Our Program

With over 15 years of experience, Helios has taken full advantage of the flexibility of being an accredited independent school, and we have structured the school in the most advantageous way for gifted students. 

• K-8: By choosing the K-8 model we:
  • Give students a chance to mature and find out who they are and how they learn, in a community that knows and cares for them deeply.  
  • Enjoy middle school for its own glorious sake, not as a waiting room for high school. 
  • Focus our resources on these crucial formative years, rather than stretching to provide the necessary breadth that a high school entails. 
  • Work with the 7th and 8th graders and their families to choose the high school that is right for them—a process we help them navigate with great success. 
• Mixed Age (Grade 1 through 8): Our mixed-grade classrooms allow children to experience both stretch and comfort. As younger learners, they look up to and learn with their older peers; as they mature, they embrace leadership roles. Knowing a teacher for more than one year allows gifted children to relax and trust, and focusing on intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic. 
• Culture: Helios is intentionally small, connected, and caring. Our school culture is authentic and unpretentious. We care about relationships. As adults we live by the same motto as the children: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Kind. 

Gifted children thrive in a warm learning environment where they feel safe to take emotional and academic risks. We pay attention to external developmental markers and state standards, but know that real progress comes when students can measure their progress against themselves. 

• Project-Based: Hands-on projects capture the students’ imaginations, helping them engage more and learn more. As they exercise their creativity, students have the freedom to explore subjects in various ways. 
• Theme-Based: Interconnected science and humanities enables teachers to go far past the surface level. This depth and complexity captures the students’ intellectual curiosity.
• Differentiated: Asynchronous development is a reality for many, if not most, gifted learners. For this reason, we divide math classes by level, allowing advanced students to learn with older peers. Further, our leveled literacy groups allow students to learn with students tackling similar challenges, and our project-based learning offers additional room for flexibility.

Learning how to face challenges, collaborate with peers, and advocate for yourself are all real life skills we consider every bit as important as mastering numbers and letters.

• Social-Emotional Learning: The ability to understand oneself and develop strong connections with others is core to helping students thrive, as a child and an adult. For this reason, social-emotional learning is integrated throughout our school day as well as taught through a formal class.
• Outdoor Education: Nature is a great classroom for learning how to learn. At the end of their first year, kindergartners camp overnight on the school field. Grades 1 through 8 camp twice a year, in increasingly adventurous places, taking more and more responsibility for planning and execution. In addition, we infuse a love for the outdoors through the Wilderness Village, our garden, and much of our fieldwork. 
• Voice & Choice: Gifted children crave control over their learning, and when they have it they learn more, faster and deeper. We provide this agency throughout their class work, and also programs such as our Imagine Lab, Wilderness Village, Community Meeting, Electives, and Passion Projects.