A wonderful part about starting a new project is the creative license. As a new school, we don’t have traditions or affiliations. As a private school, we are free from many public school parameters driven by state funding, unions, district policy, and mandatory state testing. L & E Academy’s founding teachers are free to focus on what is dearest to our hearts…helping students thrive and realize their magnificence!
What does this mean? It means that we get to weave together features we know work in fully serving students. Features such as personalization, hands-on learning, students leading/teachers guiding, slowing or speeding lessons, real-life applications, connections with the community, blended instruction, etc. AND we get to add in the best of new practices, such as STEM-based robotics, Khan Academy math to fill in gaps in learning before rushing on, and flipped learning to free class time from lectures, allowing students to actively apply learning.
Perhaps the best part of L & E Academy is that the students are empowered to design much of their learning. Want to start a band? Let’s apply entrepreneurial tenets and support this elective. Interested in the timeless classic of good versus evil? How about taking the Harvard MOOC (free online class) in The Heroic and the Anti-Heroic in Classical Greek Civilization? Prefer learning tai chi to 9th grade PE…let’s go! Want to be mentored by a graphic designer…let’s see who in our community will collaborate.
Learning at L & E Academy is dynamic, with the student central to the decisions made. We are excited to hear each student’s voice and align learning with the individual teen. This is innovation…but we hope it becomes the norm. In education, one size does not—and should not—fit all!
