5 Ways Early Learning Programs Help Pave The Path To College

According to famed educator and civil rights icon Marva Collins, “Success doesn’t come to you, you’ve got to go to it.”

In the nearly four decades since we first opened our doors to students, we’ve seen, time and time again, that it’s personal motivation - the self-driven desire to succeed and achieve- that has driven so many of our students and alumni to find success beyond our doors.

But that drive doesn’t spring out of nowhere…it is forged in the early years of a student’s education and involves some of the most important moments in a child’s early, formative years. That’s why we place such high value in early learning for each of our students. The result: our students and alumni are able to move from our halls to success in high school and college with confidence and determination.

When it comes to paving the path to college, few benefits are more apparent for students than those gained during those early years of education and growth. Here’s a look at five of the most valuable ways early learning programs help make the path to college easier for students, and why these years are so critical to a student’s success later in life.

1. Setting Standards to Strive Toward

Here at World Academy, we are committed to educating students to be independent thinkers, resourceful problem-solvers, good citizens, life-long learners and well-rounded individuals. But in order to help students reach those goals, it is critical that we set clear, achievable standards for students to strive toward, and that includes academic, social, emotional, physical, moral, creative, and cultural development.

That’s why we focus so intently on providing individualized lesson plans for each and every student - guiding each stage of student development, while setting clear and achievable goals for the stages ahead. Whether it’s challenging students to discover the power of technology or encouraging them to engage with their community, setting clear goals, and driving students to reach those goals using their own skills and responsibility, helps students know what to aim for, as well as how to best get there.

2. Nurturing All Aspects of Individual Student Development

Much in the same way that the challenges that await the next generation of leaders may vary from person to person, so too do the challenges and opportunities available to today’s learners vary from person to person. That’s why we focus intently on driving individual student growth, from cradle to career...why we offer a ‘world of opportunity’ to all of our students to be sure each has a chance to experience all possible avenues of learning and growth to be the most well-rounded individual possible!

By building individualized learning plans for each student, encouraging personal development and exploration throughout the learning process and maintaining low teacher-to-student ratios, our staff at World Academy remains keenly in tune with individual student needs, challenges, and opportunities for success. By helping students discover their own strengths, we set our graduates up to succeed on their own individualized path through school, college, and beyond.

3. Building Critical Skills from The Very Start to Form The “Whole Person”

Robust early childhood education does more than just familiarize students with the learning process. According to the National Education Association, the benefits of early childhood education can have potent, lasting effects that may help students succeed in measurable ways throughout their education and later careers.

That’s why we focus our efforts so intently on building key skills right from the start, beginning with Infant and Pre-K learning that feature sensory integration opportunities and directed play, both of which help build the necessary basis for critical thinkers and individual learners. This is the foundation of our successful building of the “whole person,” which includes all facets of the child’s being-cognitive/intellectual, physical, socio-emotional, cultural and creative aspects. This continues through our Elementary and Middle School classes, which prioritize foundational problem-solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity skills that will help students better understand their world from our classroom and straight through college.

4. Teaching Students How to Drive their Own Successes

Ask any college-bound high school graduate what the key to success in the college search is and they will probably give some form of answer that involves “self-motivation” In today’s highly-competitive college admissions atmosphere, it is critical that students are able to not only target their own goals, but that they also have the skills and resources needed to drive toward those goals on their own.

We prioritize individual exploration and growth for just this reason, and highly encourage students to experiment, try new things, and find their own particular avenues for success for the entire duration of their studies here at World Academy. Whether it’s balancing time on the Math Team with time spent playing sports or pursuing music alongside a passion for art and science, we recognize that it is students that drive their own successes, not teachers. Helping them discover, build, and act on those key skills of self-determination and motivation are absolutely critical toward paving that path to college later on down the road.

5. A Key Connection to Community Support

We are so fortunate to have such a close connection to many of our World Academy alumni, many of whom continue to engage with our students, our school, and our community during high school, college, and beyond. Furthermore, one of the most rewarding things to hear is how much our school community still means to our graduates, and how well anchored they feel knowing there is a network of educators, neighbors, friends and family there to support them during the challenges of higher education.

For that reason, we place a strong emphasis on the value of community to students’ overall growth and success as they mature and proceed through their careers. It is this connection to their peers and mentors that offers stability during tough times, as well as the chance to return home and share what they have learned later on down the road. Between our Alumni Association and our alumni scholarship, we stay committed to our graduates for the duration of their continued success. Our World Academy community is key to the growth and success of all of our students even as they proceed through their career-focused futures.

Our Goal: Paving the Way Forward for our Students

Let’s face facts: the path to college is a long a difficult one, with competition higher than ever before. That’s why it is so important to build the foundation for student success early and reinforce it throughout the learning process… and we work hard to do just that with each and every student who walks through our doors.

At World Academy, we know the value of early learning because we see it in action every single day and have for over 40 years. Whether it’s watching our students set new standards for success during their time in our classrooms or seeing the continued success of our alumni after graduation and beyond, the importance of robust, early learning shows its value each and every year.

If you’re looking to set your young learner on the path to college with firm footing and the skills and community needed to succeed, our World might just be the perfect fit. Get in touch to schedule a tour today and see just how valuable early learning and a strong support system can be for the college-bound student.

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World Academy is a state licensed, independent, developmentally-appropriate and academically rigorous private school for children from ages Six weeks through Grade 8. Accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, it offers high quality Early Childhood Programs, Elementary and Middle School, Before and Afterschool Programs, and SummerQuest Camp. For almost 40 years the school has been dedicated to providing all students with a high-quality, 21st-century, diverse, "whole child" focused education that supports families and engages all facets of a child’s being, including cognitive/intellectual, physical, social-emotional, cultural and creative aspects. Located at 138 Spit Brook Road in Nashua, the state-of- the-art 55,000 square-foot campus features specialized wings for Nursery, Preschool, Elementary and Middle School students; three age-appropriate playgrounds; a natural playground; two in-ground swimming pools; a Gymnasium/Theater complex with a rock climbing wall; nature trails; a soccer field; an accelerated Math Program; immersive World Languages programs; Lego Robotics built into the curriculum for K-8; and much more.

Students from World Academy have consistently been accepted into their first-choice schools including Groton School, Middlesex School, Lawrence Academy, Bishop Guertin High School, Central Catholic High School, Berwick Academy, The Derryfield School, and The Pike School, to name a few.

For more information, contact Samantha Wingate, Director of Admissions at 603-888-1982.