Appalachian State University is the only UNC System institution to operate two of the System’s eight lab schools — the App State Academy at Middle Fork and the App State Academy at Elkin.

• Academy at Middle Fork

  

  The Academy at Middle Fork opened in August 2018 in collaboration with Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. The school serves approximately 274 students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

  The Academy at Middle Fork is a literacy-focused lab school that uses a workshop approach to improve and enrich literacy via immersive reading and writing instruction.

  Students are actively engaged in adaptive, guided, small group instruction in which teachers model effective reading and writing strategies. They have the opportunity to read a wide variety of texts featuring identifiable characters and themes and to participate in literacy-based activities.

• Academy at Elkin

  

  The Academy at Elkin opened in August 2022 in partnership with Elkin City Schools. The “school within a school” serves approximately 100 students in second through fourth grades at Elkin Elementary School.

  The Academy at Elkin is a learner-centered community that promotes exploration-based learning.

  Students are encouraged to think deeply and critically about learning that is meaningful and relevant to their cultures, lives, and futures.

  The Academy at Elkin is committed to providing an inclusive, welcoming, and learner-centered environment focused on the whole person. The school empowers its learning community to ask questions, explore their curiosities, make connections, and develop skills for lifelong learning.