West Virginia Academy will be divided into a primary school and a secondary school. We plan to open our school in 2021 offering Kindergarten through Eighth Grade. We anticipate a large initial enrollment with gradual growth each year. Our intention is to add one grade level each year, subject to there being sufficient demand, so that within five years our school will offer Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade.
Primary School Model
West Virginia Academy will be a Core Knowledge (CK) school that teaches core topics through the Direct Instruction Method. In order to fulfill our Primary School Mission, all of our primary students will participate in the West Virginia Academy Ambassadors program, giving students opportunities and experiences to love and appreciate the state and country we live in. Read More...
Secondary School Model
West Virginia Academy will be the first to implement the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) in the state of West Virginia. The MYP program will begin in our 6th grade class and culminate with a personal project and assessment in the 10th grade year. In the MYP program, teachers and students learn through inquiry-based curriculum. They are presented with many perspectives on key concepts, themes, and issues, and they are taught to find ways to articulate these values and beliefs and connect them to their own family and cultural background. Overall, this program gives students an opportunity to learn about other points of view in order to help develop their own core beliefs and values. Read More...
Juniors and Seniors
As West Virginia Academy expands into 11th and 12th grade, we will expand our International Baccalaureate Program to include the Diploma Program (DP) and possibly the Career-Related Program (CP), subject to there being sufficient demand for the latter. Students can choose which program they would like to complete or participate in elements of both programs in a manner that best suits their individual needs. International Baccalaureate Programs provide students with significant opportunities to earn college credit that is accepted at Universities throughout the region, the United States, and the World.
The DP curriculum continues to focus on six of the eight core areas of the MYP program including arts, mathematics, sciences, language and literature, language acquisition, and individuals and societies. In order to receive the full diploma, students are also asked to write an extended essay on a topic of choice and complete a community service project. When requirements are completed, students are awarded with an International Baccalaureate Diploma. This diploma is recognized by some of the most renown international schools. The courses taken during this program will also count toward their counterpart courses in the higher education institution they choose to further their studies.
The CP curriculum will be offered, subject to there being sufficient demand, for students that do not want to pursue the full diploma program and instead are already on a career-oriented path. All IB courses offered at the school can be taken individually to satisfy requirements at a higher education institution. Students in this program will also be required to participate in an approved service-learning or internship experience in their chosen field. They will then be asked to reflect on their career path and identify, analyze, and evaluate various issues that surround their career-related studies in a capstone project completed in the final year of the program.