HISTORY

In 2009, educators Beth Baker and Glen Taylor founded WAY (Widening Advancements for Youth), a nonprofit educational organization that combines project-based learning with the support of adult mentors, team leaders, and teaching experts. Their main purpose was to help young people pursue their interests and earn a High School Diploma through projects both in a classroom and in an online environment.

WAY students, referred to as researchers, needed a way to find projects, organize their work and keep track of their progress. They needed a way to communicate and collaborate with their teachers and their fellow researchers. In short, they needed a system. This is where Centric Learning came in with their HERO Learning Platform – a standards and project-based digital learning environment (DLE) adopted by WAY.

In 2013, WAY American School was founded to serve students from grades 6 to 12, all around the world, in partnership with private schools. Currently, WAY American School has partners in Brazil and China.

In 2018, WAY expanded to offer an online program to students searching for a different approach to traditional education with a flexible schedule and a combination of one-on-one mentoring, live video lessons and a project-based learning curriculum accessible for students any time. WAY  Online extends its mission to students everywhere in the world.