Our curriculum is based on the latest learning science and interdisciplinary approach that prepares middle school and high school students for college, careers, and life. We are proud to be an accredited school that is on the cutting edge of education.
At Sora, we encourage middle school and high school students to explore their passions.
Our academic experts will support them through an exciting array of interdisciplinary, project-based learning expeditions, based on their interests and goals, along with optional Independent Study Projects, and, finally, their own Capstone Projects in senior year.
The content of our courses is like no other school. Your child might choose expeditions such as “The Science of Marvel,” “Engineering Rollercoasters” or “Banned Books”! Each expedition is informed by the expertise of our world-class full-time faculty and designed to be engaging, interdisciplinary and relevant to
today’s world.
Our academic calendar is divided into six-week cycles, during which middle school and high school students take a selection of learning expeditions to explore specific topics and skills. Instead of lectures and textbooks, these expeditions may involve Socratic discussions, real-world projects, labs or other active learning formats. The learning expeditions meet synchronous at select times throughout the week, so that students can share ideas with their classmates.
Ooh! This might be the best part. We evaluate middle school and high school students on something way more important than grades: mastery! With each expedition, students have lots of opportunities to demonstrate their mastery of a topic or skill, and they always have the chance to try again. We translate students’ mastery records into GPA-based transcripts when needed.
In addition to progressing academically through expeditions, Sora students advance through projects via the optional Individual Study Program (ISP) and/or the required Capstone Project.
ISP is designed for students who want to propose alternative ways to earn academic credits through specific projects.
The Capstone Project is an exciting opportunity that all Sora students complete before graduation. Our advisors work with each student to channel their passions and curiosities into deliverables that showcase their academic and personal achievements.
As both an accredited school and a mastery-based program, our curriculum is assessed according to specific academic standards, which include all of the traditionally required school subjects like math, English, history and more. These subjects are split into more granular units to evaluate students on their individual competencies, not their average ability to retain information.
As students progress, they demonstrate their level of mastery in these areas. Through this system, we are able to evaluate students holistically and fairly, and students have multiple opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of the subject matter.
Our program packages all of the individual areas of mastery back into their academic subjects and produces a mastery-based transcript for colleges and other institutions of higher education, complete with a
GPA and details about the student’s academic strengths. This format is informed by the Mastery Transcript Consortium’s approach and is used by hundreds of other innovative schools across the United States.
