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Young Innovators Academy Snapshot
Empowering young learners to succeed in a world of constant change.
The story of Young Innovators started in 2007 as a grassroots movement of early childhood educators In Orlando. Their concern was that traditional preschools had been offering the same curriculum for decades and looked the same as decades ago during the most fertile years of brain development. There was an urgent need to redesign learning environments and outdated curriculums to deliver better experiences for young learners.
CEO and founder Marnie Forestieri recruited a group of passionate professors from the University of Central Florida, to embark on the journey of designing a STEAM curriculum framework and started working together with early childhood educators.
To implement their ideas and design the prototype, Marnie purchased a struggling school in Oviedo, and with the help of school director Erika Seger and the teaching staff, the school became a success. The team, known as the STEM SQUAD, started gaining national attention, writing books for national publisher Gryphon House and designing toys for Kaplan Early Learning.
The school became a success, started gaining national recognition, and shared its journey with educators to improve the quality of early learning. In 2017, The Orlando Science Center opened an exhibit inside the school to get children excited about STEM careers.
Yet, after scaling, the team realized that a STEM-focused learning framework in early learning was a good start but did not provide opportunities to stimulate both sides of the brain. And new research on brain development pointed out that if the two sides of the brain are disconnected, a child could struggle with learning challenges, as emotional well-being provides a strong foundation for emerging cognitive abilities.
The curriculum team reflected that the initial prototype would become obsolete within a few years without innovation as teaching strategies change daily. Hence, the team had to embrace change to move the company forward.
CEO and founder Marnie Forestieri recruited a group of passionate professors from the University of Central Florida, to embark on the journey of designing a STEAM curriculum framework and started working together with early childhood educators.
To implement their ideas and design the prototype, Marnie purchased a struggling school in Oviedo, and with the help of school director Erika Seger and the teaching staff, the school became a success. The team, known as the STEM SQUAD, started gaining national attention, writing books for national publisher Gryphon House and designing toys for Kaplan Early Learning.
The school became a success, started gaining national recognition, and shared its journey with educators to improve the quality of early learning. In 2017, The Orlando Science Center opened an exhibit inside the school to get children excited about STEM careers.
Yet, after scaling, the team realized that a STEM-focused learning framework in early learning was a good start but did not provide opportunities to stimulate both sides of the brain. And new research on brain development pointed out that if the two sides of the brain are disconnected, a child could struggle with learning challenges, as emotional well-being provides a strong foundation for emerging cognitive abilities.
The curriculum team reflected that the initial prototype would become obsolete within a few years without innovation as teaching strategies change daily. Hence, the team had to embrace change to move the company forward.
