Shaping Culture Makers: Service Learning & Around The Table
At Innovate Academy, collaboration is more than group work—it is a way of life. We believe education flourishes when families, scholars, and community members learn around the same table, sharing meals, ideas, and service. This spring we are excited to deepen that commitment through Around The Table, a monthly gathering where parents, friends, and advocates join our scholars for readings and conversations every second Wednesday from 6:00–8:00 p.m.
It truly takes a village, and together we are shaping Culture Makers every day.
What Is a Culture Maker?
Our mission is to form entrepreneurial leaders of culture, captured in our tagline: “Every Scholar a Culture Maker.” But what does that mean?
Author Andy Crouch describes culture making as the calling to cultivate and care for the world God has given us. Whether writing a song, preparing a meal, or organizing a neighborhood, each of us has the ability to add something good to the world. Rather than only criticizing culture or passively consuming it, Culture Makers ask, “What can I create? Who can I serve?”
That is the posture we want our scholars to carry into every classroom, every friendship, and every future vocation.
Learning Through Service
The Collaborative piece of our model comes to life most clearly through service learning. Scholars are invited to lead in ways that meet real needs within our community.
Many serve as Safeties, guiding younger scholars to and from cars and buses each day—small acts of care that build responsibility and trust.
Older scholars become Storytellers, crafting interactive retellings from Bible, history, and literature for younger children using drama, art, and music.
Our Logic School scholars are currently producing devotional films from the book of Daniel, learning to use media as a tool for encouragement and truth.
Fifth graders are writing and publishing original fairy tales and designing play centers where Pre-K scholars will hear the stories, solve puzzles, and explore handmade sets. Stories are remembered best when they are experienced.
These projects teach that knowledge is not meant to stay on a worksheet. It is meant to serve people.
Around The Table: Learning Together
Around The Table extends that same spirit beyond the classroom. Parents and community members read alongside our scholars, discuss big questions, and share meals that remind us learning is relational. When generations listen to one another, education becomes a shared adventure rather than a solitary task.
Looking Ahead
As a growing school, we are continually developing new opportunities for scholars to use their gifts beyond our walls—serving neighbors, partnering with local organizations, and discovering how their talents can bless the wider community.
We invite you to join us Around The Table and to watch how these young Culture Makers are learning to lead with wisdom, creativity, and love.
Check out our events calendar for upcoming service opportunities and Around the Table dates. Together, we are shaping a community that creates good for the world.
