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We want our students to know who they are, how to accomplish their goals, and how to use their passions to contribute to their communities.They will know their strengths and understand their disabilities / neurodivergence. We want them to accept their authentic selves and confidently share their brilliance with others. A Big Minds graduate will also walk away from their time at Big Minds with confidence and self-awareness in each area of our Student Wide Learner Outcomes as evidenced by Graduate Survey results at the end of their 8th grade school year.
“I am myself. I am good. I am enough.”
In knowing who they are, we want our graduates to advocate for their needs and ask for accommodations. They will be able to identify the tools and approaches necessary to fully access information, environments, and activities, including supports like Assistive Technology. More importantly, we want our graduates to question current institutions and systems and work to universally design new ones to ensure that the needs of all community members are met. They will focus on how the world should or could be, rather than focusing on how to fit into a world that was not built for them.
“Accommodation is not accessibility.”
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We want our graduates to pave their own pathways as natural nonconformists. They will be able to identify and pursue truth. They will be led by their interests, strengths, and passions.
“I can make my own decisions and find my own way.”
Our graduates will be able to navigate their inner and outer worlds. We want them to develop the skills necessary for resilience in the face of life’s inevitable challenges. We also want them to be able to seek out and embrace joy and beauty. In the community, they will be able to respectfully communicate their thoughts while also listening to and incorporating others’ ideas. We want their relationships to feel fulfilling and meaningful. They will have developed tools to help them self-soothe when triggers arise while maintaining their authentic selves simultaneously. We strive to empower graduates to maintain pride in their identity and awareness of their own needs.
“My life is meaningful, and I am an important member of my community.”
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They will have fully explored all of their High School options with the support of a coach and our counselor by the middle of 8th grade and have created a general plan of what their High School path will be. They will have fulfilled requirements to be accepted at the High School of their choice, to pass the assessment of their choice, or to choose a homeschool curriculum to meet their needs. They will also be ready to pivot should the path of their choosing not be a right fit for them.
“I will shape my academic future with my passions, strengths, and mentalhealth as the most important factors. I will have a flexible mindset in regardsto the path to get there with my best interests at heart.”
Some of our graduates have gone on to the following schools:
A registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Big Minds Unschool
PO Box 22869
Oakland, CA 94609
(510) 630-2541
