At the Pearl, we help homeschool parents create a hybrid education structure for their teens. This fall, we are offering 12 unique hybrid-homeschooling education for teens to attend worldwide! These classes can count towards a United States high school diploma.
Our Classes
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Beginning Japanese – Online Language Class
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday from 10:30 a.m.-11:25 a.m. Central
In Beginning Japanese, you will start by mastering hiragana and katakana before delving into kanji (used for writing nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs). Through engaging lessons and practice, you’ll develop the abilities to speak, write, and read Japanese with confidence.
The Pearl High School’s Beginning Japanese Class will be taught by Nao Takeda.
Practical Spanish – Online Language Class
Monday, & Wednesdays from 3 pm-4:25 pm US Central
In Practical Spanish, you will expand your listening, speaking, writing, and reading skills through interactive experiences, virtual trips, and self-directed learning projects.
The Pearl High School’s Practical Spanish Class will be taught by Lorena de la Vega Aguirre.
Advanced Spanish – Online Language Class
Monday and Wednesday from 11:30 am -12:55 US Central
In advanced Spanish classes, students will engage in language production through captivating activities such as crafting their own short stories, creating videos, and enhancing conversational skills. By immersing themselves in Spanish literary works, students will further solidify their language knowledge and grammar. This course mirrors the rigor of a high school level class offered in a Spanish-speaking country, designed to cater to native speakers. Join us as we embark on a language-learning journey that combines creativity, cultural exploration, and linguistic excellence.
The Pearl High School’s Practical Spanish Class will be taught by Lorena de la Vega Aguirre.
Popular Music and the Gender Binary – Online Social Studies or Elective Class
Monday and Wednesday from 11:30 a.m.-12:55 p.m. Central
In 2020, Colorado author Sasha Geffen published Glitter Up the Dark: How Pop Music Broke the Binary, to critical acclaim–and it has quickly become the definitive text on the matter. A short but powerful read that examines popular music’s recurring role in challenging the gender binary, Geffen’s book will serve as our trail guide through culture and music in 20th century America. Students will read an average of twenty to thirty pages a week, listen to playlists based on Geffen’s writing, and engage in class discussions about goth and industrial, David Bowie, Riot Grrrl, Prince, hip hop, MTV, punk, the Beatles, the 90s “alternative” boom, disco and house music, and more!
The Pearl High School’s Music course is taught by Ben Tufts, MM.
Environmental Dynamics: A Global Perspective – Online Natural Science Class
Tuesday and Thursday from 11:30 a.m.-12:55 p.m. Central
This course is intended to bring awareness of environmental issues and foster the idea of taking stewardship of maintaining a clean and healthy environment locally and globally. Basic and foundational concepts of environmental science would be addressed through specific environmental issues. It is an interdisciplinary course that encompasses arts, social sciences and subdisciplines of science. Through this course students should gain a deeper understanding of key environmental issues like, biodiversity, air & water pollution, global climate change, impact of human activities on the environment. Some of the key topics that would be covered are air & water pollution, global climate change, carbon footprint, biodiversity & ecosystems, waste management etc. Students will be given a choice on which environmental issues they would like to learn first. The course will be a combination of reading case studies, doing some online labs and activities and a robust in class discussion on various environmental issues.
The Pearl High School’s Environmental Science Class is taught by Shubhada Bhamre, Ph.D.
Math: Economics, the Environment, and Arts – Online Math Class
Monday and Wednesday from 1:30 p.m.-2:55 p.m. Central
In this course, you will be free to explore high school-level math through everyday problems. Topics will include algebra, geometry, and statistics. Algebra will be introduced through economics. Geometry will be explored through design and art. Statistics will be presented via real-life problems.
The Pearl High School’s Math class is taught by TBD.
Psychology – Online Social Science Class
Tuesday and Thursday from 1:30 pm-2:55 pm Central
Are you ready to dive deeper into the fascinating world of psychology? Whether you’ve taken psychology at The Pearl before or are new to the subject, this class is designed for you! In Introduction to Psychology, we focus on developmental psychology and explored intriguing topics such as prenatal development, brain structures and functions, and the impact of social class on development.
You’ll have the chance to complete an independent project on a topic you’re passionate about—previous projects have included subjects like heritability, trauma in anime, temperament, and parenting styles—and share your findings with your peers using a variety of presentation techniques.
Engage in rich and dynamic discussions that bring psychological concepts to life, and be part of a community of curious and enthusiastic learners. Our classes are designed to keep you engaged and interested, fostering a deep understanding of psychological principles.
The Pearl High School’s psychology class will be taught by our director and experienced researcher, Robin Harwick, Ph.D.
World History: Connecting the Past to the Present – Online Social Studies Class
Monday and Wednesday from 3:00 pm-4:25 pm Central
In this course, you will embark on a journey around the world to explore different historical periods. We will enhance our critical questioning skills through claim testing. You will delve into your favorite ancient civilizations, connect the past to the present, and contemplate the future. You may even discover that time is not linear, and that the future might reside in the past. Bring your ideas and interests and we will dig into them together.
The Pearl High School’s Social Science class will be taught by Hande Togrul, Ph.D.
Contemplative Writing Practices – Online English Language Arts Class
Tuesday and Thursday from 3:00 pm-4:25 pm Central
This course is an invitation to practice contemplative writing. We’ll learn how slowing down, quieting the mind, and focusing inward can create a deeper connection to self and creativity. Contemplative practices can also help you live in the moment, which can translate to a sharper focus, improved attention and stress reduction. Through mindfulness meditations, journaling prompts, nature connection exercises and freewriting on sensory details we will create presence and awareness. No prior experience with meditation or contemplative practices is necessary.
The Pearl High School’s ELA course is taught by Sara Caldiero, MFA .
Contemporary Visual Arts – Online Art Class
Monday and Wednesday from 4:30 pm-6 pm Central
Join us as we explore visual arts for the 21st century! From digital illustration to graphic design to painting, photography, and sketching; we help you learn the art skills that you want to know. Whether you have dreams of animation or are just looking to explore their creative side we help you pursue art without judgment. We respect new styles of art brought to us by youth culture and the internet. You will have the opportunity to work on your own art projects in addition to art exercises, assignments, and research activities!
The Pearl High School’s Visual Arts class is facilitated by Brittaney Drake, MA
The Music Room – Online Music Class
Tuesdays from 4:30 pm-6 pm Central + 1:1 weekly private session
The Pearl is excited to announce a partnership with Vanguard Arts Center, a music school near Washington, DC, to offer a music learning experience unlike any other. In addition to a full term of weekly workshops with the Vanguard music faculty, each student in The Music Room will be paired with a mentor to help them with their chosen individual focus. Workshop topics will be centered around the creative process and recording–songwriting, digital audio workstations, synthesizers, eq and compression, sampling, AI integration, music business topics and more! Individual focuses can include (but are not limited to) music theory, instrumental and voice lessons, and guided study of music history.
The Pearl High School’s Music course is taught by Ben Tufts, MM and special guests.
About The Pearl Remote Democratic High School
All of our teachers are experts in their fields and welcome students with all learning styles and abilities! Teens can take all of our classes, a few, or just one. Because The Pearl is a Democratic High School, our classes follow a self-directed work style where students get control of their education. Additionally, we cap our classes at 10 students, so everyone gets the support they need.
Our curriculum is made up of hybrid-homeschooling classes for teens. This means that families who are already homeschoolers can supplement the education they provide with classes from experts to ensure that their child gets the best education they can receive.
We teach our classes online, using Zoom, and they are open worldwide! Students that work directly with The Pearl are eligible to work towards a WASC-Accredited US high school diploma through our partnership program with Angeles Workshop. This makes the Pearl an excellent option for students who are marginalized within the mainstream educational system. Additionally, students who attend The Pearl from outside the US are still eligible to receive a US diploma.