What predicts whether a student is a good fit for Oakland LEARN? The simplest and best predictor is whether they like it when they try it. We offer summer sessions for families to check out Oakland LEARN with no commitment. We are also willing to accommodate one week and two week trials year-round.

Here are some groups of students who often love it at Oakland LEARN:

Students who are bored in conventional school tend to thrive here. Because lessons move at their own pace, they learn more, faster. They take on challenges that a conventional school wouldn’t offer them. They set ambitious goals for themselves. When we hear from parents who say “he complains that school doesn’t teach him anything” or “she gets in trouble for reading in class” or “we’ve been fighting with the school to allow them to do more independent work”, we suspect we’ll be a fit.

Students who are homeschooled and want to supplement home education often like it here. Many homeschooled students attend 2x or 3x a week to do classes and activities that they can’t do at home. Routine, frequent, unstructured play with other kids is an important part of how kids learn. Some families attend LEARN as a way to offer their children that and expand what they can offer while homeschooling.

Students who are gifted, twice exceptional, or learning disabled: Conventional education works fairly well for students who are learning at the pace the school ‘expects’ of them, but it can be rough for students who learn at a difference pace, whether that’s a faster pace or a slower pace. Since we build the lesson around the child, instead of vice versa, and let students skip lessons that are boring or frustrating, we’re able to better serve students who are ahead, behind - or both in different subject areas.