Curriculum

Education that is student-centered, project-based, artistic, problem-solving, cross-disciplinary, critical, democratic, multicultural and inclusive, autonomous and self-directed, within a community of learners, scholars, leaders, and doers.

Student-centered

Student-centered education is learning tailored to, even designed by, each unique individual. Student-centered teaching “follows the child,” attending first and foremost to their individual needs, desires, and interests. Student-centered teachers learn side-by-side their students. Student-centered learning is often student-led and student-directed, but it is not always. Students and teachers can be collaborators, too, and set team goals. Students learn by figuring out what they want to learn, and this is sometimes helped by watching others, including teachers and other students.

There is a vibrant campus, yet a student who wished to participate partly or fully online could, as desired.

Project-based

Project-based education is hands on, active (mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually), and may be goal-oriented. Students involved in projects spend much less time listening to lectures and much more time exploring and experimenting and trying and discovering things through doing: working and learning side by side their teachers. Projects can include entrepreneurial activities including launching businesses.

Artistic

An artistic education is a creative one. Creativity can involve the arts, and creativity can involve virtually every other human endeavor as well. The academy offers many opportunities for students to participate in the visual and performing arts. Artistic activities can be teacher-directed, student-directed, or a collaboration between teachers and students.

Cross-disciplinary

In a cross-disciplinary learning environment, students experience much less in the way of “subjects” or even “content areas.” Consider the cross-disciplinary nature of involvement in producing a concert, designing and building a theatrical set, shooting a film, conducting a research project, setting up a new business, running an office environment, holding an election, preparing a defense, or hosting a convention. A wide array of subject matter, knowledge, and skills are involved in each of these example projects, and students learn, practice, and master aspects of many “subjects” and “content areas” simultaneously.

Critical

A critical stance is one that looks at things critically. At our academy, students can look at things, discuss things, and approach things critically. They can say what they really think - perhaps things that would get them into trouble and /or silenced in other academic settings. Before critical thinking can be taught (if it can be taught at all), it needs to be allowed. Students work toward objectives they choose, believe in, or that please themselves; they are not constantly trying to prove themselves to others, to please others, or “to get a good grade.” Students are free to be and become who they want to be and become - their authentic, critically-thinking selves.

Democratic

A democratic learning environment is one where everyone involved (in our case, teachers and students) participate in their own self-governance and decision-making. We do not want to teach about democracy while operating an authoritarian institution. We want students to learn about democracy by participating in actual, meaningful, real world democracy. In our newly-established and just-being-founded learning environment, initially, it is not yet feasible that teachers and students make ALL decisions: there has to be an established framework, a initial constitution which includes a judiciary system. But teachers and students, together, will make many decisions that affect their work and lives. And over time, they will improve upon and amend the constitution and judiciary system democratically.

Multicultural and Inclusive

We honor, respect, and value each student’s home culture. Home cultures, languages, heritages, and religions are lived, revered, and celebrated at school. We do not shy away from inclusive practices; we encourage them. We do not erect a wall of separation between a child’s home life and school life; we do not ask students to leave their identities at the door. We understand the intersections of one’s culture, learning, and literacy. We allow these intersections to help students learn more deeply and in more fulfilling ways.

We honor, respect, and value each student’s home language. Cohort teachers study and learn the home languages of all their cohort students. Every student and every teacher is a language learner. Every student and every teacher is, and becomes, multilingual.

Autonomous and Self-directed

Students and teachers are autonomous and self-directed. This means that they choose what they would like to teach and learn, how they would like to teach and learn it, and when they would like to teach and learn it. It’s really that simple.

Teachers teach what they want to teach. What they want to teach is driven both by their own needs, desires, and interests, and by their students’ needs, desires, and interests. It is not driven by standardized content, external administrators, government policy-makers, publishers, testing, assessment, or technology companies, “think-tanks,” or other outsiders. Teachers observe their students. Teachers learn about their students, with and alongside their students, and from their students. Teachers design their own professional development, creative projects, and research projects, and learn what they want to learn.

Students learn what they want to learn, too. What they want to learn is driven by both their needs, desires, and interests, and influenced by their teachers needs, desires, and interests. These may change and evolve over time, and they may depend to more or less degree by the things the teachers are teaching and learning, and the availability of resources. Students are encouraged to advocate for themselves, and to describe learning and resources they would like to have that might not appear available. The school will strive to find ways to make that learning available to students, whether on campus, online, or through other off-campus activities, experiences, and opportunities.

Community of Learners, Scholars, Leaders, and Doers

Our academy is comprised of teachers and students, but not necessarily in the traditional sense. Everyone at the academy is both a teacher and a learner. Everyone can be a scholar. Everyone can be a leader. Everyone can be a doer, in the fullest sense.

Cohorts, Electives, Free-play, Work-study

Cohorts are age-level groupings and led by two teachers (co-teachers). Students participate in cohort activities in the mornings. These activities are organized and implemented through the collaboration of cohort teachers and students, and can take place inside or outside. Participation in cohort activities is encourage yet always optional. Cohort homerooms are designed, furnished, and decorated by teachers and students, and may look more like homes than classrooms.

Electives are mixed-age groupings and led optionally by teachers and/or students. Students participate in elective activities in the afternoons (and sometimes evenings and other days/times). Elective options are determined through the collaboration of teachers and students. Teachers can choose what electives to offer, and students can choose what electives to participate in. Both teachers and students influence the selection, design, development, and implementation of elective activities.

Free-play is available to students at all times. Free-play is self-selected and self-directed. Free-play can take place indoors or outdoors, in designated areas (which are plentiful). Free-play can take place on-campus or off-campus (per health and safety guidelines and appropriate procedures).

Work-study and real-world (paid) work is accessible by students to the extent opportunities and positions are available (and following all legal considerations and appropriate application and hiring policies, guidelines, and procedures).

Art, Science, and Business

There are three elective "schools” within the academy (in addition to the cohort homerooms): The School of Art, The School of Science & Technology, and The School of Business.

The School of Art offers visual and performing arts, including activities such as drawing and painting, fine arts, graphic arts, music, theater arts, dance, film and video, radio, and other technical, commercial, and communication arts. The degree to which these arts are offered depends on the degree to which teachers and students pursue them.

The School of Science and Technology offers everything the name implies, from the sciences of language, to mathematics, to life and physical sciences, to technology, computer science, and robotics, to the library sciences , history, and education, to political science and economics, and to research. The degree to which these sciences are offered depends on the degree to which teachers and students pursue them.

The School of Business provides learning and work/study opportunities through our own businesses and enterprises, as well as through partnerships with several external businesses. These businesses are for-profit organizations that direct all or the bulk of their profits (after expenses) to our school, and may include, for example, a music and performing arts school and retail business, a publishing and manufacturing business, a recycling and restoration business, and a printing, marketing, and advertising business.

In addition, each school, in collaboration with The Business School, operates “businesses” and host fundraisers that help fund the activities of each school. These include performances and events, a YouTube channel, and an eBay store collecting and selling used books and other items.