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- Blog
IVA High Values: Sense of Purpose
We Deliberately Align All of Our Thinking and Decision-Making with the Mission, Vision, and Values of the School.
At the Academy, our mission is to foster intellectual virtue growth in a thoughtful, challenging, and supportive academic environment. We teach our students how to ask meaningful questions, think critically, reason with evidence, and to communicate their ideas with passion and purpose. We also collectively critique, revise, and reflect to become increasingly aware of ourselves and of the world we inhabit. Some of this insight may leave us questioning people in power, our own beliefs, how we interact with the world, or how the world interacts with us. These conversations can be challenging; however, when supported, they can be productive, even transformative.
The Academy Fosters an Environment for Intellectual Inquiry
We are so fortunate to have a dedicated team of teachers who are committed to curiosity, open-mindedness, and authenticity. These fundamental skills are taught inside and outside of the classroom, through formal lectures or casual conversations. We establish classroom norms, behavior expectations, and teach communication moves in order to foster respectful intellectual inquiry in an inclusive learning environment.
The NY Times BestSeller, The Coddling of the American Mind (Haidt and Lukianoff), mentions that The Academy develops “wiser, stronger” students, urging “prestigious universities” to “admit more students who have attended schools that teach the intellectual virtues.” We teach our students to be “antifragile” by empowering them to speak their truth about the struggles they have embraced. This courage and autonomy is what colleges and universities are searching for and what prepares are students to engage the world.
Our Mission and Vision in Action
As a school, it is our responsibility to educate students to know and care about current issues and to support the mission and values of the school.
Our Values: To provide a sense of purpose, embrace a culture of thinking, obtain self-knowledge, foster openness, respect and collaboration, and to encourage a growth mindset to embrace challenges.
Our Vision: To equip students to engage the world with curiosity and thoughtfulness, to know themselves, and to live well.
Given our mission, values, and educational principles, in our classrooms and school we teach students to:
- Be curious, ask questions, and develop evidence-based opinions
- Engage with real-world problems to inspire creative and practical thinking
- Practice self awareness and take responsible action to improve society as responsible citizens
- Be inclusive and care about all people, support everyone's identity, equity, access and sense of belonging
- Treat others with kindness and respect, even when we disagree or do not understand
- Combat racism and all forms of identity-based discrimination, and support those whom current events have significant personal implications
- Appreciate the positive contributions and value of cultures and peoples around the world
- Trust science and support fair and free elections
- Be cognizant of the power and privilege we hold in relation to each other, whether teachers, staff, students, or parents 2.
We are in uncertain times, and upcoming events have the potential to add to the emotional or financial burdens many are already experiencing due to the pandemic, social injustice, distance learning, and work. Fortunately we are in a school that values the individual voice, as well as our community connection.
We look forward to showcasing your student’s learning process at our Exhibition of Learning event on November 19th. Although we can’t share a community dinner together this year, we hope you bring your family to join us in celebrating our unique and diverse culture of thinking.
1. Artwork created by an Academy Student, Nov. 2019.
2. Tim Bazemore, Oct. 2020.
