Discovery of Learning
High School Mentoring
Our Virtual High School Mentoring Program is specifically designed to support your child and the whole family in setting future goals that guide an individualized program at Discovery of Learning. This journey of discovering is what drives our passion for learning, exploring ideas of what the future may hold and what roles we may play in it. We want to support each child in achieving goals set for whatever career or college path they choose to take. Our program, described below, is designed to be a hybrid program working partnership between the student, family, and Discovery of Learning.
Mentor Meetings
Students build a trusted relationship with their Mentor Teacher to help them down the path of exploration and realization of their strengths, passions, life goals, and desires. The Mentor teacher meets with each student regularly to set goals in their individualized Core Program and Interest Led Learning Projects. Through these meetings, the teacher offers guidance, support, feedback, and most importantly a safe place to learn and make mistakes. All this while holding the child accountable for follow-through and effort within the program.
Mentor Teachers will also meet with each student quarterly to discuss and review College and Career Goals, making revisions as appropriate in this long-term plan, such as helping the student become dual enrolled in a community college to complete A-G required courses on the way to the UC system, or offer opportunities to participate in community service and internships that will benefit the child’s journey to a certain career.
Each family will be provided a DOL Portfolio to maintain completed work, evidence of learning through other methods, a graduation requirements checklist, and current goal sheets. The student, family, and teacher will work as a team to maintain this system.
Core Program and Interest Led Projects
Students will work with guidance from their family and mentor teacher to set core curriculum goals. On campus, students can work toward goal completion in a variety of ways, such as working independently, with a group of peers, alongside our teachers, by participating in a teacher-led workshop or gaining knowledge from a guest speaker. Workshops are recorded at all campuses so that students may access a library of topics and receive support from various teachers and teaching strategies. Completed work will be utilized as work samples for students enrolled with a charter. Students will be expected to work independently, or with the support of their parent(s) to continue this core work at home or other appropriate learning environments to meet the goals set by the student, family, and teacher.
Students will participate in ongoing Interest Led Projects that differ for each child based on their interest and desire to delve into a particular topic. A student may simply want to research a topic and complete an informative report or speech. Whereas another student may want to begin a passion project that requires research, a demonstration(s), or even works in the community to enhance the learning. For students needing more guidance or ideas for projects, our teachers have multi-subject projects ready for exploration.
No matter which route a student takes in these Interest Led Projects, the teacher is there to help the student stay focused on their big idea, while helping them break it down into manageable steps and remain educationally focused. Throughout the process, the team will track core standards and graduation requirements met through the project. At the completion of each learning project, students will have the opportunity to share their project with peers in their own unique way.
College and Career Goals
Discovery of Learning prides itself on meeting the needs of the individual child along their homeschool and educational journey. Your child’s mentor teacher will meet with them quarterly to assess, discuss, review and revise their chosen college and or career goals. Goal sheets will include the desired result, requirements to reach the goal, and incremental steps to work toward the goal. The process of choosing a long-term goal or plan can be daunting to a young teen. The teacher may begin the process of goal setting through journaling activities, vision board creating or introducing role models to the student from various backgrounds and educational journeys. The DOL team will also coordinate opportunities for the students to participate in community services and internships that will help them explore career options or gain experience toward their long-term career goals.
Discovery of Learning Portfolio
Upon enrollment, each student will begin compiling a portfolio which will serve many purposes through the child’s journey at DOL. The portfolio gives each child’s team (student, family, and teacher) a place to work together to document the child’s journey toward completing their program goals. This includes utilizing the Core Program standards and graduation requirements checklist with evidence of learning; documentation of Interest Led Projects with Mentor Meeting goal sheets; Graduation Plan worksheet and participation logs of community service and internships when applicable. The portfolio is accessible on campus and electronically as well. Students, parents, and teachers alike can simply scan and upload work from anywhere.