Because some students may want a break between tough academic cycles, the school periodically allows them to interrupt their intense academic plans with less rigorous courses rather than risk their dropping out because of short-term fatigue. Because instruction is completely individualized, students can resume where they left off. Rather than tracking students, teachers devise student work plans incorporating activities based on individual ability levels. For example, in a social studies class on prehistoric Minnesota, the teacher leads all students in a general discussion about the topic and brainstorms with them about possible areas for further required research. A higher-ability student might write a formal research paper, and a student operating at a less skilled level might write a simple report incorporating general concepts.
Teachers integrate learning across disciplines as much as possible.
Activities require students to read, write, make personal connections with the subject, and apply their knowledge to current situations. For example, students in a social studies class learning about cultural clashes between Native Americans and European settlers in the last century might discuss the war in Rwanda. In art class, math skills may be woven into a study of architecture. All students must take a daily communications class, which varies from 30 minutes to one hour long based on student need. In this class, five to eight students work on interpersonal communication skills and problem solving with a student-selected faculty member.