1. Where else can you find amazing classes such as Hacker Calculus, Zoo Design, Geochemistry and Create and Rule Your Own Country? Our schedule is packed with inspiring, creative and one-of-a-kind offerings for bright students that you won鈥檛 find anywhere else. Click for the full list.
2. We also have three curricula! This summer, we鈥檒l be offering Black Death, It鈥檚 Electrifying: Fueling the Future and The Penguin Predicament. These curricula are NAGC award-winning and her past offerings are always popular. They utilize problem-based learning (PBL) approach and allow students to take on roles, help solve problems and navigate real-world situations.
3. Our are top-notch! Not only do they provide outstanding enrichment, guided inquiry, and incredible content, but they also bring with them impressive backgrounds and experience: JPL, CalTech, USC, The Natural History Museum, The Huntington Library, UCLA, MIT and much more.
4. At Academy students love to learn! This isn鈥檛 summer school 鈥� it鈥檚 summer enrichment, packed with peers that value learning for all the challenge, new perspectives and flat-out fun it provides. Interested in meeting like-minded peers? Join us this summer!
5. Rockets, explosions and dissections 鈥� oh, my! Academy classes are hands-on and designed to promote building, construction, tinkering, art, experiments, role-playing and debate. As the saying goes, we鈥檙e not afraid to get our hands dirty 鈥� and neither should you!聽
6. More than just classes: we offer free community events throughout the summer, such as student-led workshops, movie nights and an open house 鈥� and who knows what else might pop up? Our Learning Center is the perfect place not only for classes, but for meeting new peers and parents through fun and engaging events and activities that allow for socialization, games, free play and conversation.
7. New science lab! Have you heard? The Learning Center now has a science wet lab, complete with science equipment and technology, sinks, workstations and lab tables and stools. We鈥檒l be utilizing this space for the first time this summer and couldn鈥檛 be more excited to engage in scientific inquiry in an authentic environment.聽聽
8. Two words: 3D printer! Our Hacker Calculus course, running for the first time this summer, will include use of the printer and building visual models of calculus concepts and equations.There are still spots available in sessions II and III!
9. Here, There Be Dragons! Our Dungeons and Dragons course is running in sessions I and III and spots are still available. Historically one of our most popular courses, this class engages students in fantasy, decision making, leadership, social skills and strategy. Don鈥檛 miss out on your chance to embark on the many exciting journeys of this class!
10. Flexible schedule: We offer four classes per session for each of three age groups 鈥� and the choice is up to you! From just one class to a full-day option, you can customize your schedule to best meet your interests and learning needs. The Academy Team would be happy to answer any questions and discuss the different course options with you, so please don鈥檛 hesitate to give us a call: (626) 403-8900.

We look forward to seeing you at Academy this summer!

The Summer Academy application deadline is May 29. to learn more and to submit your application today.聽

Anna interned with 优蜜视频 over the summer, working closely with the . Here she shares her reflections on some of the things she has learned from the experience.

Prior to joining the team at the Institute for Educational Advancement, I spent a year working full-time in an LAUSD elementary school in South-Central Los Angeles as a mentor and tutor. After working 50-hour weeks in the second-largest school district in the nation, I was eager to gain in-classroom experience from the opposite end of the spectrum. I was drawn to 优蜜视频 for its progressive philosophy; students here are grouped not by age but by their academic interests, teachers are given creative liberty to explore methods that work best to engage gifted students, and the individual student is taken seriously and respected.

On my first day working at the 优蜜视频 Academy, I was immediately intrigued by the group of students that made up an organic chemistry class. The ages of the students ranged from six years old to twelve. Not only was each student fully engaged in the class, but each student was treated equally. The six year-old was not spoken down to or treated like a small child. I couldn鈥檛 help but think of the third graders I had spent the past year with; I can鈥檛 imagine how positively their educational experiences and overall senses of self would have been impacted if they could have been lucky enough to work in a similar environment.

The teachers at 优蜜视频 come from a wide range of backgrounds – all of them passionate about the subjects they teach, and all of them passionate about teaching and making challenging content accessible. We had teachers designing scavenger hunts at The Huntington Library to enrich the Planetary Science class, teachers bringing ingredients to make crepes for the French culture class, along with teachers who worked their networks to bring equipment into the classroom from Caltech! Not only do these teachers have access to valuable learning resources, but they are valuable resources themselves as mentors. The intentionality behind each lesson was evident by the enthusiasm and engagement of the students. It鈥檚 a no-brainer that when teachers care, students learn more, grow more, and enjoy the class more. For this reason alone, 优蜜视频 provides an invaluable educational experience to its students – an experience that would be defining, even revolutionary, if it could be implemented on a large scale in public education.

The Institute for Educational Advancement has opened my eyes to a different approach to learning – and it would be unfair for me to assume that 优蜜视频鈥檚 philosophy could only be realized in a place of learning for gifted children. I do believe that gifted students need autonomy, engagement, and collaboration in their learning spaces. However, I believe that this is true for all students. 优蜜视频 serves as a special 鈥渓earning oasis鈥� for students who are not finding enough intellectual stimulation or challenge in their schools. I wish there were no need to provide this 鈥渟pecial escape鈥� to begin with. I do believe that we, as a community and state, are capable of implementing 优蜜视频鈥檚 successes in classrooms across a wide spectrum of neighborhoods and school districts.

Gifted children give us insight into what it really means to educate. We need to look no further than the minds of our brightest youth when looking for direction in teaching methods and education policy. If we just listened to what our gifted youth had to say about their educational experiences – both the highs and the lows – we would have all the answers we need. Our students know when they are learning in a way that motivates them to learn more, they know when their teachers care, and they know when their voices are being heard. The moment that we all take our children seriously and allow them to share their love for life and excitement to grow with us, we will have made a shift from developing students to developing leaders. At the Institute for Educational Advancement, students are heard. And what we are hearing is that they are learning, and that they are enjoying it.

Learn more about the .