Looking for a school in San Diego that combines academic excellence with joyful learning? Innovations Academy is a tuition-free K-8 public charter school where students don’t just memorize facts, they explore, create, and discover. Here are ten great reasons why children thrive at our community-centered school:
1. Building a Foundation for a Bright Future
From kindergarten through 8th grade, Innovations Academy students engage in high-quality academics and character development aimed at growing the whole child. Our curriculum is authentic and relevant, and meets or exceeds California Learning Standards. We prepare students not just for high school, but for life. Our 8th graders average a 3.5 GPA and thrive in a variety of San Diego high schools.
2. Small School
At Innovations Academy, everyone knows your child’s name and cares about their success. In our supportive, nurturing community, no one is anonymous. Every student has support from teachers who get to know each child as an individual and nurture strengths and areas of improvement. We make daily connections and assessments of our students’ needs using positive discipline, where kids are treated with respect and encouraged to solve problems on their own.
3. Inquiry-Based Learning
We are passionate about inquiry-based project learning at Innovations Academy. Students are active participants in their educational process, able to connect ideas and concepts together in hands-on and engaging ways. We give students real-life problems to solve that engage both their hands and their minds. This approach gives students real-world skills based on interactive collaboration and autonomy, while teachers have the freedom to direct curriculum to students’ interests.
4. Explore the Arts
At our tuition-free public K-8 school, we believe arts are an essential part of developing the whole child. Arts are the thread connecting all subjects and are explored not only as a core subject but also as an integral part of our inquiry-based learning. Students express their learning through movie making, documentary filming, website design, vlogging, painting, drawing, animation, graphic design, ceramics, music production, reader’s theater, theater production, improvisation and more. We even have our own kiln for ceramics production!
5. Growing Together from Kindergarten to 8th Grade
Your child stays with us from kindergarten through 8th grade, eliminating the stressful middle school search and providing nine years of continuity in a familiar, supportive environment. From ABCs to algebra, they’re known, supported, and celebrated every step of the way.
6. Social-Emotional Learning
Social-emotional learning (SEL) isn’t just a class at Innovations Academy, it’s woven into everything we do. We teach the importance of belonging, respect for all people, encouragement, conflict resolution and interpersonal skills. While we stress high academic excellence, we help students develop skills like social awareness, personal responsibility, regulation of emotions, and self-awareness early so they can use these ideas as they grow.
7. Play Spaces
We’ve intentionally designed our campus with curiosity and exploration in mind. From running around our shady “backyard” with sports courts and a fantastical rope climbing play structure, to running around our stage where we perform theatre productions, we value space to play and learn. We have art spaces and science labs for a variety of experiments. Our middle school students use our cafe to test out working on their own– a fun, playful way to learn autonomy and independence.
8. Our Values: Learning How to Think
At our small K-8 school, we provide a safe space for our students to grow, take appropriate risks, and gain confidence in themselves. Students and teachers focus on making connections, learning conflict resolution and exploring problem-solving ideas. Our students learn how to think, not what to think.
9. High Academic Standards
We provide a well-rounded, purposeful education that includes high-quality academics and enriching experiences. We prepare our students for their best future with strong STEM classes, arts, Spanish, and nature-based studies. Our academic program gives students the tools and choices they need to build, investigate, and inquire all without meaningless homework. Critical thinking thrives here (see #8)!
10. Community is Everything
We know our community is our greatest asset. United in the flexibility of a structured community, we love sharing how to think about learning, together. We gratefully lean on our community to go the extra mile for our students: from an active IA Parent Connection to field trips and community events like our Exhibition Nights, where students formally exhibit their work and projects to peers, parents, and the community-at-large. We value our families and the important role they play in a student’s education. Parenting is the most important job anyone will ever do!
Interested in how we can help build a strong foundation for your child? Find out more about Innovations Academy and enroll today!
About Innovations Academy:
Innovations Academy is a tuition-free public charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in San Diego, California. Our small school values a hands-on, inquiry-based education with high academic standards using self-expression, compassionate connection, and purposeful learning. Our new modern campus is intentionally designed with curiosity and exploration in mind. Join our innovative school today! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Find us at innovationsacademy.org.