Full-time or Part-time
Full-time is 9:00 to 3:15 Monday through Friday which includes traditional academics, plus Tech & Engineering, Art, Interest groups, Independent Investigations, and Explorations of new places, people, and ideas and social times.
OR… Students may participate part-time with as few as 1 class per week and they still get the social times.
We have 2 semesters in a total of 32 weeks. The unique nature of the program and its students usually cover more than a 40-week school year. The students learn quickly and classes are small, so they go through the material in less time. This allows us to include things that aren’t usually available in a regular school but that are important to gifted and 2e students. Academic and “special” classes are 4 days per week, Monday – Thursday., and Independent Investigations and Explorations are on Fridays.
The schedule is structured such that Math, English Language Arts, and Foreign Language have 4 classes/week. Social Studies, Science, Tech & Engineering, and Visual Art have 2 classes/week. Interest groups meet 3 times a week, and student government, which is for everyone, meets 1 day per week.
There are 3 types of student-selected Independent Investigations. They are portfolios, independent study, and real-world problem-solving culminating in a product or a service. On these Fridays, students work on their projects and attend two thinking skills classes including critical thinking, creative problem-solving, research, and executive functioning skills. These projects can span from 8 weeks to a full year.
On Exploration Fridays students venture into new ideas, places, or fields of study, and may enjoy social interactions with friends, family, or classmates. These experiences each have a theme focus. Broadening their horizons beyond daily routines. If travel is not possible, we also offer virtual field trips and projects aligned with the theme.
On those days we reconvene at about 2:30 Eastern time, online to share the various explorations we have done which helps to cross-pollinate their experiences.
From 2:45 to 3:45 Eastern time, is more “Social Time” for any student who takes at least one class. They play games and build relationships.
The Schedule and why it works the way it does
Learning is a cycle of taking information in and responding to it. Because our students are beyond the norm, it is essential that they do not cruise along with simplistic work. They need to learn how to strive, struggle, persist, and gradually become autonomous learners.
To empower them as autonomous learners we have examined the learning process and divided it into two parts which are where they receive new information and grapple with it and then they respond to it. We have created a new paradigm for the learning process. We call them “Input” and “Output” classes which are equally important.
In “Input” classes students receive new information, engage in discussions, and do activities led by the teacher. They are on the receiving end of content concepts. In “Output” classes, students apply concepts to activities. Their output products inform the teacher what they are ready for next. And so the learning cycle continues.
There are Student Support Teachers, a.k.a shepherds, to facilitate students’ assimilation of content during “Output” classes., They assist the learning process, help clarify instructions or concepts, and encourage students.
During “Output” classes students have their cameras on their hands or share their screens so the shepherd can see how they are doing without them having to ask for help. It also eliminates the need to constantly have their eyes on the camera, and it helps reduce the temptations of other websites or AI.
Both kinds of classes run for 45 minutes starting on the hour and have 15-minute breaks afterward.
Our students need connections with others like themselves. We, therefore, also have a social time called “Homeroom” at mid-day and every Friday afternoon from 2:45 to 3:45. During these times they play games and puzzles suggested by the students and vetted by the teachers where they make friends.
