Academics
School of Innovation Aspiration and Design Principles

Aspiration
The Willoughby-Eastlake School of Innovation is a STEAM platform school established to serve students from 3rd through 8th grade. It is designed to provide its students with a standards-based, design-focused curriculum that is centered on solving real-world problems and tooling students with twenty-first century STEAM skills. As a community focused school, the School of Innovation will create an open environment that invites partnerships from higher education, STEAM business and industry and STEAM non-profits all to support its mission and processes for learning. All School of Innovation students will graduate as life-long learners, intrinsically motivated to solve the most challenging problems facing the globe and committed to Willoughby-Eastlake and northeast Ohio.
Design Principles
Design Principle #1: Value every member of the School of Innovation learning community equally to promote a culture of caring and support.
Design Principle #2: Value and use the design process including the need to design-test-redesign, to create, foster and develop all students to be able innovators who have a high level of knowledge and skills and are capable of solving real- world as well as community problems.
Design Principle #3: Create a culture that values innovation, creativity, inventive and analytical thinking.
Design Principle #4: Foster the development of socially responsible leaders who care and are able to focus globally as well as locally.
Design Principle #5: Value and promote full collaboration, self-motivation, self–direction, informed risk-taking and lifelong learning for all innovators.
Design Principle #6: Engage partnerships to advance school capacities and broaden student, teacher and administrative opportunities and resources.
Design Principle #7: Promote systems and procedures that ensure all of Willoughby-Eastlake schools benefit from the School of Innovation.
Our middle school for grades 6-8 is designed to support both academic growth and personal development. Using a teaming model, students are grouped by grade level and supported by a consistent team of teachers who work closely together to build strong relationships, foster collaboration, and provide both enrichment and intervention opportunities. Students engage in core academic classes, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies, while also exploring a variety of special subjects such as art, music, choir, band, computer literacy, physical education, health, and career connection classes, depending on their grade level. These years are a time for students to strengthen their academic foundation and discover new interests, helping them grow into confident, well-rounded learners ready for the challenges of high school.
