As our students engage with our curriculum, work through their career pathways, and solve difficult and complex problems with what they have learned in class, they will gain the skills they need to be successful in the world after Innovation Academy.
Our freshmen start by taking the introductory class in each of the three STEM pathways Innovation Academy offers - Health Sciences, Engineering, and Information Technology. This is a two-period class that we call GT block. Students earn credit for each of the three classes. They then choose which pathway they will complete while at IA. Many students choose to minor or double major in more than one pathway. Taking the GT block makes this possible.
Students choose between four different Health Sciences tracks: Biotechnology, Patient Care, Surgical Tech, and EMT.
State of the Art Equipment
Our heath care equipment is state of the art representing real life scenarios with surgical rooms and practice mannequins, diagnostic equipment, and an in-house mock ambulance.
Explore More in the Beacon
Visit the Beacon, our newsletter written by students, to find out more about what is happening in the Health Sciences Pathway.
Students take charge during last year's Flex Friday Save-a-Life event during which health sciences students simulated a school-wide medical emergency.
Students learn about engineering technologies, including material science, biomedical, electrical, mechanical, mechatronics, aerospace, structural, and civil engineering, as well as learning about the engineering design process, biologically inspired design. Students have the opportunity to achieve certification in Solidworks CAD.
Expanded Design and Lab space
While other schools usually have one dedicated lab and classroom space for engineering students, FCS IA has 4 classrooms with 2,784 square feet of work space for students and 3 separate workshops in a dedicated wing of the building where students have easy access to taking their projects outside to work. Our engineering labs are stocked with 3 different types of 3D printers, a Laguna CNC router, Jet Metal lathe, Lonestar CNC spitfire plasma cutter, multimatic Miller Welder (allowing for 3 types of welding), augmented reality welding training system (so students learn to weld virtually first), 4 sewing machines, an embroidery machine, and a vinyl cutter and printer.
Explore More in the Beacon
Visit the Beacon, our newsletter written by students, to find out more about what is happening in the Engineering Pathway.
Suited up for safety, an engineering student makes his mark at IA, designing prototypes that best meet the needs for his project.
Students can pursue concentrations in Computer Science, Game Design, Cybersecurity, and Embedded Computing.
State of the Art Equipment
Our game design lab is equipped with high end graphics and computing capabilities. The cybersecurity track features its own internal server for students to engage in simulated cyber security events. In 2025-26, Innovation Academy will become the first Fulton County School to offer an Artificial Intelligence track.
Explore More in the Beacon
Visit the Beacon, our newsletter written by students, to find out more about what is happening in the Information Technology Pathway.
Students cooperate to combine engineering and coding efforts to create a project for Flex Friday.
Innovation Academy encourages our students and faculty to think outside the box. Our schedule and environment encourages that kind of innovation and flexible thinking. Monday through Thursday, students follow a traditional public-school schedule taking 7 academic courses with one additional period for lunch. This leaves Fridays open for a variety of in-depth, hands-on learning opportunities, which we call Flex Fridays.
Each Flex Friday features a particular pathway and often includes cross-curricular workshops, field trips, and experiences outside of what’s usually taught in the traditional day-to-day classroom. This is also an opportunity to bring in industry specialists in the fields of Engineering, IT and Health Science to run workshops on specific skills, information about the industry, or support an already scheduled workshop based on their expertise.
For example, our students have participated in learning events supported by our community partners, including Rocket Day (sponsored by Lockheed Martin) during which students built and launched hundreds of rockets, Raspberry Pi Day and Code for a Cause where students focused all day on personally designed software projects, and Save-A-Life, a mass casualty training sponsored by Wellstar.
Students attend at least three Flex Fridays a semester on their designated pathway day with Freshmen attending on their designated freshman day. Students must earn 12 pathway credits a year as part of our magnet school requirements. Each Flex Friday offers two workshops worth one pathway credit each.
Research is a big focus for our students. Every student takes an IA Research course their junior year where they are encouraged to collaborate in teams to complete their Pinnacle Project. In addition, students can choose to pursue the AP Capstone diploma which starts with 10th graders taking AP Seminar as their 10th grade ELA class. AP Seminar is followed by IA Research in 11th, and AP Research in 12th.
Completion of the Pinnacle Research Project in 11th grade is one of the components of our magnet school requirements.
We engage students with complex topics in real-world scenarios, ask them to apply their knowledge, and pursue their passions whenever possible so the learning is relevant to them.
Address Real-World Problems
IA students interact with our community partners learning about actual problems community members are facing. For example, Fulton County Water Works worked with our freshman on Flex Fridays to talk about how natural and artificial water systems work. Students sampled the ponds on our property to determine if the pond system is healthy. If the pond was not healthy, they suggested solutions to improve the water health.
Cross-Curricular Projects and Activities
Students work on real-world challenges like delivering medical supplies to areas where first responders cannot reach. Health Science experts determine what needs to be included in the first response kit. Engineers work on the specs needed for the box of supplies that are delivered via drone, and information technology specialists program the drones.
Work in Teams
Students are encouraged to cooperate in teams to complete projects. Senior Simone W. explains: “We work on teams especially in my pathway classes. I’ve learned a lot about myself and how to work with different minds. I’m much more open and accepting to other people’s ideas now.”
Explore more about our authentic learning experiences in the Beacon, our student written newsletter.
Design Thinking is a method that uses a cyclical process to solve problems with the user in mind. DT uses a series of steps that create specific work in each phase.
