At Innovation, we put a high priority on student’s personalizing and taking ownership of their work. In the high school, we build on the middle school traditions of Quality Night, Portfolios, and Juries in a number of important traditions and structures.

Students keep a digital portfolio throughout their high school careers reflecting on their classwork and connecting it to their personal goals.

Students are expected to have at least one piece in their portfolio for each class for each semester. A complete digital portfolio is a requirement for advancing.

Each spring, IACS 9th-11th graders create Presentations of Learning. These formal presentations serve to reflect upon important learning, improve public speaking skills, and to revise work to a level of excellence worthy of public presentation.

In the presentations, students talk about their personal and academic growth, highlighting several pieces of work as evidence of that growth. Students present to an audience of peers, adults and family members.

All seniors work on a year-long independent project of their own design: the Senior Project. The project is based around three fundamental components: completing academic research, seeking out a mentor, and creating an “applied piece” that represents the hands-on culmination of their year of learning. In the Spring, Seniors present their work in a formal presentation.

Exhibition Nights are events held at IACS where the high school becomes museum of student work and performances, open to an audience of all high school students, their families, as well as the general public.

During the final week of each school year, students wrap up their standard classes early and embark on a week-long intensive mixed-grade courses that allow students to do everything from spend a week on an art project to going on trips in the wilderness or even abroad.

In order to ensure all students have at least one faculty member keeping a close eye on their social, emotional and academic progress, students are placed into advisories each year. Each advisory has 10-15 students.

Advisories do a mixture of team-building activities, volunteer work, and academic work. The advisor is ultimately responsible for helping students succeed in presenting work in their digital portfolio, presentations of learning, and at exhibition night.

Advisors, students and parents meet twice a year in student-led ILP conferences to set personal goals and establish an Individual Learning Plan for each student. Watch this video about why we do ILPs.

To learn more about how we support students with 504s and IEPs as well as English Language Learners, we invite you to explore our student services page.