Academy of Thought and Industry

In my search to find the right school for our daughter over the years, I stumbled across ATI after exhausting all my resources. Our daughter is a highly creative, social teen who wasn't getting the support she needed to thrive at her previous high school. After our meeting with the founder we were convinced we found the school that would work with our daughter's needs and goals. With the teachers customized and personalized support it has built our daughter's confidence and helped her to be more proactive in her learning. Class sizes are small so the student feels heard and seen. The guide and student connections are strong as they leave an open door for communication. ATI's teachers are creative and diverse in their teaching methods, with project-based learning and Socratic seminar's which leads to more advanced academic work and discussions. They go on amazing field trips that dive deep historical events which also tie into current issues. The academics are rigorous and stimulating, but they also work with each student individually for end goals. Parents are given tools to stay well-informed in their child's performance as well as social and emotional. Our daughter has not had the easiest highschool experience and after finding ATI we have seen her drive not only to learn, but because of the relationships she has made at this wonderful school both with her guides and friendships. ATI is changing the way kids learn and how they feel about themselves while learning. They never give up on you and find ways to work with each child to bring them to their best self; confident and independent.

Our daughter is relatively new to ATI but quickly settled in due to ATI`s thoughtful and principled thinking behind their curriculum and their classroom culture. ATI has allowed our daughter more breathing room to pursue what truly interests her and to work at her own pace. She is now applying responsible stewardship over her education rather than experiencing " the one sizes fits all" education that is so common in most schools. She is more focused and excited to get to school and do her best work.

We feel so lucky to have found ATI after touring many SF high schools searching for the right fit for our son. He is creative, social and passionate about filmmaking yet he needed a different approach to academics. At ATI he gets customized and personalized support to help him build his confidence and navigate his dyslexia in order to explore a variety of courses and ideas that might otherwise be unavailable to him in a traditional classroom setting. He loves the range of options at ATI and has been able to go deep into his passion for storytelling through film, acting, and editing. ATI has been a wonderful community too and we`re thrilled with his experience so far. He really enjoys going to school and learning something new every day.

ATI is a precious jewel in the San Francisco independent high school scene. My son is getting in-depth academics, the choice he craves in how to spend his intellectual time, college prep testing/training, an intimate community of peers that values kids who walk off the beaten track, incredible mentoring from committed teachers, and the time to pursue his non-school interests. He has just the right amount of homework, allowing him to connect to activities in the whole city and to develop not just as a student but as a well-rounded citizen. The school expects a kind of independence from students that are, in our experience, both age-appropriate and liberating.

5 Stars for The Academy of Thought and IndustryThe Academy of Thought and Industry is like a Trade School for CEO`s. Really it is much more than that because the school inspires students with a clear trajectory toward how to create a magnificent life at the intersection of their passions and skills. I found ATI during a deep search for the right environment for my two very different gifted children who bring unique talents to the world, that were lost in public school's common core.The Academy of Thought and Industry personalizes the programs and approach for each individual student and provides a personal coach who is in close contact with the students and parents for academic guidance and socio-emotional support through a vitally developmental time in children`s lives to ensure success all along the continuum of learning-not just at semester end. The school is filled with brilliant, open-minded people with no boundaries of learning opportunities for the students.Coaching students with a big-picture view of the world and encouraging them to contribute to it is a gift to our future. The students are grounded in math, science, Socratic social studies and the arts. They customize students` educations to reach their individual goals. If a student desires an invitation to an Ivy League school, their education is chiseled in that direction.We visited the Academy of Thought and Industry in Austin, Texas before enrolling in the San Francisco, California location. The students were well-adjusted, self-motivated, proud of their diverse and impressive accomplishments and confident they were working toward their personal desires to contribute to society in a positive way. Architects, Engineers, Photographers, Investment Brokers, Choreographers, Mathematicians, You-Tubers, Producers, Designers, Inventors, Artists, were all sharing their skills and ideas with their friends at school, sharing partnerships and collaborations capitalizing on each other`s skill sets

When we were looking for a high school for our daughter in the fall of 2018, ATI stood out for us in the sea of schools with its approach to education that is tailored around individual interests. We appreciated ATI's philosophy of empowering the individual by providing the tools to be curious and creative rather than memorizing and regurgitating information. Our daughter has been an ATI student since fall 2018, and she has absolutely flourished into a confident and smart young woman in this short amount of time. She is eager to go to school every day and she is excited and passionate about her projects. ATI 's teaching model is definitely progressive and with the changing times, we can only hope that more schools can follow suit one day.

ATI has been a godsend for our family. Our son needed a break from the academic pressures of boarding school but still wanted a rigorous learning experience. The choose-your-own-adventure method of teaching, learning, and achieving at ATI provided a pressure-free environment from which our son could go deep in math and chemistry, explore Socratic method, and what his appetite for SATs and AP testing. The 10:00-4:00, Monday-Thursday schedule saved us many a household battle, as it builds in time for teenage sleep and non-academic interests. The staff at ATI are empathic, intellectually engaging, and flexible as all get out. We're not sure how we would've made it through this year without the support of ATI.

Thanks to the Socratic Method which is practiced throughout ATI every day, our 13-year-old daughter is learning to think critically, form opinions and participate in intellectual discussions. Her tutors are supportive, involved and engaged and care deeply about our daughter`s welfare. She can choose electives that fully engage her, such as Film, Design, Art, and Chemistry and is both encouraged and given time to pursue personal interests that are meaningful to her. She can also work at her own pace and receives one-on-one tutoring to help her on her journey of self-discovery. The collaborative nature of the school encourages the students to work in teams, as well as on their own. The school has wonderful facilities in a beautiful and peaceful environment. We have seen an enormous improvement in our daughter`s self-confidence, independence and maturity since she started at ATI.

ATI offers a necessary and wonderful alternative to the "big box" classic British style of education. Their addition of a long view, Life Design, helps students see beyond the classroom and focus on how their proactive approach to learning will impact them in the real world. There are high levels of empathy and flexibility in the school's overall style that worked perfectly for our child. ATI's "tutorial approach" to teaching and mastery places the onus on each student who then must decide for him/herself how best to advance which fosters independence in the child's decision-making process. I would recommend ATI to any parent who seeks a refreshing alternative to standard educational practices.