Yellow Wood Academy’s Academic Program

At Yellow Wood Academy, we meet our students where they are - ahead, behind, or right on pace. We know that a strong foundation in Math, Science, Social Studies, and English is imperative for our students to succeed. Your student’s team will personally craft their program, and their teachers will personally craft every single day. By engaging with your student where they are, we will bring time-honored studies alive to both enthusiastic and reluctant learners. And if your student has to be out of school for any reason, their program is right where they left it when they get back.

Our students can take any combination of our classes; some of them full-time, others complement a schedule at another school with Yellow Wood Academy classes, and some just come for tutoring.

Courses are offered at multiple levels: Foundation, Standard, Honors, & AP (Advanced Placement).

With uniquely personalized content and classes, Yellow Wood Academy utilizes standards-based grading (SBG) as an approach to student learning and assessment in which the mastery of skills over time is what drives a grade, rather than the total collection of points. SBG aligns with our educational philosophy in that it provides adaptive and actionable feedback to students as they progress through each course. With SBG, students are empowered to self-assess, and partner with their YWA instructor to co-create a meaningful educational experience.

Luke - 12th Grade
Luke came to YWA looking for a school where it was easier to manage his anxiety. Since homework was more of a stress rather than being meaningfull work, his math teacher made him a program to study calculus without taking work home. With the extra bandwith he's gotten back into music and this year joined a YWA rock-band as a drummer.
Brianne - 10th Grade
Brianne was a good student but she struggled to keep up with school while she was on her travelling soccer team. It was impossible to catch back up after being gone for a week at a time. At YWA her teachers made a program just for her that is always right where she left it when she gets back to school.
Cole - 9th Grade
Cole loves learning and is as curious as he is smart. He was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder two years ago and he learns best when his classes are tailored to his interests and accomodate his need for quiet spaces and time to process changes. Learning that he loved lizards, his YWA teachers wove that into his lessons: writing his first ever research paper about Chuckwallas, doing a statistics project in math about lizard life spans, and 3D printing habitats for his pet lizards in Design Thinking class.
Jordan - 6th Grade
Jordan is a spunky kid who is involved in as many activities as they can be. Their YWA teachers provided a supportive environment while they grew in their identity. Their teachers also challenged them in reading and writing while slowing down and building their foundational skills in math.
Jack - 4th Grade
Jack was diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgraphia in 2nd grade and struggled to keep up with his peers in a large classroom. His YWA teachers tried out manipulatives and accessible technology until they found tools that helped him gain confidence in his own learning. By the end of his first year at YWA, he was using the library to check out and read chapter books for fun.

Special Education at Yellow Wood Academy

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Dr. Elizabeth Peterson

Learning Specialist

At Yellow Wood Academy, we tailor our educational programs to each individual student. For some students, their program may include special education services. Because our certificated special education teachers teach across all disciplines, Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) can be seamlessly integrated into students’ daily schedules.

Our student-centered programs afford SDI to all students, whether or not they require special education services. This means that students are not singled out and pulled from class in order to receive SDI; rather, students’ instructional “minutes” are built into their day. Yellow Wood Academy is proud to foster an inclusive environment that celebrates the diversity of all learners.

“Any student who has struggled in a larger classroom environment would really benefit [from YWA]. For instance, we might get kids who have learning disabilities that have not been detected yet — or we might have kids who have been bullied — or they have anxiety and a typical classroom environment is just too much for them at the moment. … If any student just feels like they hate school and they can’t do and it’s not working for them — they should consider this as an option.”

[We are] not just going, ‘Oh my gosh, if only.’ It’s really empowering to know our students well and be able to assess them thoroughly, to not only see what their areas of growth are, but also what their strengths are. … In my position, I will know if a kid who walks into the classroom is really happy or if the kid is bummed out. It’s nice to have the ability to figure that out and do something about it — that’s one of the most rewarding things about my job — helping students in that way.””
— Dr. Elizabeth Peterson, Learning Specialist
 
 

Our Department Leaders

Language Arts

Eric Braun

Whatever a student’s path is, communication will help them get there. We know that every student needs to feel comfortable both learning new information and telling people about their thoughts. With this is mind, our English department focuses on literacy, analysis, and writing as a tool of communicating ideas.

Mathematics

Jacquelin Remaley

Math is a subject students often either love or hate. Our Math department is equipped to meet both sorts of learners and all those in between. We approach each class to meet the learning style of the students: hands-on projects, traditional learning, and real-world experiences.

Social Studies

Carol Schuster

Our immersive Social Studies curriculum challenges our students to engage with the world and its history. Never before have people had access to so much information. Our students learn to analyze sources of information, put information into context, and think critically about past and current events.

Science

Kristi Hanlon

It is important for all our students to understand the workings of the natural world. Our science program works with students of all ages to develop their scientific thinking, learn core concepts, and interact with hands-on labs and activities.

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Library

Valerie Schlagel

Our library is jam-packed with both curriculum for teachers to use with students as well as books and graphic novels for students to pursue on their own. Our collection allows our teachers to be incredibly flexible in what tools they use with their students. Some of our students want to rely on tried and true favorites, others want to learn skills through popular novels, graphic novels, and our huge collection of non-fiction.

Lifelong Wellness

Sam Schneider

Health and wellness are necessary pieces of our students’ education. Our Lifelong Wellness program is different from traditional PE in many ways. We focus on meeting students’ comfort and fitness levels. Our goal is for our students to learn to care for themselves in the healthiest way possible.

Arts

Adrienne Pierce

Music and Arts offers visual art programs that teach theory, design, and creation. Our students can hone in on a favorite medium, learn guitar or how to produce the newest track. They will learn how to approach art and music as a formal study and as a form of self expression.

Applied Technology

Joseph Tracy

Technology is an integral part of all our students’ lives. Our Applied Tech department focuses around helping students learn new technology, use it to solve problems, and engage empathetically with the world around them.

Language

Alexander Peck

Whether college bound or world bound, languages develop student opportunities. Yellow Wood Academy offers seven different languages, both modern and classical. These include: Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Latin, German, French, & Spanish.