Private Instruction
We offer private instruction for a small number of students whose abilities or interests do not fit standard academic settings. This work is designed for teenagers who are capable of serious thought, drawn to demanding texts, and benefit from being pushed.
Private instruction is discussion-centered, intellectually rigorous, and offered selectively alongside our institutional programs.
Who This Is For
Private instruction is well suited to students who:
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read widely or are capable of doing so
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enjoy discussion, argument, and sustained conversation
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are dissatisfied with conventional coursework
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have non-standard academic profiles
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are educated outside traditional school settings, including homeschoolers
What This Work Looks Like
Sessions are built around shared reading and serious conversation. Texts are chosen to stretch students intellectually and to invite sustained engagement rather than surface comprehension.
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Instruction emphasizes:
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careful reading of demanding texts
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articulating ideas clearly and responding to others
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learning to revise one’s views through discussion
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developing confidence in speaking without scripts or prompts
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This is not tutoring tied to school assignments.
It is intellectual training.
Texts and Materials
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Readings are drawn primarily from classical literature and philosophy, alongside essays and other works suited to the student’s interests and level. Texts are selected for their capacity to sustain serious discussion rather than for coverage or alignment with curricula.
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Availability
Families interested in private instruction are invited to begin with a conversation to determine whether this work is a good fit.
College Preparation
Succeeding in college has changed.
That's why we are changing education.
Our Approach Is:
Holistic. We care about guiding a teenager who is about to live away from home for the first time.
Timely. We care about the huge changes in the education scene with COVID and the Gen-AI revolution.
Bespoke. Sometimes, a student just needs to sit down and learn his times tables. That's what we're here for.
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What we do.
We put our heads together with college admissions counselors, professors and recent graduates, to answer the question:
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"If I was a freshman today, what skills would put me ahead?"
Hence, the College Preparation Program was born.
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Every ICD student is different, and so is every College Prep program. Currently, we have competitive athletes, aspiring medical professionals, and rising business majors growing with us.
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We are fascinated by the diversity of interests of our students, and we design custom preparation programs to support our students as they double down on their goals.
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Whether we are:
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-Connecting a professional athlete with potential sponsors, and teaching her to make a lively donor pitch
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-Helping an aspiring business owner implement their first small business model
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-Teaching a high-school senior how to use spreadsheets to automate real financial math problems
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We are right there, in the mud with our students. ​​​​​​