Central to IVA’s educational mission and vision is a one-hour Advisory period, during which students explore their growth in intellectual virtues under the guidance of an Advisor.

In many schools, advisory time is for finishing homework and chatting about personal interests unrelated to thinking or learning. At IVA, the goal of the advisory program is to help students grow as thinkers — to help students grow in our nine master virtues. Students are given weekly opportunities to practice thinking about things they are naturally curious about — things they’d like to learn and talk about.

There are no grades, no tests, no real homework in Advisory. Rather, students get to decide the sorts of things they will get to talk about. It’s a time for intellectual exploration and adventure, led by advisors who undergo an application and training process and are selected by the principal.