If you were in charge of writing the rules for this classroom — what is the first rule you'd make, and why should everyone follow it?
No rows of desks watching one person talk for 90 minutes. In here, you drive the learning — and you earn your grade by proving you actually know something, not by sitting still.
Not seat time. Not busywork. You learn in six-week cycles called Studios — and at the end of each one, you show what you can do in front of a real audience.
A standard is a skill worth having. You produce something that shows you have it. Then you push past "done" to elevate — go deeper, make it worth sharing.
You choose the angle inside a big question. Your curiosity sets the direction.
You choose how you prove your learning — essay, podcast, exhibit, 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 you are one of the first Self-Directed Academy students at South. When you walk the halls, other students, teachers, and families are watching what SDA looks like. You are the proof it works.
Beat the bell. 10+ min late = truant. 4 tardies = a detention.
Away and silent, bell to bell, unless we say otherwise.
AI without permission or credit = a violation. The skill is yours to build.
"…so that the strong should not harm the weak." He wrote 282 laws in stone.
Lead by example, not fear. The best ruler is the best person.
Which do you think makes a better leader — someone who enforces rules, or someone who sets a good example? 3 sentences. Then tell your partner.
On your card, finish this line:
"The thing that makes me most curious — or most nervous — about a class like this is ______."