The Complete Student

The Complete Student (TCS) is an accredited (SCISA and Cognia) independent private school for students in grades 5 through 12. Through personalized, student- centered teaching, differentiation, and teaching best practices, TCS is revolutionizing student education. TCS develops a rigorous, multidisciplinary, and individualized curriculum for each student. Due to this level of individualization, TCS classes are small, averaging 10-15 students. Small classes allow full inclusivity. Gifted students and students with disabilities working side by side. 

TCS honors the understanding that every student learns differently. Every student is unique in terms of educational background, learning style and ability, interest in school, internal motivation, and life goals. Student school performance is also affected by teacher’s education level, availability of resources, student’s socioeconomic status, home life, personal or learning challenges, and curriculum. TCS believes in a truly inclusive classroom and builds the curriculum around the whole child. Unlike traditional classroom settings or educational institutions, TCS's curriculum is designed to fit the needs of ALL types of learners. 

TCS curriculum includes all core subjects, as well as arts, physical education, health, and more. To ensure all students have an equal chance at academic success, it is paramount to provide choice and autonomy to each type of learner. TCS believes increased choice in the learning process leads to increased engagement, and engaged students learn more and love learning more. TCS provides pathways for all types of learners so they have choice at all stages in the learning process. After being taught a lesson corresponding to the state standards and under the guidance of highly qualified teachers, students pick the pathway(s) they know will help them reach the learning objectives. Choice doesn’t stop there. Students also have choice on how to check their understanding of learning and then apply their knowledge to new situations, cases, opportunities, and collaborations. 

To assess knowledge of content and to provide each student with agency, students select from a list of projects they'd like to complete. Each project draws on skills from various disciplines and highlight multiple forms of intelligence. To demonstrate subject mastery and inspire creativity, students are encouraged to collaborate on projects or even create their own project. Project options provide students the necessary flexibility to assists different types of learners and align with each student’s ability, interest, motivation, and aspirations. TCS's curriculum helps students become more confident, mature, and collaborative learners and young adults. Not only do students learn middle and high school core curriculum, they also learn life skills like time management and personal responsibility to help prepare them for a career or college. 

Research has shown that the only form of motivation that is sustainable long term is self-motivation. Students need to have an opportunity to develop accountability and self-motivation. One of the biggest changes many students experience when they come to TCS is that the grading system is not built on a top- down model. Teachers do not dispense grades. Students know how many points projects are worth and are allowed to choose the grade they wish to work towards by selecting the corresponding assignment. Although terrifying to some parents, they are also allowed to choose to pursue no points at all. Occasionally a student will defiantly declare that they will be choosing no points, this protest does not last long. It is met with no teacher resistance and they are left to sit and watch their peers sing, dance, make movies, paint, write, and otherwise demonstrate mastery. TCS have never had a student choose to "opt out" of earning points for long. This piece is crucial to why the TCS program works. Internal motivation is borne from having agency and autonomy to make choices. Once a student develops internal motivation, the sky is the limit! 

The idea for giving students more agency in earning the grades they wanted to work towards came from the following 3 sources:
 1) Students themselves: students historically report things like "that teacher didn't like me and gave me a C." This passivity increase a sense of victimhood. Students that are most at risk for not graduating need to be empowered. Empowerment comes when students make decisions based on an understanding of the consequences those decisions will make. Laying the points available for each task out for students allows them to have a clear understanding of what they need to do to achieve what they want to achieve. 

2) Universities: In the university system, students are given rubrics that clearly define how many points each portion of an assignment are with. If schools are trying to prepare a segment of their population for the university setting then why not grade the same way? Likewise, employers will clearly lay out in a contract what the expectations and the compensation for those expectations. 

3) Research: Educational research indicates that empowered choices lead to increased self-esteem and efficacy. Students at risk for not graduating need to be empowered to increase the likelihood that they will turn it around and graduate. 

Decades of educational research indicate that the most effective and successful educational models are those that teach to the student and not to the test. TCS philosophy and curriculum are born from this proven research. TCS sets individual goals for each student based on their particular strengths and interests. Gifted and struggling students work and learn side by side, just as they would in the real world. TCS teaches students how to think, not what to think, values building personal skills, fosters emotional growth, and teaches students how to problem-solve. Creativity is celebrated. 

Traditional schools are handcuffed to teaching to the test. Their funding is tied to ensuring that every student learns the same method of displaying mastery- passing a standardized test- and for this reason many students who could obtain mastery spend too much time trying to conform their thinking to fit a test. TCS has changed the "test" so that our assessments match the learning styles of each student. 

The Complete Student (TCS) is unlike a typical private school. Historically, private schools detract from public education and segregate the communities they serve by decreasing community equity. TCS is firmly against separating our community into haves and have nots. TCS is a "private" school because it relies on tuition and grants to fund 100% of operational funds rather than relying on state and federal funds. TCS encourages education-inclusivity as the unifying foundation of our community. That's why the majority of TCS students receive financial assistance. TCS also differs from "alternative" schools by remaining inclusive to academically gifted students and those with disabilities. TCS will never shut its doors to a family in need of the education offered at TCS due to a lack of income. In order to continue that practice, TCS seeks grants that value the opportunities and well-being brought to students through TCS' individualized educational approach. 

TCS students have a rich diversity of experience, including: prior homeless, childhood trauma, privilege, learning disabilities, academically gifted, mental illness, athletically gifted, generational trauma, and more. Regardless of differences, TCS students build deep and lasting friendships across racial, economic, and experiential divides. Friendships that help raise our entire community. TCS teaches students to see similarities and to embrace those connections above all. TCS is dedicated to building connectedness as a main core value to enhance the wellbeing of Beaufort community and ensure a bright future for all students.