Think of a rule, a law, or a system in the world that you believe is broken or unfair. What is it — and whose job is it to fix it?
Year two of SDA. Same engine: you drive, and you earn your grade by proving you know something, not by sitting still. This year we aim higher and go deeper.
Six-week Studios. A real audience at the end of each. This year, US History and English II are one integrated program — one studio, evidence for both.
Learn a skill worth having. Produce something that shows you have it. Then push past "done" to elevate — go deeper, make it matter.
You choose the angle inside a big question. Your curiosity sets the direction.
You choose how you prove your learning — essay, podcast, documentary, debate, and more.
You manage your own six weeks. Freedom you earn by using it well.
Structured support. We narrow your angle together and check in often.
Growing independence. You pitch your own angles and make more calls.
Full agency. You design your own studios and mentor others.
You are a Bruin — and one of the first Self-Directed Academy students at South. In the halls, at lunch, in every other class, people read what SDA is off of you. You're the proof it works.
Beat the bell. 10+ min late = truant. 4 tardies = a detention. Upperclassmen: attendance = your off-campus privilege.
Away and silent, bell to bell, unless we say otherwise.
AI without permission or credit = a violation. The skill is yours to build.
He went undercover in the meatpacking plants and wrote a book so shocking it changed the law. His regret: "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach."
Think of a system, rule, or law you believe is broken. Who do you think should fix it — the people in charge, or the people being hurt? 3 sentences, then tell your partner.
On your card, finish this line:
"This year, the kind of project I'd be proud to put in front of a real audience is ______."