About NOVA
Guiding principles
These three basic guiding principles underpin all that we do.
1. Highly capable students need a specialized learning environment to meet their potential.
Highly capable students are ready to progress rapidly beyond the basic skills. They require fast-paced, challenging learning opportunities which are greater in depth than typically possible in a conventional middle school setting. They are eager to move quickly into higher levels of understanding and to apply what they are learning to real problems and situations. To be effective, educational programs for these students should offer a flexible combination of acceleration, enrichment, and the application of higher level thinking skills. Without an environment designed around the special needs of this group, we risk losing our most intelligent students to boredom and lack of motivation, or at the very least, they may not learn to develop their considerable potential.
2. Middle school should be designed especially for young adolescents' needs.
Programs and activities at the middle school level must be active, interesting, and challenging in order to keep students engaged. Middle school students need to be actively involved in their community and develop responsibility for their own education. Although adolescence can be a turbulent time of life, it should also be a time for exposure to many new pursuits, active learning, experimentation in a safe environment, and personal growth. The fostering of curiosity, reflection, inquiry, and problem solving are crucial to maintaining interest in education at this time in a student's life when so many other things are happening physically, socially, and emotionally.
3. A small school and a personal setting work best to create a true sense of community
A small school can create a community where all students feel they belong. Middle school students need guidance from adults who know them well in an environment where they are recognized individually and valued for their contribution. This individual attention and sense of belonging can be a reality in a small school with a low student-teacher ratio and with exceptional teachers who truly appreciate this age group. In this setting, the adults can realistically give the students guidance in the social, emotional, physical, and intellectual aspects of their lives.
Collaboration among teachers, students, and parents enhances the already rich learning environment at NOVA. Parents who are aware of what their children are learning at school can be prime motivators who can reinforce these ideas at home. Close and continuous communication among home, school, and student is essential at NOVA School.