Curriculum
Instituto Justice and Leadership Academy address each component of our program within the context of social justice. IJLA presents coursework in an interdisciplinary context so students can see connections between content areas. Teachers also engage students in the content of each course by eliciting examples of the issues and injustices that many of the youth and their communities face as a way for students to practice critical thinking and intellectual discourse. IJLA encourages students to think independently and critically to strategize for optimum societal and community impact.
All learning culminates into a quarterly student justice symposium in which students' share their final projects with their peers, families, and community members.
Every student is also required to develop a senior portfolio with evidence of their post-secondary transition plans including submitting 3 college applications, completion of the financial aid application (FAFSA) and/or scholarship applications, participation in a college fair, participation in a job fair, and completion of a personal statement.
Students have the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school through our dual enrollment and dual credit programs.
Competency-based grading
Students earn course credit by meeting specific competencies in each course. Competencies are the skills that students must develop, and be able to successfully apply in multiple ways, in order to graduate from high school and be prepared for success in college, career, and life. Students do not receive letter grades, but rather, pass/fail marks along with detailed comments from their teachers.
The scale rating is:
1. No Evidence- Students have not submitted any evidence to the teacher to determine a student’s skill level in a specific standard or skill
2. Not Yet- Students have demonstrated limited growth in meeting the standard or skill
3. Meeting- Students have demonstrated mastery in meeting this standard or skill
4. Exceeding – Students have demonstrated mastery and have exceeded this standard or skill