Maurice Elias of Rutgers University calls emotional intelligence “the missing piece” in American education.  We now know that emotionally intelligent individuals have an extreme advantage in both school and the workplace.  From classroom to boardroom, researchers agree that our emotional intelligence, or EQ, is responsible for 80% of our success while our IQ, or cognitive ability, accounts for only 20%.  While many schools neglect or give cursory attention to such vital life skills, Valley International Academy puts a priority on emotional intelligence development.

At Valley International Academy, we support the development of emotional intelligence, cooperative learning, and recognize teams for displaying emotional intelligence while working together in small groups. These strategies allow us to teach sophisticated academic content while at the same time reinforcing and developing emotional intelligence.