The Joy of Writing
At Innovator, our approach to writing is simple. We believe the skill to communicate is best honed by lots of practice, even messy practice. We first put the emphasis on prolific writing and secondly on grammar. Our Eagles write a lot. They write, revise, critique, and write some more. It is this process that effectively sharpens their skills as communicators. …
Week 6: Why Multi-Age Learning Matters
As the Eagles file in from playing out in the Texas heat, they gather their lunches, wash hands, warm up food if needed, and head to the lunch mats laid around the studio. Here you’ll find groupings of mixed ages, from 4-14, eating and talking with one another. They don’t segregate. There isn’t a particular mat for a specific age …
Week 5: Ego, Blind Spots, and 360 Feedback
I silently watched as the waves rolled in onto the sandy shore feeling defeated. The opportunity I had at just ten years old was incredible; free, private surf lessons with my best friend from a master. I watched as my friend got up on the board on only his third try, making it look effortless. Inside I shuddered. It was …
Week 4: Deep Dive into Ancient India
Sometimes the lessons that etch the deepest in our hearts come wrapped in thorns. Sometimes, when we aim to put ourselves in the shoes of another and practice empathy, we can hurt with a pain we didn’t know existed. A pain we’ve not had to experience. This week, our Eagle’s put themselves in the shoes of the people of Ancient …
Week 3: Pushing Through Resistance and Distraction
Every hero faces obstacles. No one is immune. It never matters what challenge you face but only how you choose to respond. One thing that I’ve noticed over the last year is our ability to turn on a dime when the situation changes. I recall a day last year where everything seemed to go wrong. The water in our building …
Week 2: Collaboration and Resolving Conflicts
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”- Henry Ford When you think about the skills needed to succeed in any type of work environment, what comes to mind? Flexibility and adaptability? Creativity? Persuasion? Or something else? The workplace of the future will demand these skills. We work on these at Innovator by providing …
Week 1: Team Building, Challenges, and Question of the Year
What happens when you take 29 heroes and group them together in a multi-age setting with only 2 promises and 2 guardrails in place? That’s what our Innovator Eagles experienced this week as we launched into our annual Build the Tribe quest. The focus is on team building. Through individual and group challenges, the Eagles discover more about themselves and …
Week 1: Team Building, Challenges, and Question of the Year
The first week of school has come to an end. This week we focused mainly on team building with lots of games and challenges for the Eagle’s to get to know one another. Laughter bubbled up from every corner on day one. Our first session is called Build the Tribe. Through a series of group and individual challenges, the Eagles …
Welcome Celebration August 2019
Last Thursday, in the sweltering heat of a late August afternoon, all of our families gathered for the annual Welcome Celebration. Each family made the pledge, once again, to be on a Hero’s Journey. Then they symbolically crossed the threshold into this new territory. The Hero’s Journey is the overarching theme of all that we do at Innovator. It includes …