General
Isle of Wight Academy serves preschool to twelfth grade.
School hours are 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Isle of Wight Academy is not religiously affiliated.
Yes, Isle of Wight Academy is accredited by three organizations: the Virginia Independent Schools Association (VISA), the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS), and Cognia (formerly AdvancEd)
Yes, Isle of Wight Academy provides bus service for no additional fee along presently established routes.
Yes, Isle of Wight Academy offers tuition assistance in the form of the Smithfield Foods Educational Scholarship. The school also offers scholarships to encourage diversity. Contact the Admissions Office for more information.
Yes, Isle of Wight Academy offers before and after school childcare. This program is run by our preschool staff and is licensed by the state department of social services.
*Program currently discontinued due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Yes, Isle of Wight Academy provides a hot lunch program. Food is prepared daily in our cafeteria and is offered as a al carte items or as a daily hot lunch.
Yes, Isle of Wight Academy offers advanced courses. Courses are offered in the high school as Honors, AP, or Dual Enrollment classes, giving students an opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school. All advanced courses are taught on site by IWA instructors.
In recent years, IWA has invested greatly in technology. The school is equipped with high speed, wireless internet throughout. Each classroom has a Smart Board and a set of classroom Chromebooks for the students to use throughout the day. IWA also uses a school information system called RenWeb, which gives students and parents access to a wide array of information, including grades, homework, etc. Students also use Google Classroom and the Google Suite as well.
Isle of Wight Academy is home to approximately 700 students.
*Due to COVID-19 restrictions, enrollment is currently limited to approximately 650 students.
Classroom size is typically around 16-18 students.
IWA uses a 7 point grading scale.
A – 93-100
B – 85-92
C – 77-84
D – 70-76
F – 69 and below
Yes, Isle of Wight Academy offers a complete athletic program. IWA offers football, volleyball, cross country, cheering, boys basketball, girls basketball, indoor track, baseball, softball, golf, and soccer. Sports are offered on the middle school, JV, and varsity levels.
Isle of Wight Academy generally attend the college of their choice. Recent colleges attended include University of Virginia, the College of William & Mary, Virginia Tech, James Madison University, Christopher Newport University, Old Dominion University, University of South Carolina, North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, West Virginia University, and many others.
Yes, Isle of Wight Academy employs a full time nurse who is a RN.
Preschool and Childcare
Isle of Wight Academy Preschool and Childcare Center serves ages 2 ½, 3, and 4. Before and after school care is offered to ages 2 ½ to 12.
*Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we are currently not offering classes for 2 ½ year olds. Before and after child care is also currently not available.
Yes, the program is licensed by the state department of social services and accredited by VISA, SAIS, and Cognia (formerly AdvancEd/SACS).
Each classroom has a maximum of 18 students with a teacher and an assistant.
*Due to COVID-19 restrictions, classrooms are currently limited in size to allow for social distancing.
IWA’s preschool program is a structured school program. The program is a mix of independent and guided activities.
Yes, preschool students can ride the bus.
Lunch and snack are provided during the day.
*Due to COVID-19 restrictions, students must currently bring their own lunch.
Lower School
Lower school classes typically have between 16 and 18 students.
Students typically have a block of work in the morning followed by a morning snack. Students then go outside for morning recess. When they return, they have another block of work followed by lunch. After lunch, there is another block of work, followed by afternoon snack, afternoon recess, and dismissal. Students also enjoy a daily resource class as well.
Some lower school classrooms do have teacher assistants, depending on the size of the class.
Lower school students enjoy library, art, music, PE, STEM, and world studies resource classes throughout the week.
In grades K-3, students go outside twice a day for recess. In 4th and 5th grades, they go out once a day.
IWA uses a phonics based reading program. For kindergarten and first grade, the Super Kids program is used. As children get older, they use a reading series and book club selections.
Yes, IWA students study the six pillars of character (caring, respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, fairness, and citizenship).
Yes, IWA has a full-time reading specialist that works with students who need extra help.
Middle School
Most middle school classrooms have between 18 and 20 students.
IWA’s middle school provides a full range of clubs, activities, and sports.
Yes, students switch classes for each academic subject in middle school.
Middle school students follow a 6 period schedule for their core academic subjects. They also have a lunch, break, and activity period built into their school day as well.
*Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the daily activity period is not currently being offered.
Middle school students take reading, language, math, science, social studies, and PE classes.
Upper School
Average class sizes in the upper school are approximately 18 students.
IWA offers advanced courses in calculus, statistics, anatomy, physics, US history, US government, economics, French, Spanish, English literature, and English language.
Students in grades 8-11 must take six courses during the day. Students in grade 12 who have completed all other academic requirements may elect to take a study hall as their sixth class. Upper school students have a break and lunch period built into their days as well.
IWA offers numerous clubs and activities to upper school students, including Scholastic Bowl, National Honor Societies, language honor societies, science club, science bowl teams, Key Club, and many, many others.
Yes, IWA offers a full college counseling program to assist students in finding and applying to the college of their choice.
Yes, IWA offers both the classroom and behind-the-wheel portions of drivers education. This class is open to all 10th grade students.
Technology
In recent years, IWA has invested greatly in technology. The school is equipped with high speed, wireless internet throughout. Each classroom has a Smart Board and a set of classroom Chromebooks for the students to use throughout the day. IWA also uses a school information system called RenWeb, which gives students and parents access to a wide array of information, including grades, homework, etc. Students also use Google Classroom and the Google Suite as well.
IWA uses RenWeb, a comprehensive student/parent information system.
Athletics
IWA offers football, volleyball, cross country, cheering, boys basketball, girls basketball, indoor track, baseball, softball, golf, and soccer.
Students can begin playing interscholastic sports as young as the fifth grade for boys basketball and sixth grade for all other sports.
IWA is a member of the Virginia Colonial Conference (VCC).
Yes, IWA students go on to play sports at the Division I, II, and III level.
The Arts
Yes, IWA begins offering band in the 4th grade and goes up through high school.
Yes, IWA begins offering chorus in the 6th grade and goes up through high school.
Yes, IWA offers Drama Club beginning in the 6th grade and goes up through high school.
Yes, IWA offers fine arts classes as electives to high school students. Art is a resource class for kindergarten through 5th grade.
Yes, IWA begins public speaking at a very young age. Beginning in 1st grade, students compete in forensics competitions against their fellow classmates. In the 5th grade and continuing through high school, students begin competing in forensics competitions in the Association of Virginia Academies (AVA).