Join the BE THE WAIE Mailing List
ABOUT WAIE
The World Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (WAIE) is an asynchronous, culturally responsive, digital learning, independent school that provides youth with real world secondary and post-secondary education in Business, STREAM, and Environmental Studies. Also, a key focal point of WAIE is the week-long experiential learning immersions that occur each term for our young scholars.
The Importance of Healthy Eating
October 14 2020 at 01:53 PM | What we eat begins to affect our bodies before it even gets to our guts. The anticipation alone of a tasty treat is enough to make us salivate, readying our systems for nutrient breakdown, transport, and use as energy for all of life’s activities. The importance of healthy eating and nutrition is the key to a fully functioning body. Food is perhaps the most important and the least realized influencer of our overall health and well-being. Food acts as macro & microscopic instructions for nearly all of our bodily functions; from physical exertion and mental prowess to our immune system’s capacity to withstand compromise.
19 Hebrew Principles for Best Business Practices
SEPTEMBER 30 2020 at 10:17 AM | At the core of the World Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (WAIE) ‘s teachings are that of our ancestral Hebrew principles. When our young scholars learn about business and entrepreneurship they will learn about the foundational teachings of how they should operate their business before learning about business practices for world cultures. There are 19 Hebrew Principles for Best Business Practices that are key for all young scholars to learn about. Below we have outlined the key principles, let us know in the comments if you’re implementing these practices and how you are implementing them.
The Importance of Mental Health
SEPTEMBER 23 2020 at 11:47 AM | According to the American Psychological Association, 50% of mental illnesses begin by the age of 14 and 75% by the age of 24. As many of these concerns arise throughout a student’s school years and because children spend much of their time at school, it makes sense that the importance of mental health education should be at the forefront of curriculum. Black, LatinX, and Asian youths carry a disproportionate weight of this burden, where they face increased social inequities contributing to mental health concerns and lower access to services compared to European-American counterparts.
School Retention, Suspension, & Expulsion
SEPTEMBER 09 2020 at 04:49 PM | Why does being suspended or expelled increase the likelihood that a student will drop out of school? Understanding the impacts of school retention, school suspension, and school expulsion are crucial to developing success plans for youth in the education system. Although this phenomenon has been well-established and researched, schools continue to utilize school suspension and school expulsion as forms of punishment. These forms of punishment have negative impacts on students’ wellbeing in both the short and long term, within and outside of the classroom.
Diversity in Teaching
SEPTEMBER 02 2020 at 12:25 PM | Diversity in education is a topic of growing discussion, though most conversations fail to appreciate the role that diversity in teaching has on student success. The World Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (WAIE) sees this disparity as an opportunity to provide students with representation within and outside of the classroom. WAIE prioritizes a culturally responsive curriculum taught by a diverse body of educators along with robust workforce readiness and higher education preparation programs, equipping our students in becoming the next generation of ethical educators.
Ethnic Studies in Public Schools
AUGUST 26 2020 at 03:00 PM | Ethnic studies in public schools is necessary, however, it is lacking in the United States. A core value of the World Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (WAIE) is that our young scholars’ stories matter. In this way, we emphasize the importance of learning about the past and present histories of all peoples, especially those who have been historically silenced. Gaining an appreciation for the cultures of the world is central to our communities’ development. Patterns of erasure persist in most school systems today, where students are not typically encouraged to engage with the numerous cultures of the world.
Diversity in STEM
AUGUST 20 2020 at 10:25 AM | Employment in STEM fields has grown – outpacing overall job growth across the nation. However, the growth of diversity in STEM has not kept up with that same pace. Since 1990, STEM employment has grown from 9.7 million jobs to 17.3 million jobs. That being said, African Americans and LatinX/Hispanics are underrepresented in the STEM field, in comparison to their population in the U.S. workforce. The true challenge with this is that STEM touches on a widespread of industries such as healthcare, education, criminal justice, business, automotive, and many more. However, the voices of those impacted by the variety of industries are not at the table helping to build the STEM products that will impact their communities.
3 Extraordinary Things Students Do After Graduating
AUGUST 12 2020 at 09:23 AM | Graduation is the most important time in a student’s life. However, when it comes to the young scholars of the World Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (WAIE) there are 3 extraordinary things students do after graduating from WAIE. Traditionally, in high school, students spend 12 years in school but with WAIE they spend an extra 2 years. Upon graduating young scholars will be able to: (1) start a business as an entrepreneur, (2) enter the workforce utilizing a certification, or (3) continue their learning as a transfer student in higher education.
Diversity in Business Leadership
JULY 22 2020 at 10:20 AM | WAIE is a strong believer in the fact that it is time for us to build our own tables instead of asking for a seat at someone else’s table. As of 2018, 5% of CEOs in the USA are African American and 19% are LatinX. However, if we dive further and look at the makeup of the board of directors for companies then roughly 15% of board of director seats in major companies are held by people of color. In order to change this we must support the next generation of entrepreneurs in building businesses and recruiting diverse boards so that we can grow together as a community.
Why Does Diversity Matter in Entrepreneurship?
JULY 15 2020 at 04:30 PM | You may agree with the notion that entrepreneurship is a great focus for the youth who participate in World Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (WAIE) but may ask “Why does diversity matter in entrepreneurship?” That is a complicated yet not complicated question. However, to unpack that we must first look at what entrepreneurship does for a household and future generations along with the lack of access specific groups have to entrepreneurial opportunities.
What is WAIE?
JULY 1, 2020 at 10:05 AM | WAIE is new school designed to provide students in grades 7 to 14 the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship while learning how to create generational wealth and prepare for starting a business, workforce, or higher education. Our school is open to all but a special focus is given to youth from African Diaspora, LatinX, Indigenous, and Pacific Islander communities.
Which phase of the BE THE WAIE Campaign are we currently participating in?
Phase 1: Curriculum Development
By supporting phase 1 of the campaign you are joining the founding investors community. This group of the BE THE WAIE community are individuals who are passionate about seeing the school become a reality. Once the phase 1 campaign has completed we will begin developing the integrated, asynchronous curriculum for young scholars to participate in.
Entrepreneurship
Throughout their eight years with us, young scholars will build a well verse toolkit of skills in business and building generational wealth for them and their family through entrepreneurship. They will have opportunities to explore their own new ventures or support their peers in launching a business idea.
Workforce Readiness
As part of our process in obtaining accreditation we will work towards gaining accreditation to provide young scholars who complete year 13 and 14 with us with a Certificate of Entrepreneurship, Certificate of Data Analytics, and a Certificate of Environmental Studies so they may enter the workforce after graduation with strong skill sets.
Higher Education
Young scholars who participate in our program will have the option to continue on to a higher education institution of their choosing. Our career and college readiness team will support them through the process of transferring their credits and attending a trade school, university, or other post-secondary institution of their choice.