Circle Agreements
- Foster a culture that maintains respect for our environment, community, and eachother
- Build community by welcoming new members, being patient, open, vulnerable, and accepting of each other's unique qualities
- Show up on time and actively engage with the community in a helpful and understanding manner
- Cultivate an atmosphere of kindness, empathy, compassion, and unity where people are willing to help and be helped
Our community in the Upper School at NEIA starts being built from the first day of school. We come together as a group, students and staff, to write what we value in others and ourselves and the standards we will use to hold each other accountable. These become our Circle Agreements. The final set of agreements represents the conversations we had to agree on the verbiage, the edits everyone contributed, and the acceptance that we all can live up to these year-long. They are hung in every shared space and read frequently at the start of classes or meetings to keep them alive.
We have created this circle agreement to define the culture we want in our shared spaces. The language we have chosen to have in this reflects who we want to be and how we want to be treated. We promise to live up to these standards and stand up when they are not being upheld.
"This generation of students are going to save the world, and if we're doing our job right as a school, we're giving them the tools and resources they need to make that impact."
Our Upper School
CurriculumThe Upper School at NEIA continues, and builds upon, the journey our Middle School innovators embarked upon. Anchored in NEIA’s entrepreneurial mindset, our Upper School program equips students with the tools to navigate complexity, embrace innovation, and wield the power of effective communication. Our innovators are known, seen, heard, empowered, and challenged to create solutions in ways small and large.
The problems and solutions of today and tomorrow are not found in isolated curricular boxes. We must teach, and learn, outside of these staid spaces toward an integrated whole. In the Upper School, we challenge our innovators to dream big and to innovate with empathy. As our innovators experience the excitement of interdisciplinary exploration, of holistic learning, they will foster lasting creativity that ignites unbounded intellectual curiosity.
Confidence is critical as our innovators move toward graduation. We want them to know, to feel, that making mistakes, is not only ok, but encouraged. Navigating failure is a crucial part of learning. Our innovators will be given the tools, resources, and space to understand that you are not defined by a failure, but by how you respond to it.
Our curriculum empowers students to harness creativity across multiple dimensions. From shaping innovative solutions to real-world challenges to mastering the art of digital creation in our state-of-the-art Innovation Studio, our students will emerge as true creators.
Discover what is next
College CounselingNEIA innovators take a journey of self-discovery to identify their passion, find their purpose, and bring their ideas to impact. NEIA’s Upper School prepares students for what is next. For many students in our upper school, the college admission process is the next step on that journey.
NEIA offers a comprehensive range of programs and services designed to support students and families throughout the academic journey here at NEIA and beyond. We provide an easy-to-follow timeline and various resources to help navigate the process of college and more.
"The NEIA College Counseling department believes that the process of self-discovery should mirror what students are already doing in their coursework: authentic self-reflection."
"For me, NEIA means growth. A place where the conditions are harsh enough where innovators must push themselves to thrive, but also is nurturing enough to provide adequate support when needed."
"Being a part of NEIA to me means so much, but mostly celebrating failures, persevering, being my true self, and encouraging others."
"Being a part of the NEIA community means never being alone. In the community, I feel accepted and included, in the short time I’ve been here."
Upper School News
Check out some of the great things our upper school students have been accomplishing!