Our unique approach emphasizes the following key concepts:
- Advanced Curriculum – We recognize many of our students are advanced in their academic caliber compared to their average peer group. Through constant testing and monitoring, we strive to challenge our students and keep their interests high at all times. Our curriculum structure and baseline testing enable us to fine-tune the pace and level to match students’ aptitude.
- Proprietary course materials – Our course material is prepared with exceptional care by competent professionals, keeping in mind the advanced caliber of our target student community and their unique creative needs. We keep it updated constantly to match the evolving needs
- Creative Teaching – Our unique educational approach espouses fundamental understanding and interactivity. Our belief that these are the cornerstone of successful learning permeates our lessons, making our classroom instruction maximally effective, efficient, and enjoyable.
- Highly Qualified Teachers: Our teachers have extensive experience in coaching students to succeed at all academic levels: elementary school, middle school, high school, and beyond.
- Focus on Fundamental Understanding: Our course material and teaching methods stress fundamental understanding concepts as opposed to rote learning and memorization
- Applied Logic: Our teaching methods emphasize the practical application of learning to real-life situations and examples. This encourages creative thinking and application of knowledge to new situations encountered by students
- Small Class Sizes: Limited to a class size of 12 to 18. Providing greater opportunities like one-on-one teacher interaction, attention to individual needs, and creative small group dynamics.
- Academic Games: Our specially designed intellectually stimulating academic games involving the entire class aim to encourage learning in a fun environment and prepare them to participate in real-time established competitions
- Testing – We complement our classroom style of in-depth teaching with period quizzes, homework exercises, challenge exercises designed to stretch students’ imagination, and full-length tests throughout the term, covering the cumulative areas to date.
- Parental Involvement and Communication – Parental involvement is critical in any child’s development; as such, we hold regular sessions with parents to update them on their child’s progress. We believe that only with frequent interaction, total transparency and open lines of communication between parents and staff can our mutually shared goal be reached: every child’s potential is realized to the fullest. We aim to realize this through:
- Periodic email communication with parents
- Office hours on week-ends for parent interaction with the management team
- Guest Speaker Program – The educational system, and how to succeed within it; are constantly evolving – so we felt it critical to provide access to newly minted graduates to counsel your children. The success of these graduates in college and beyond makes them more than qualified to support, mentor, and guide today’s youth. We bring in guest speakers drawing from recent successful high school graduates from Northern Virginia schools who could serve as potential role models to share their experiences and unique perspectives at the same wavelength as our students.
- Coaching for Academic Competitions – Our curriculum includes basic elements of areas generally tested in advanced competitions such as VA Math League and AMC-8. Some of our challenge exercises are designed to cover these areas.
