Herbert Hoover Middle School 2016-2017 Innovation Awards

Hoover Middle School will use an Innovation Award in 2016-17 to build a culture of innovation that builds the “creative confidence” of students and staff to tackle persistent equity-centered problems.

Hoover Middle School is a school that is focused on and encourages innovation and design at all levels: students, teachers, staff, counselors and administrators. Hoover aims to embody a growth mindset and a ‘hacker’ spirit. While this has mostly been seen at smaller schools, this school would like to explore how to formalize what this looks like in a large, urban school. In an effort to gain progress toward Vision 2025, Hoover wants to address the gap that still persists so that even their most vulnerable students are able to thrive. Their challenge is to gain empathy, empower their community to solve persistent problems and accelerate academic progress.  By transforming school culture, processes and learning environments, Hoover plans to address several challenges such as student engagement, attendance, behavior, and access to programs and resources.