Our Director of Student and Family Wellness is always available for support. Our Success Advisors are also available and ready to assist. If there are issues that need stronger, more formalized support, our partner, Ellie Mental Health, has professionals available to tackle any issue. They accept most insurance, as well as Medicaid. They offer in-person or tele-health counseling services to ALL our students with locations across the areas we serve.

Our competencies align with the traditional subjects as well as many more skills. The major difference is that your student will not be required to memorize facts and take tests. They will be engaged in activities that are driven by their interests, while MASTERING the underlying skills that drive their abilities.

Definitely! Each student will be assigned a Success Advisor. This is their partner in their academic journey. Even more, this Success Advisor remains with the student throughout their journey at Dream Academy. In addition to the Success Advisor, a multi-tiered level of support is provided, ranging from subject matter experts to a licensed mental health counselor.

PBL or project-based learning is a learning method in which students identify a real-world problem and develop its solution. Students gain knowledge and skills by working for a longer period of time to investigate and respond to an engaging or complex question, problem, or challenge.

All of our learning materials are designed to be self-paced. Students can work at their own pace and schedule. Success Advisors check in regularly and provide guidance and support. When there is a struggle, either individual or small group sessions are scheduled. Each student is the 'agent' in their learning. We provide a set of competencies that they must master at certain levels in order to progress. We facilitate this through asynchronous and/or direct instruction on specifically what the student is working on.

Success Advisors work with students to develop a plan and milestones. These milestones are set to dates that both the advisor and student agree upon. The advisor holds the student accountable to these dates, as well as the completion of tasks and quality of work.

With Success Advisors located regionally, we will offer regular meetups in every area. They will be social-focused, often with an academic tie-in. Students will also have opportunities to socialize virtually, independently, and advisor-led throughout the year. We have monitored video ad text chat available for their use.

Traditional learning models are based on a series of standards, or pieces of knowledge. Competencies are based on skills or experiences. In a CBE model, students learn through doing. They practice their skills and build knowledge along the way. There is no fact-filled testing, but an evaluation of performance.

Attendance is monitored by participation and completion of activities. Every state has compulsory attendance laws, and these are fulfilled by regular activity and completion of assignments on a timely basis.

We have multiple levels of remediation. At enrollment and annually after that, we administer NWEA MAP Testing for Reading, Math, and Language Usage. This helps students, families, and Success Advisors determine individual needs for remediation. Additionally, each student progresses at their own pace, however, family engagement is critical to help keep them on track. Our multi-tiered supports are also available if there are additional needs.

YES! Absolutely. And even more! Our Competencies have been developed with some of the top education organizations and schools to not only align with State and National Standards but address the needs of Colleges and Employers. You can see a cross-reference here.

While we use Project Based Learning (PBL) to allow for mastery of competencies, these projects can be done individually or in groups. It's generally the Student's choice. Some projects lend themselves to group work very well, where others are geared toward individual activities. The most exciting part is that the student is able to propose and design their own projects with guidance by their Success Advisor. There are no limits on what or how they can approach this.

Students will be assigned a local Success Advisor. Instead of a formal classroom environment, this Success Advisor can meet via video chat, or in person, as your student needs. We are fostering independence in our students, and it's essential that they take the initiative to solve problems and meet challenges, but our Success Advisors are always available to meet one-on-one or in small groups to help them when needed.

No. There is no 'Classroom'. Students are encouraged to work independently or in small groups. Instruction is provided asynchronously, or in small groups scheduled as needed via video chat.