Ivy Academy Chattanooga is one of Hamilton County’s public charter schools currently in its sixth year of operation. This week, the school celebrates the completion of its new campus which includes over eight acres and a 12,000-square-feet classroom facility. The outdoor campus space boasts raised-bed school salad gardens, several outdoor learning stations, native plant gardens, a bird and butterfly memorial garden, pathways to Tennessee State Park’s Cumberland Trail in the North Chickamauga Creek Gorge, and the beginnings of an athletic field.
The first five years of operation, Ivy Academy occupied portable classroom units only. In 2013, Ivy Academy was recognized in Washington D.C. as a National Green Ribbon School. Ivy staff met with assistant secretaries for the U. S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Ivy Academy and the U.S.D.A. became natural partners because of the school’s agricultural science classes and environmental programming and helped assist with the permanent learning facility for our students.
On Thursday, dignitaries from the U.S.D.A., representatives from Senators Alexander’s and Corker’s offices, Congressman Fleischmann’s office, Hamilton County Commissioners, Hamilton County Department of Education Representatives, city of Soddy Daisy officials, and community members will gather at 1:30 p.m. to dedicate the building to the service of educating students in Hamilton County.
Ivy Academy is an environmental charter school that sits at the headwaters of the North Chickamauga Creek Gorge in Soddy Daisy. Ivy has gained state and national recognition for their conservation programming the past few years. The local wildlife, trails, and creeks play an important role in the academic experience for the school’s grade 9-12 students. Ivy Academy places a strong emphasis on outdoor education and project-based learning.