About: School Overview
About Innocademy Allegan
Innocademy Allegan Campus (IAC) is a tuition free, K-8 school headquartered in West Michigan. At Innocademy Allegan Campus, we share a common goal with parents and others who care, to ensure that students become productive, successful, and confident adults.
We help students develop pathways to that success by building on their individual strengths and interests in a safe setting with a strong emphasis on a culture of caring, Just Right Learning, and nature-enriched education. Our learning environment provides an integrated curriculum with a nature-based focus, rather than academic silos. If we can get students to reconnect and re-engage with the world around them, student growth, grit, and engagement will increase, while apathy and complacency will decrease.
Our Vision
Our goal is to graduate students with a skillset and critical approach ready for the 21st century – a toolkit they have already put to use while “learning and leading” since opening our doors in 2014. We aim to send our students out into the world with their eyes and hearts wide open to local and global needs and injustices. Our high-caliber teachers are supported and empowered to work collaboratively to achieve our school mission. We foster a culture, structure, and set of practices to establish Innocademy Allegan Campus as a leader in education locally, nationally, and globally.
Our Educational Goals
To prepare students for the 21st century through a strong global education curriculum.
To make significant contributions toward educational best practices.
To share the gift of education through local and global stewardship and the establishment of global Innocademy campuses.
To emphasize the development of the whole child through character building.
To meet and exceed the academic needs of each student.
What Makes Innocademy Allegan Campus Different?
Culture of Caring
Students at Innocademy Allegan Campus will benefit from and participate in a “Culture of Caring” – how do our words and actions make people feel? Understanding that each of us is a valuable member of our learning team is critical in the development of the whole child. Our teachers work hard at sharing intentional teaching moments, creating a positive environment where students thrive academically, socially and emotionally.
We teach the students that IAC stands for more than Innocademy Allegan Campus; it also stands for In control, Aware, and Caring. During our weekly, all-school assemblies, we talk to students about how they can “Be the One,” which is our school theme, to be In control, Aware, and Caring.
Moreover, as part of our pursuit in cultivating a culture of caring, we’ve adopted two programs: “be nice.” and OK2Say.
be nice.
be nice. is a mental health education, bully and suicide prevention initiative that creates a positive cultural change through simple daily actions.
The be nice. action plan is the “stop, drop, and roll” of mental health education that teaches people to notice, invite, challenge, and empower themselves and others. How you treat someone can have a direct effect on how they think, act, and feel – their mental health.
The be nice. education program creates awareness and ultimately saves lives.
OK2Say
OK2SAY is the student safety program which allows students to confidentially report tips on potential harm or criminal activities directed at school students, school employees, and schools. It uses a comprehensive communication system to facilitate tip sharing among students, parents, school personnel, community mental health service programs, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and law enforcement officials about harmful behaviors that threaten to disrupt the learning environment.
Just Right Learning
With Just Right Learning at Innocademy Allegan Campus, we evaluate students and develop plans to meet their specific learning needs. If a chronological third grade student has demonstrated proficiency in third grade math and is ready for concepts in a fourth or fifth grade level math group, they are placed in that “Just Right Learning” group. This is the same for reading and writing.
Nature-Based Education
We have a natural outdoor resource located at our school, and an opportunity to use the natural resources of our community. If we can get students to reconnect and re-engage to the world around them, in a manner that is not segmented by learning silos but focused more on project-based learning, student growth, grit, engagement, and student achievement will increase, while apathy will decrease. Our partnership with Outdoor Discovery Center Education Network (ODCEN) helps us with student achievement and growth that encompasses the whole child.