Since its inception in 1998, Willow Bend Academy has been providing students with the skills to become independent learners. All programs at Willow Bend Academy enable students to focus on their individual instructional needs and progress at their own pace. Each program at Willow Bend Academy is designed to develop self-confidence and stimulate an interest in the learning process.

Staff and Faculty

Willow Bend Academy draws its faculty from among the most caring, interested and talented teachers in the area. Willow Bend Academy requires its teachers to hold at least a Bachelors Degree with a college specialty in a related teaching field. All faculty receive training in the specific methods for developing students into independent learners who set and achieve personal academic goals.

Diagnostic Placement

Nothing is more frustrating to a student than to be lock-stepped into a curriculum with his classmates when he or she may be academically ahead of or behind the material that is being taught. One of the first actions at Willow Bend Academy is an assessment of the student’s knowledge and skills. Having established a benchmark, the curriculum is designed to match the student.

Individualized Curriculum

At Willow Bend Academy there are no group lecture classes. Certified teachers work individually with students providing assistance and encouragement. This means that talented students often work ahead of their chronological grade level and often complete more than the minimum number of credits, or meet graduation requirements earlier. This also means that the student who has some learning differences can be placed so that frustration is minimized and he or she can often regain self-confidence and renew his or her lost love of learning.

Mastery Learning

Students not only work from an individualized starting point, they master each concept before moving on to the next step. Their rate of progress is not set by having to stay up with the rest of the class (or wait for the rest of the class to catch up), but by their own rate of mastery of the subject.

Three Graduation Plans

Since every student is unique, each student should not have to follow a single, standard program of study. Willow Bend Academy offers students both college preparatory and vocational courses of study. Three graduation plans are offered including Honors, College Preparatory, and General.

Convenient, Flexible Hours

Much of the time in a conventional school is non-productive. At Willow Bend Academy, we seek to make every minute count. Students may come at 8:15 a.m. and leave at 12:15 p.m. or they may arrive at 1:00 p.m. and leave at 5:00 p.m. This is particularly convenient for students with part-time jobs. With administrative approval, arrival and departure times can be altered to meet specific needs of students.