If you are a school leader, you know that customization is the future of education. More and more, families and students not only want an excellent core education; they also want to be able to pursue passions and go at their own pace. You also know that customization is really difficult and expensive to pull off. Adding new courses for a handful of students doesn’t make sense.

Our 10 Most Popular Programs for Partner Schools

1. Advanced tracks for math and science whizzes
   • If you have talented students in math and science, they can probably handle more classes in those fields than you have on offer at your school. Gravitas offers classes well beyond AP Calc BC including Linear Algebra, Multivariable Calculus, Statistics, and Advanced Mathematical Logic. Students who are ready for those classes will feel held back and may even get bored if they are limited to a slower track in math. Likewise, students who love science want to do advanced courses in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Environmental Science, and Anatomy and Physiology. Gravitas can offer those students the ability to take a wider variety of advanced science courses while they are still in high school.
2. Advanced courses for deep thinkers: philosophy, ethics, and theology
   • Most Christian schools have Bible classes, and many will have a worldview or apologetics class. However, most do not have advanced courses in philosophy, ethics, and theology for the deep thinking students. At Gravitas, we have teachers who have their Ph.D’s in these subjects who know how to reach high school students who want to pursue wisdom on the big questions and develop the critical thinking skills they need to discern truth. We also offer Ethics Bowl through our partnership with the National High School Ethics Bowl Bridge program.
3. Elective career prep courses for entrepreneurs, content producers, programmers, designers, and engineers
   • Through the Gravitas Passion Academies, students can ignite and pursue their passions in fields like redemptive entrepreneurship, where they learn how to address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by using design thinking skills and the engineering process. We employ a model of entrepreneurship used by Praxis Labs and connect young entrepreneurs to the Faith Driven Entrepreneur network so they can learn what Christ-centered entrepreneurship looks like. For those interested in technology, we guide them toward ethical uses of technology and equip them with the programming and engineering skills needed to develop software applications that promote human flourishing. Students interested in design can learn about graphic design, video production, and digital marketing and create beautiful and compelling art that serves God’s kingdom while earning them a living.
4. Daily character formation lessons and challenges
   • Most schools say they develop character, and of course they do, but they  usually lack an intentional program that cultivates the daily habits of the heart and mind that constitute character. A low-cost way to solve that problem is to partner with Gravitas and use the over 300 lessons and challenges we have developed. We recommend utilizing our character modules on love, hope, faith, wisdom, justice, temperance, and fortitude in conjunction with an advisory or chapel program, where in-person mentors can unpack the content with students and hold them accountable to completing the lessons.
   • For the character formation program, Gravitas is looking for two types of partners. The first type would be consumers who are wiling to give us feedback so we can continually improve the program. The second type would be producer/consumers, who help us create more video content for the program with help from their students. Individual subscriptions to the program cost $60, and we offer partner schools a discount depending on whether they contribute their own content.
5. Summer courses
   • Students who aspire to the highest levels of academic rigor or who want more flexibility during the school year are increasingly turning to summer courses as a way to customize their academic plan. Christian schools can offload the responsibility of staffing and creating programming for the summer by partnering with Gravitas. Our summer program features a wide variety of courses, and we can add courses as desired so long as we reach our minimum enrollment numbers. Schools can also recommend talented teachers who may benefit from additional summer compensation to teach for Gravitas during the summer.
6. Specialized programs for elite athletes, artists, and globetrotters
   • Many students want to pursue their sports, arts, and other interests all over the globe. Instead of losing those students, partner schools can offer them flexibility by partnering with Gravitas. Or, they can start their own programs for such students by providing them with expert coaches and teachers in their areas of specialization on campus and leave the core instruction to Gravitas so they can maintain flexibility for travel and practice. Schools could even consider flipping the normal school day for such students, allowing them to practice while their peers are in class and take online class while their peers are using the practice facilities. This approach can help schools maximize facility usage to increase overall enrollment.
7. Hybrid programs for homeschoolers
   • Hybrid, sometimes called university-model, schools are popping up all over the country. Families who want to continue homeschooling while also availing their children of the benefits of a school are turning to flexible schools where they go to campus a few days a week to do things like the arts, lab sciences, and sports, and complete the rest of their subjects at home, often through online education. Gravitas can help schools attract these families by offering them online courses from Gravitas in combination with excellent in-person learning opportunities.
8. Dual Diploma Programs for students applying to selective US universities and colleges
   • If you are a new school, it takes time to build up a reputation with selective universities and colleges. Why not leverage The Stony Brook School’s reputation for the benefit of your students by having them take some of their courses from Gravitas and earn a second high school diploma and transcripts from The Stony Brook School?
9. Microschools
   • Is your school bursting at the seams and looking to expand to new campuses but aren’t ready to staff them with a full cohort of subject-matter experts? Would you like to offer specialized campuses like public schools do with their magnet and charter schools? Gravitas can take care of the education at another campus so you can focus your efforts on ensuring the unique features of the specialty campus are top-notch. With a single learning specialist, you can teach a range of students one-room-schoolhouse-style through Gravitas online classes and focus your efforts on what makes your in-person campus unique.
10. Custom courses and tracks
    • If you are looking for something you don’t see in our course catalog or in the list of options above, please reach out. With as few as four full-pay students, we can create custom courses or tracks for our partner schools. Every school has had to say no to families asking for niche courses for their children. What if we didn’t have to say no anymore? Gravitas can help.

How does it work?

Gravitas can work for many types of schools.

1. Option 1: Plug and Play
   • The easiest types of partnership would be for summer courses and the character formation program. These partnerships require very little adjustment on the part of the partner school, as the former takes place while the partner school is out of session and the latter is available asynchronously and can be implemented however the partner school sees fit.
2. Option 2: Coordinated Effort
   • Also fairly easy would be to partner with Gravitas for specific courses or tracks of courses without having to align bell schedules. Gravitas can allow students to watch video recordings of our live school day classes and then offer live recitations or office hours for partner school students in the evenings and on weekends. We recommend partner schools allow their students to work on their Gravitas courses during a study hall or free period.
3. Option 3: Deep Integration
   • The deepest partnership would involve aligning bell schedules with Gravitas so students could take live online classes with Gravitas students from around the world during the school day.

Gravitas operates with partner schools in a business-to-business relationship. Gravitas tuition is listed on our tuition page. We then offer partner schools a discounted rate per course so they can offer their students financial aid as needed and so they can cover their administrative costs. The partner school advertises the Gravitas courses, vets applicants, collects payment from families, and sends payment to Gravitas. For more information about our partner rates, email gravitas@sbs.org .