OUR PHILOSOPHY

Personalized education—one size never fits all

Every student is unique—that’s why every learning journey must be unique. We craft a custom pathway just for you, based on your talents and strengths. We help you set personalized growth goals with your advisors, then develop a plan for achieving them with courses and co-curricular activities you actually care about.

Build your success plan from day one

Don’t wait until third year to start discussing your future options. Begin working one-on-one with your University Counselor the day you start school all the way to graduation. They help you figure out your personal goals, design a plan, advise you on which classes you should be taking and which skills you should be developing to achieve your dreams.

What Your Child Can Expect

It's what's behind your grades that matter most

Unlike other schools, all of your courses are designed around the skills and knowledge you will need for success in university, your career and life. You discover your true strengths, talents and passions—and work closely with your teachers to develop the skills that build on them.

Your personal growth is 24/7

Research shows that one of the most important keys to happiness and well-being is building meaningful relationships. That’s why Campus Life is so important to your education—from the classes you take and the sports, clubs and activities you join, to the discussions you have with your house parent or advisor. We try to help you reflect and grow from these experiences so you can develop the communication, self-awareness and empathy essential to strong and lasting relationships.

Mastery of skills, not memorization of facts

Here, you learn how to think—the real secret to success. All your courses are designed around the skills and knowledge you will need to flourish in life, not just facts and figures to pass the next test. Because it’s not the knowledge itself that’s important—it’s how you use it.

We only design classes that are skills-based

Every single class you take, whether that's English, Chemistry or Computer Science, is carefully designed so that you are gaining both knowledge in that subject and practical skills that you can use throughout your life. In the case of English, for example, you learn how to analyze a text using the core competency of critical thinking to determine whether what you're reading is based on fact or opinion.

You always produce evidence of what you've learned

Like real life, it's important to prove your understanding of a topic with concrete examples of how you've applied the knowledge. At AWSC your grades will reflect the quality of your work and mastery of key skills, not just the average of the quizzes and tests you take. So get ready to complete assignments, collaborate on projects and create original works that solve real-world problems with practical solutions.

Strive toward mastery at a pace that's right for you

We recognize that every student learns differently. Some skills will come quite easily to you, others will be more of a challenge. At AWSC you get the time and space to master key skills in the order and pace that makes sense for your individual strengths and growth areas—all with continuous feedback and support. You only progress to the next challenge when you and your advisors agree you've mastered the last one.

How our Innovation Hour & Impact Program empowers you to meet 21st-century challenges

All AWSC students complete our signature Innovation & Impact Program in addition to their high school diploma. You choose one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or your own startup idea to solve worlds pressing problem, work in team or individually to come up with a game-changing solution, and build real prototypes in Maker Lab or Innovation Hun to test your ideas—all while being mentored by teachers from the disciplines most able to help your idea become a success.