Students deserve joy.
Our students deserve to live lives full of possibility, promise, and – perhaps most importantly – joy. But traditional schools are often not places that cultivate joy in our students, and we believe that every child deserves an educational experience that captures their curiosity, motivates them to achieve at high levels, and brings joy into their daily life.
We want students to love coming to Battle Born each day. We want students to feel loved, seen, and respected by their teachers and peers and to be a part of a community of support.
Joy is at the heart of our work and drives our pedagogical model because we know that when kids love school, it is a sign that all the other pieces of a high-performing school – academics, data-driven instruction, social-emotional needs – are in place to support them. We believe that all children can and will love school when strong academic supports are combined with student-led inquiry, a focus on social-emotional learning, and strong values that create a community of learners and leaders.
We want students to love coming to Battle Born each day. We want students to feel loved, seen, and respected by their teachers and peers and to be a part of a community of support.
Joy is at the heart of our work and drives our pedagogical model because we know that when kids love school, it is a sign that all the other pieces of a high-performing school – academics, data-driven instruction, social-emotional needs – are in place to support them. We believe that all children can and will love school when strong academic supports are combined with student-led inquiry, a focus on social-emotional learning, and strong values that create a community of learners and leaders.
A community of JOY
Battle Born Academy - Core Values
Equity - Opportunity for ALL
Battle Born Academy is committed to the practice of equity at the individual, classroom, and system level. As students and as educators, we must work to identify barriers to equitable outcomes for all students, examine and unlearn biases, disrupt the negative impact of systems of inequity, eliminate the persistent disparities, and implement new policies and practices that support an excellent education for all students, regardless of race, class, sexual orientation, immigration status, gender, gender identity and expression, ability, religion, and ethnicity. We instill a life-long commitment to equity in our students, as they learn the empathy, collaboration, and organizing skills necessary to create tangible and lasting impact in our community. That change starts in the classroom - with projects that impact their immediate neighborhood, making lives better in their homes, parks, libraries, and more. This continues well beyond graduation day, instilling a life-long commitment to the betterment of our local Las Vegas community and our broader world.
JOY - Follow Your PassionsAt Battle Born Academy, we believe our best work - and students' most enjoyable learning - comes at those moments when our heads, our hands, and our hearts all work together. Students joyfully follow their passions, exploring what they're excited about, letting curiosity lead their learning, and designing projects that bring them joy and bring joy to others. When our hearts are in it, we all learn and achieve more. We want students to love coming to Battle Born each day. We want students to feel loved, seen, and respected by their teachers and peers and to be a part of a community of support. Likewise, educators, staff, families, community members, and everyone at BBA is encouraged to have fun, be their authentic self and find the joy in education.
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Exploration - Lead your own learning
Driven by passion and a desire to better the world they live in, our students put their hands and minds to work solving real-world problems. They engage in scientific inquiry, design thinking, and student-led projects. Likewise, our teachers model inquiry, setting ambitious heights for their students, engaging in best-practice research, and collecting rigorous data to improve instruction. Adults and students alike know that learning comes from authentic curiosity. Through inquiry, we achieve ambitious academic results - while making a real, immediate contribution to our community.
Wholeness - Care for yourself and your community
Battle Born Academy is committed to an equitable, holistic education – one where students, staff, and families are able to be their whole, authentic selves. Academically, students engage in drama, the arts, and have ample recess, play, community time, and celebration. Students also practice social-emotional wellness, including emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and community awareness. For teachers and students alike, we believe in a sustainable environment – one where ambitious academic gains happen for all students within the school day and without an extended school year. We want students to love coming to BBA; we want teachers to start their career with us and retire 40 years later from our school. We believe sustainability and wholeness allow us to remain a community of learners who achieve ambitious results.
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Community - Contribute to a better world
No one achieves anything great alone. At Battle Born, collaboration defines our way of operating. Students engage authentically with one another and the community of Las Vegas. Our community drives our decisions, and through meaningful relationships and restorative justice practices between staff, parents, students, and community members, we cultivate and maintain a support system for all to learn and grow. Students and staff alike are committed to educational equity for students in Nevada and work to make the world a better place at every level - in their neighborhood, throughout the broader Las Vegas and Nevada community, and across the world.