Our daughter attends EPGY OHS as a full-time sophomore as well as the SF
Conservatory of Music Prep Division, where she studies violin. Previously
she and her younger brother attended one of San Francisco's highly rated
public elementary schools, after which they chose to pursue full-time online
middle schooling with a rich and rigorous curriculum that is notable for its
ability to address the otherwise underserved needs of many students. Most
parents of the many whom I've conversed with at EPGY OHS highly value that
the school offers their students a world class faculty, most of whom have
PhDs, instructing them in a rich and demanding program that is actively
evolving and responsive to frequently sought student and parent survey
input. The work they get done under the tutelage of their faculty is
exciting and feels phenomenal, in the sense that it is possible for a
program like this to exist and thrive. Student learning has great depth and
breadth, and they become very skilled in media-rich deliverables that make
full use of educational technology assets.
The flexibility of class scheduling allows students actively to pursue their
talents, such as acting, singing, ballet, equestrian, swimming, and math and
engineering competitions. It also allows us to design "field trips" beyond
the classroom tailored specifically to our children's interests. One week
we attended Philip Glass's opera "Appomattox" with a home school group,
which was followed by private attendance of a Commonwealth Club seminar with
the leading contributors to the opera and a park ranger from the Appomattox
historic site. We also make visits to the zoo and museum, to NASA, the U.S.
Geological Survey, and the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography
Center.
But the heart of the OHS program is in the student community, which is very
vibrant, international and collegial in feeling. The students work in peer
groups on the newspaper, in traditional kinds of clubs as well as some
untraditional ones. They meet at regional parties, graduation, and at other
social activities. They come together at Summer Session on Stanford campus,
which includes leadership courses where students are visited by Silicon
Valley entrepreneurs who relay their education and career paths. For those
who thrive in this school, social and academic enthusiasm is evident, and
pride in having friends from many cultures and places is more than evident -
it is a constant inspiration.
