Between old-school classrooms and new-school screen addictions, teens today have little opportunity to stretch their limits. They need space to explore who they really are — and what they’re capable of.
For five weeks, our Academic Term students trade their usual classes for accelerated, self-driven learning, smartphones for expert-led outdoor athletics, and social media stress for unforgettable adventures in some of the world’s most beautiful settings.
I’m actually crying happy tears while typing this, I’m so grateful for the incredible Discover Term team. I think Campbell will look back on (and continue to channel lessons from) these five weeks for the rest of her life.”
THOMAS Q., Discover Term parent
Our fully immersive, non-traditional learning adventures empower 6th-9th graders to stretch their limits and fulfill their potential in three critical areas — not only during our programs, but for the rest of their lives.
Given the right mix of challenge and agency, every student is capable of academic excellence. Our hybrid courses combine the latest self-paced, adaptive learning platforms and Socratic, discussion-style education.
We also create authentic, place-based learning experiences that allow students to see the value of their skills and knowledge in action.
On-campus, communal-style living fosters independence and self-reliance while empowering participants to forge deep friendships that last a lifetime.
In this dynamic group setting, our students rapidly learn how to communicate, collaborate, and advocate for themselves.
A healthy mind and body elevate each other — and we believe the two are equally important. Our rigorous athletic programs provide an invigorating and rewarding experience that gets teens off the couch and out into nature.
Best of all, participants get the chance to expand their physical and mental limits as they discover the deep fulfillment that comes from pursuing mastery of a single skill.
Our programs are built for everyone, from seasoned skiers, snowboarders, and surfers to complete beginners. All we require is a sense of adventure and a willingness to commit.
Our students also come from diverse educational environments — from public school to homeschool, and everything in between.
Explore our Academic Term programs to learn more.
Our academic programs blend place-based projects with the latest adaptive learning platforms. We focus on six key courses developed by expert educators:
The experience Discover Term provides is unlike any other experience you can provide your child. They will get to go discover a whole part of themselves on their own without the influence of their family or friends. They will come away with a deep trust in themselves of what they’re capable of and how to navigate the world.”
Elizabeth S., Discover Term parent
Contrary to what you may be thinking, your child does not need to be homeschooled in order to attend one of our Academic Term programs. In fact, over 70% of our students come from traditional public, charter or private schools.
We believe these programs are chances for young people to transform and reach new potential. Helping your child’s school understand the purpose of the program and why your child wants to attend will frame it as an amazing opportunity to support.
Each school handles this differently. Some require formal approval from an administrator or principal, while others simply ask families to coordinate with teachers or academic counselors. Most students will need approval from the school if the intent is for them to return to that school in the same grade and with the same status as when they left.
Each school handles this differently. Some schools and district policies require a formal request and documentation to be completed for the planned absence. Occasionally, it may be easier for the school and family to unenroll the student for five weeks and reenroll the student upon their return to simplify attendance records. In these cases, the students still set academic goals to work towards during the program.
Our admissions team supports families in any scenario with a process and resources that make this easy:
A member of the Discover Term team is also happy to connect with and talk to your school administrators with you if helpful.
No, it’s extremely rare for families to be denied permission to attend.
School administrators and teachers are primarily concerned with making sure that the student will continue their coursework while away, and that they’ll be ready to transition back into the classroom upon their return. Our pre-term goal-setting process, during which students and teachers collaborate on coursework expectations, along with the academic resources, transcripts and portfolios of work that we provide, typically relieve these concerns.
The bottom line: If you want your child to attend, you can most likely get it done. Reach out to our team directly or begin the enrollment process to access resources you can share with your child’s school.
We’ve had families find our program, meet with their school administrators and be enrolled within one week. The best way to get approval quickly is by scheduling a meeting with your school administrator, where you’ll discuss your child’s desire to attend and share documentation about the program from our team. If required, a Discover Term education team member can speak with your school administrator to clarify any questions they have about our program.
Before attending, every student completes a structured Academic Goal Setting process with support from their parents. This ensures each student arrives with a clear plan for success with a narrow focus on 2–3 subjects (most often math and science, sometimes English, plus history or a foreign language).
Because time is limited (roughly one hour of study hall most days), it’s important for parents and schools to align expectations on which aspects of hometown school coursework should be prioritized and which academic areas do not have expectations. Narrowing the focus allows students an opportunity to accelerate their progress, with many previous students returning to their hometown school ahead in their math or science coursework.
Of course, this is not always the case. Many factors contribute to a student’s academic performance, including what subjects they focus on, how aggressively they decide to pursue their goals, and how intentionally they use their time during the program’s academic study halls.
Parents play a key role in supporting students and in aligning their pre-term academic goals in partnership with the school so that expectations are clear before the program begins.
No, Discover Term does not offer direct academic credit as our programs are not officially accredited by any organization. Some schools, however, will accept Discover Term coursework for school credit if presented with our program documentation, such as example student transcripts and portfolios. If course credit is needed, we recommend requesting credit approval from your school before attending and providing this documentation for support as part of the request.
We create spaces where students can be present, engaged and immersed in learning and growth — without the constant pull of outside distractions. In that spirit, direct communication between students and families is intentionally limited, with students having the opportunity to call home twice during our 5-week programs.
We understand that being away from your child for an extended period can be difficult, and we deeply empathize with the desire for updates. While our team focuses on supporting students from day to day rather than managing ongoing communication, we are committed to keeping you meaningfully connected to the experience.
Throughout the term, our team will send you email updates, including photos and highlights of the group’s activities, such as outings, educational opportunities, local adventures, reflections and more. Additionally, each family will receive a midterm and end-of-term update specifically about their student.
We also see this experience as a meaningful time of growth not only for students, but for families as well. Discover Term invites everyone involved to slow down, disconnect and reflect — and we hope that this time apart helps strengthen your relationship in ways that go beyond constant contact.
Discover Term focuses on three primary areas of mastery: self mastery, physical mastery and academic mastery.
We help youth practice paving their own path to mastery by:
We’ve developed our own curriculum that incorporates a blend of Socratic coaching, guided experiences, project-based learning, and adaptive digital coursework. We incorporate core skill tools like Khan Academy, Lexia and No Red Ink, along with our own cross-discipline project learning experiences.
Outside of self-driven academic courses, research for Discover Term projects or scheduled calls home, our students are completely unplugged. Any other use of personal electronic devices is prohibited throughout the program.
This unique experience is designed to offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to step away from the distractions of digital life. No social media. No infinite scrolling. No constant digital overload. The goal is to create intentional moments that encourage students to be fully present — physically, mentally and emotionally.
Discover Term is different from typical schooling in our approach to education, prioritization of rigorous physical activity, dorm-style living and Socratic learning style.
We believe each child is capable of being their own best teacher — and we’re here to give them the environment, resources and experiences they need to stretch their limits and explore their capabilities.
It’s not about “teaching kids” so much as providing adventures, challenges, interactions and environments that enable them to develop their own learnings, which is exactly what they’ll be expected to do as they enter the world of adulthood.
No, Discover Term does not do any academic testing. We use dynamic and adaptive intake assessments to tailor learning programs that place students at the edge of their learning comfort zone in each of the adaptive learning platforms we use.
No, Discover Term does not assign homework. Individual students set self-paced academic goals that they are accountable for, and there are deliverables and milestones within projects that must be completed in order to move forward. The intent is for all work to be completed during the structured academic blocks each day.
No, Discover Term is not accredited. Some schools, however, will accept Discover Term coursework for school credit if presented with our course descriptions and Program Guide. If course credit is needed, we recommend requesting credit approval from your school before attending.
We’ve developed our own curriculum that incorporates a blend of Socratic coaching, guided experiences, project-based learning, and adaptive digital coursework. We incorporate core skill tools like Khan Academy, Lexia and No Red Ink, along with our own cross-discipline project learning experiences.
Students have daily Academic Study Hall time built into their schedules to continue any self-paced Academic Goals they set for the duration of the term. Some students choose foreign language as one of their areas of focus and bring coursework from their hometown school or use online adaptive language learning platforms. We do not offer our own foreign language curriculum, although our Surf Term program includes basic Spanish lessons as part of the experience.