OIA opened in 1999 and currently serves over 800 K-12 students. CLA is home to almost 500 students in grades K-8. IEE has partnered with OIA and CLA since the fall of 2016 and has provided training and coaching around FIM Math, FIM ELA, differentiation, student engagement, and more. Our partnership with these schools is strong and the focus remains on empowering OIA and CLA teachers to help their students meet their full potentials.
The teachers at OIA and CLA work hard to provide the best possible learning environment for their students. They focus on the whole child with emphasis on academic and social development. OIA and CLA believe that every student, no matter their ethnicity, religious background, or cultural background, deserves a high-quality education tailored to meet their unique individual needs.
OIA and CLA began using IEE’s FIM Early Literacy program two years ago. Recently, the state of Michigan has placed an increased focus on K-3 Literacy education. Teachers and students at OIA and CLA feel ahead of the game because they’ve been cycling through grade-level power standards with their students since 2017. Below are some testimonials from K-3 teachers at Caniff Liberty Academy:
“My students and I both love FIM ELA. The consistency of the program allows students to feel successful and comfortable with trying difficult tasks. It quite literally forces them to try even if they don’t know if it’s right. It also gives me a chance to praise students who take risks, which is something we forget to do as teachers. I also love that my ELs (English learners) can feel successful with FIM ELA because of its repetitive nature. I have some EL’s who score higher than native speakers!  Any time my EL students can feel good about their work in English is a win, and FIM ELA really gives them that space!”
– Judi Siyaj, 2nd grade teacher
“FIM ELA has been so helpful by exposing new concepts to my students before we learn them in depth so they already have a base understanding.  My students also get super excited to graph their results to see if the bar went up and to do the class graph as well to see if we all went up!  It’s so cool to see them excited about their own progress.”
– Caroline Habrowski, 1st grade teacher
“I’ve been doing FIM ELA for 2 years.  This program gives students an opportunity to touch on skills before they are taught. I love that the program is repetitive.”
– Nawal Al-Hadwan, Kindergarten teacher