IVA is the first charter school of its kind whose innovative educational model is focused on an intellectual virtues philosophy IVA is a charter middle school, 6th to 8th grades, launched in September 2013. IVA's focus and mission is to foster intellectual virtues, or what some education theorists call “habits of mind,” “thinking dispositions,” or “non-cognitive skills.” IVA received substantial benefits and funding from a $1 million grant project housed at Loyola Marymount University and sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation.