ACADEMICS
Meet Our UPPer Division
Through deliberate practice and the intentional removal of scaffolds, students in our Upper Division hone their self-advocacy skills and ready themselves for independent learning in high school. In an effort to grow into resourceful self-actualizers, Upper Division students develop keen self awareness alongside a robust repertoire of strategies. A challenging course load readies students for the college-prep programs that our graduates attend after Pilot. Increasing leadership opportunities also allow our students an opportunity to put new skills to the test. Our graduates leave Pilot confident in who they are and what they need, and the programming in the Upper Division builds that conviction.
DAY IN THE LIFE OF A STUDENT
Arrival
Although the school day starts at 8:00am, all students are welcome to come to school as early as 7:15 A.M. We provide an opportunity for students to spend time together inside and out on our playground before the day begins.
Reading Class
Thirteen-year-old Cara is getting ready to take part in the weekly “Sum It Up” activity following the completion of this week’s essay. In twenty words or less, Cara explains to her classmates what she researched and wrote about. At the start of the year, she really dreaded writing, but now she has a much easier time getting right into it and sustaining herself through the process. She uses a couple of those trusted supports that her Language Arts teacher provided, housed in her resource binder on neon-colored paper. They’ve become frequent-fliers during homework hours, both in Language Arts and in her other classes where she is asked to write. This week’s essay was on the band Nirvana, and Cara was particularly proud of the way she introduced the topic by talking about spiritual nirvana first.
Math Class
During today’s Think Math session, fourteen-year-old Jake shares his group’s thought process behind solving the linear equation on the board. Although at first he and his classmates disagreed about the way to attack the problem, they talked out their rationale and eventually agreed on a path forward. Jake noticed that another group used a different method, but he sticks with his explanation. He knows that his class will debate the two approaches and talk about the merit of each one. One of the things he has come to love about his math class is the trust he has built with his classmates. Jake tries hard because he knows even if he makes a mistake or fails the first few tries, his classmates will work alongside him too and encourage him as they go.
STEM Class
Twelve-year-old Logan has been studying the water cycle. After discussing the water cycle in class, taking some notes, and watching a short video, he is still unsure of how it works in the real world. Today, in Science, Logan is instructed to put a cup of hot water in a bag. This is how water collects he is told. Next, he seals the bag and draws clouds on the outside of the bag. After taping it to the window, he is told that the warmth from the sun will allow the water to evaporate and he will actually see it in the clouds. Logan is amazed that this happened in just a few minutes. He gently presses on the “clouds” and watches the water drops fall. Precipitation! he yells proudly. He then listens as a peer describes that the cool glass window will work to condense the water so that the process can happen over and over again. Next, Logan will transfer his observations into a traditional lab report.
History
As a culmination of the recent unit on colonization, thirteen-year-old Sarah and her partner produced a series of news videos. They used their learning about colonization throughout history and their analysis of current affairs to talk about the ways in which recent events in the news are similar to historic events from long ago. Sarah loved Social Studies with Mr. V! He uses games and multimedia to teach about history and always ties his lessons to things in the news today. Earlier in the year, Sarah created a wall map as a demonstration of her understanding of the lesson on geopolitics, and this recent video production was difficult to make, but rewarding. She likes that there are plenty of opportunities in this class to show her understanding outside of more traditional work products.
Dismissal
Instructional time ends at 3:00 P.M. and the pick-up window runs from 3:00 P.M. to 3:30 P.M. For families wishing to pick their children up after 3:30 P.M., we offer an aftercare program called Kids Club. Upper division students are also offered the opportunity to participate in after school sports.
Ready to Unlock Potential At Pilot?
If our Upper Division program sounds like a good fit, then please submit this quick and easy inquiry form! Once we receive your inquiry, we will reach out to you with more information about admissions.
