The US sister of Wahaha Schools, New England Innovation Academy (NEIA) has announced its opening in Marlborough, USA, enrolling its first students in the fall of 2021, with recruiting beginning this September.
NEIA is founded by Ms. Jane Du, who is also the founder of Wahaha Schools. NEIA’s innovation advisors include Matthew S. Kressy, the founding director of the MIT Integrated Design & Management (MITidm) master’s degree, and Joel A. Getz, senior associate dean for development and alumni relations at Yale University. NEIA plans to partner with innovative companies and educational institutes in the region, both to provide students with real-world experiences and to offer educational opportunities to the area and international students.
ABOUT NEIA
The New England Innovation Academy (NEIA) is a private international day/boarding school serving grades six through twelve and focused on human-centered design and building a research-backed, innovative curriculum from the ground up.
NEIA’s beautiful, newly renovated 27-acre campus is located in Marlborough, a buzzing hub of biomedical and high-tech industry within a 40-minute drive from downtown Boston and Boston’s Logan International Airport.
NEIA anticipates welcoming its first students for grades six and nine in September 2021, gradually growing to be a day/boarding school of approximately 400 students in grades six through twelve by academic year 2025-26.
The school aspires to be the first choice for U.S. and international students seeking a highly innovative education rooted in the skills necessary for long-term success globally.
NEIA CURRICULUM
Human-centered design and real-world inclusion will allow each student to create a unique pathway for their future success. Upon graduation, NEIA students will be ready as effective problem solvers, well prepared to tackle the challenges facing our world today with skilled communication, empathy, creativity, and competence.
WHO IS NEIA’S FOUNDING HEAD?
“Never in my career as a teacher and school leader has there been a more critical need for a new model of education than today. While NEIA’s establishment precedes COVID-19, the current global situation urgently calls for a new way of educating our students that prepares them to tackle the challenges of the ever-changing world. Far from innovating around the edges of institutional learning, we are building a research-based, innovative model from the ground up.”
— Tom Woelper, Founding Head of NEIA
NEIA has also announced the hiring of its Founding Head of School, J. Thomas (Tom) Woelper. Woelper has had a distinguished 30-year career in New England’s most highly-ranked independent schools, including Taft School, Groton School, The Hotchkiss School and, most recently, Far Hills Country Day School, where he served as Head of School.
Ms. Jane Du, the founder of Wahaha Schools and NEIA has strong faiths in the founding head.
“Among the nearly ten strongest candidates that we have interviewed, only in Tom Woelper we found the ideal leader to be the Founding Head of New England Innovation Academy. Tom brings an exceptional depth and breadth of experience in leading outstanding schools. He shares our goals to create a school for the future with human-centered design, a future-focused curriculum, and real-world inclusion at its innovation education core. Informed by his rich experience leading top independent schools for thirty years and inspired by our mission, he will be invaluable in the creation of the world-caliber program we envision for the New England Innovation Academy, and to realize our vision- Prepare the next generation of innovators to pursue their dreams and shape a better world.“
Ms. Jane Du
Founder & Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Wahaha International School and Wahaha Bilingual School Hangzhou; Founder of New England Innovation Academy; Founder, Education Development Foundation, Wahaha Schools; Honorary Trustee, West Lake University, Hangzhou.
Wonderful Opportunities from NEIA for WIS Teachers and Students
Immersive Study Abroad
G5 and above students of Wahaha Schools will have the chance to be led by Wahaha School’s teachers to enjoy a one-month immersive learning journey at NEIA via the Wing-Spreading Program. The learning content will be closely connected to the curriculum taught in Hangzhou Wahaha Schools, and there is a progressive continuity between the learning themes.
Online Course Synchronization
NEIA also plans to synchronize its courses online, so that Wahaha students on the Hangzhou campus can also access the world-class learning resources.
Exchange Program
There will be exchange programs for students and teachers between Wahaha Schools and NEIA in the future.
Admissions Advantages
NEIA will admit a certain percentage of international students every year according to the standards. After several years of immersive study experience at NEIA, and with the help of a customized school curriculum and wonderful teaching resources, we believe that Wahaha students definitely have the advantages to stand out among many applicants.
For more information, please visit NEIA’s official website:www.neiacademy.org
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