At Wyatt Academy, Joy and Wonder are two of our core values for great reason: Joy and Wonder are essential for learning. Young students start out excited for school - it’s our job as educators to maintain that excitement and foster more love for learning as they progress into higher grades. We believe everyone feels this joyous energy the moment they walk in our doors and is exactly why our SPF score is improving. Let’s talk about how we improve learning through Joy and Wonder at Wyatt, a tuition-free public school for K-5 in the Cole-Whittier neighborhood.
What is joy? Joy is a moment of extreme delight, a short-term emotion that can occur within the long-term experience of happiness. Joy is the positive response in a safe space or situation. As we understand it, joy opens up the mind to willingly receive new information, and happiness helps retain it by connecting lessons to positive experiences. In other words, happy teachers create happy classrooms for fun yet successful academic achievement. At Wyatt, joy is definitely part of the unique feeling experienced at school.
How do we educate with joy? Without giving away too many of our secrets, here is a short list of ways Wyatt surrounds students with joy:
Wonder as a verb is all about curious thought and exploration for truth. Or as Junte Sims said in this video, “Wonder for me means learning.” What a student might find while wondering is, answers are a wonder (noun) in themselves- a remarkable surprising discovery. A delight. When one learns through wonder, joy kicks in. See how this works?
Encouraging wonder in the classroom helps the teachers create happiness for themselves as well as the students. When our dedicated Wyatt teachers use healthy, creative, wonder-filled practices to teach our young students, we invite joy and wonder into the day-to-day. We make space for our teachers and staff to love the work and realize professional happiness for the long-term. When teachers are happy, classrooms are happy.
When classrooms are happy, students show results. How do we know? Recently, Wyatt Academy began and continues to strategically close the opportunity gap. We adopted this motivational attitude as we empower community support; now Wyatt is one of few elementary schools in Denver with a Green SPF score. If that’s not a wonder to celebrate with joy, we don’t know what is!
Explanations, scientific research data, and lists don’t accurately describe the incredible, uplifting feeling of Wyatt. Visit us to get the full immersive understanding of our unique tuition-free public K-5 school. Our community-nurturing school creates much to celebrate. Experience our joy by taking a tour. We achieve. We are magnetic energy. We empower community. Somos Wyatt. We Are Wyatt and we still have room for new students. Join the joy! Enroll with us today.
About Wyatt Academy
Denver’s Wyatt Academy nurtures K-5 students with expeditionary learning and our motivational spirit. Our students experience the power of community, the wonder of seeking knowledge, the joy of celebrating achievements, and the opportunity to grow through the arts. Sharing our garden plots, mini pitch, and Empowerment Center, we feel our essential connection to our community. We are magnetic energy. We are closing the achievement gap. We are Wyatt! Somos Wyatt! Enroll with us today!
