Our Program
At ExperisSchool, students create their own curriculum, so there are no specific required classes. Instead, we have college-like distribution requirements. Students can take any courses that fulfill the requirements.
Distribution Requirements
Distribution requirements are meant to provide students with a chance to try out subjects they may not have thought they would like, and to give a basic level of learning for life after high school. Courses that meet the distribution requirement are longer than elective courses, but students may opt to take multiple electives that add up to an equivalent required course. The college prep writing course covers longer essay writing or research papers that students may not learn about in their other courses. Our daily math requirement teaches skills like taxes and balancing a checkbook, and we recommend geometry through algebra 2 as well. The global context credit challenges students the think outside of the Western perspective (may be fulfilled through another required course).
Daily Schedule
Courses and Teaching Methods
We know that every student learns differently, so at ExperiSchool, students choose the courses and learning styles that work best for them.
Courses
Our courses generally explore small topics so students can delve deep into their passions. Students may propose their own courses as independent studies or even as a course offering for the following year.
We also offer crossover courses which span multiple subjects. For instance, in one of our geometry courses, students use math to generate digital art that they laser cut to create physical artwork.
Teaching Methods and Teachers
ExperiSchool students choose courses taught in the ways that work best for them. Some classes are taught with a traditional lecture and test, while others are completely project-based. Other courses are somewhere in the middle, where they have traditional work and projects.
Teachers at ExperiSchool are experts in their field who teach courses in the areas in which they are passionate about, so students get to learn with teachers who love their work and want to support students in learning to love the subject.
Progress Tracking
Courses at ExperiSchool are taught pass/no-credit in order to give students more opportunities to take risks and explore new ideas without worrying about grades. Instead of grades, we use other methods of tracking progress and learning.
Feedback-Based Transcripts
The default transcript at ExperiSchool consists of written teacher feedback. Teachers look for growth throughout the progress of a course rather than set standards, and their feedback covers student engagement and skills acquired, among other factors.
Students do receive grades on assignments, as it is an already understood methods of quickly gauging where a students stands, so students may opt to receive course grades along with their comments based on their coursework grades. The choice may be made after the fact so that students can send grades to colleges if they so choose.
Agora ProgressMonitor
In order to track the progression of growth and learning throughout a course, ExperiSchool relies on egodact’s Agora ProgressMonitor, an online tool that allows for individualized tracking. Students rate themselves on set skills and goals, and then the teacher does the same. This allows students to see how they come across to the teacher, and for the teacher to notice how the student perceives their own work. The software takes a snapshot of the ratings every week, allowing for an easy way to view the student’s progression over time.
You can learn more about Agora ProgressMonitor on egodact’s website, or through their Medium articles.