MIDDLE SCHOOL ACADEMY
why
In our chaotic culture, many families are looking for a school that teaches Christ-centered values and not only provides academic excellence, but also deep character development for its students. If this sounds appealing to you, then Ascension's Leadership, Service, and Innovation Academies have been designed with your student in mind.
6th Grade Leadership Academy
The Leadership Academy features academics that exceed grade level and includes Makerspace, Nature Lab, Music, Spanish, and PE. Leadership Academy students will also participate in 6-8 character building field trips to go and visit local leaders in our community. Our 6th grade students, for example, attend chapel at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, then have a private lunch with Dr. Scott Lisea, the campus Chaplain. After lunch they meet with owner/engineers at Launchpoint Technologies in Goleta and learn about the dedication it takes to create innovative technologies such as drones or pediatric heart pumps. The next day students log their lessons learned in their leadership journals and discuss lessons applicable in their own lives. This is just one of the field trips that makes the Leadership Academy such a compelling experience for our 6th grade students. Click here to learn more!
7th Grade Service Academy
Like the Leadership Academy, the 7th grade Service Academy also features academics that exceed grade level and includes Makerspace, Nature Lab, Music, Spanish, and PE. Service Academy students will also participate in 6-8 character building field trips to go and visit local non-profits and service organizations. Our 7th grade students, for example, visit James Storehouse in Newbury Park, CA and learn how James Storehouse provides practical support to families in the fostercare system. Students then spend time the next day processing the lessons they've learned in their service journals and discussing lessons to be applied to their own lives in class. This is just one of the field trips that makes the Service Academy such a compelling experience for our 7th grade students.
The 8th Grade Innovation
Like our 6th and 7th grade academies, our 8th grade Innovation Academy doubles-down on developing Christlike character in our students. In this foundational year, we strive to equip our students to lead and serve with boldness as they discover how to innovate solutions to often complex and pressing problems. We believe that our Innovation Academy students will forge character and resilience that will equip them to make wise decisions in high school and beyond. Our Innovation Academy field trips will focus on community and business leaders with an entrepreneurial spirit who have innovated to successfully solve significant challenges in our community. The capstone project in 8th grade features a presentation that highlights what each student has learned about leading, serving, and innovating to solve a problem of their choosing in order to make the world a better place.
Our goal with the Academies is to intentionally form Christlike character into our students so that they have a firm foundation as they venture into any of our local high schools.