EA YOUNG ACADEMY

The essential purpose of education is to empower learners to fully develop their talents and abilities. ​ E.A. Young Academy is a private school committed to gifted education and advocacy outside the walls of the school. In addition to our own efforts, we are major proponents of the public school system and desire to work together with school leadership, faculty and students to better meet the needs of the gifted and talented population in any educational setting.

Academy leadership and staff at E.A. Young Academy continually commit to a culture that is based on shared values and beliefs about teaching and learning specifically targeted for the gifted, talented and high ability learner. E.A. Young Academy is founded on the idea that gifted, talented and high ability scholars:
- thrive in an educational setting with other advanced scholars where the curriculum is differentiated to meet their particular passions and
allows for appropriately mindful, in-depth study.
- require thoughtful attention to their social and emotional development.
- require a curriculum based upon interests, emphasizing initiative and originality, created and delivered by dynamic, trained faculty.
- require faculty who are uniquely trained to select and adapt the content of curriculum to the mental caliber of each scholar they teach.
- do not benefit from a setting that fails to make demands on their abilities.

Academy leadership and staff hold one another accountable to high expectations for professional practice both formally and informally. One process by which faculty are encouraged to grow as educators is delineated in our Faculty Appraisal Guide. Additionally, a repository of artifacts indicating a strong commitment to instructional practices that include active student engagement, a focus on depth of understanding and the application of knowledge and skills may be seen in our showcase of Scholar Digital Portfolios, Curriculum Mapping, Syllabi, Exemplar Project Based Learning Plans and even professional development sessions conducted by Young Academy staff.

Due to the specialized nature of our school, we expect that most of our scholars should perform at or above grade level. This proved to be true on Northwest Evaluation Association’s (NWEA) Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment. Many of the scholars could pass minimum standards-based exams for their grade level at the beginning of the year. The MAP assessment, however, tracks the amount of growth over the course of the year regardless of where scholars begin. Each scholar is given a Growth Projection based on their grade, subject, and beginning score.

The following percentages are the “Percentage of Growth Met” score from the 2018-2019 academic year which compare the actual year’s growth to the projected growth (for example, if NWEA projects a student will “grow” 2 points and they show 4 points of growth, the growth percentage would be 200%):

Mathematics: +236%
Reading: +179%
Language Usage: +144%
General Science: +269%

As evidenced by the outstanding growth records above, most E.A. Young scholars consistently exceed an average year’s growth across all core content areas. Additionally, our Upper School scholars consistently qualify for commended students and finalists in the National Merit Scholar program. E.A. Young Academy Upper School scholars have a composite score of 1440 on the SAT and a 35 on the ACT, significantly above the national and state average as well as what colleges and universities look to for admissions requirements.