Our high school program costs $11,630 USD/year.
This includes:
Families choose whether to pay annually (with a discount), by session (3 times per year), or monthly, and tuition is pro-rated for mid-year entrants.
Because we believe that your ability to receive a phenomenal education shouldn’t depend on your ability to pay, we award Prisma Scholarships to families who cannot afford our standard tuition. Our goal is that 40% of learners receive a scholarship, so please don't let your ability to pay stop you from applying!
We accept applications year-round and enroll learners on a space-available basis. Learners in grades 4-8 can join at the start of any 6-week Cycle, and those in grades 9-10 can join at the start of any 12-week session. We typically don't admit learners in grades 11-12 but are able to make rare exceptions, so if you'd like us to consider your 11th or 12th grader, please book a call with our Admissions team.
Not yet. We're a full-time, comprehensive high school program.
A key part of Prisma’s mission is to create a global network of young people who learn and grow together in mutually enriching community. As such, we are expanding the time zones in which we operate as quickly as possible. For now, Prisma learners need to be fluent in English, and our middle school program is available in all geographies aside from UTC+3 to UTC+6. Prisma High School is presently available in US-compatible and Western European time zones. Graduates of Prisma’s high school will receive a US accredited private school diploma.
Join our waitlist to be among the first to know when we launch Prisma in your time zone!
If you want to transfer to another high school, we will provide you with a learner portfolio (documenting all key learning milestones and developed competencies), and an associated accredited transcript that captures all the credits earned at Prisma.
A wide range of kids thrive in our middle school program, and we expect our high school to be the same. Prisma may be an especially good fit for:
Yes. From our focus on real-world skill building and problem solving to our emphasis on ethical and communication fluency, young people will come away from their time at Prisma with valuable skills, having been shaped into young adults who will be poised to shine when applying to selective schools. Additionally, we plan to build relationships with colleges and organizations to help them understand how our program enables each learner to thrive and prepares young people for the future, including in higher education. Our aim is that within the next 3 years admissions personnel at selective schools get excited when they see an applicant coming from Prisma.
Prisma is an accredited Florida private school. A Prisma diploma complies with (and goes far beyond) all graduation requirements set forth by the state of Florida. Learners who are set to graduate from Prisma will be able to apply to colleges and apply for financial aid. They'll also graduate with a rich portfolio of work, internships, and capstone projects that will set them apart.
Prisma will partner with carefully selected, accredited organizations to offer AP and IB courses so that each learner can self-select the best courses and curriculum that lines up with their interests and dreams for the future.
We assess each incoming learner's transcript individually when we review your application. Any credit earned from an accredited institution will be accepted, and credits earned from non-accredited institutions will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Yes and no. Grading as practiced in traditional schools is broken. The purpose of assessment should be to track development of essential skills, but in many schools it becomes a) the only way to motivate kids to complete work and b) more about checking boxes than measuring knowledge.
Our assessment looks more like feedback does in the real world, combined with a transcript system using mastery-based grading. Before earning badges or credits, learners get ample feedback and revise their work until it's truly their best, rather than turning it in once and forgetting about it.
Middle School learners earn badges for mastering skills. Each project is broken into multiple badges based on the academic standards covered (for example, they might earn a Physics: Forces & Motion Badge, Design Thinking Badge, and Model Engineering Badge for a toy design project). Learners can earn all, none, or some of the badges based on the quality of their efforts and the assessment of their coach. They also have the opportunity to earn badges with distinction (meaning they went above and beyond in their mastery).
High school learners do receive traditional grades, and earn traditional credits, because these are more understandable in the college admissions process. However, our process is more akin to a review process in a job than traditional high school grading. Learners collect evidence from their explorations and projects proving their work meets the standard required to earn each credit, and at the end of the theme, they argue which letter grade their work deserves. Academic coaches may agree or disagree, and have ultimate say over the final grade. Sometimes, they'll suggest revisions learners can make to earn the grade they proposed.
Here's a great article from Harvard Graduate School of Education on why competency-based badges are better than seat-time-based grades.
At a minimum to successfully participate in Prisma, young people need a consistently reliable internet connection, a quiet space to learn with limited distractions and a computer (not a tablet) with a webcam and microphone designated for the learner's daytime use. More specifically, we’ve found that at internet speeds lower than 25 mbps or with a computer that has less than 4 GB of RAM or less than 4 cores, learners may experience tech challenges associated with navigating our live synchronous sessions and digital learning platforms. More details, including device recommendations, can be found here.
Yes! We’ve found that Prisma works incredibly well for learners with a variety of accommodation needs. Within the Prisma application you’ll have the opportunity to describe your young person’s needs. You’re also welcome to contact us before applying to see if Prisma is a good fit.
We don’t yet have the resources needed to support learners who struggle to learn independently via asynchronous work or who aren’t able to participate in live synchronous sessions. We've also found that young people who have severe auditory processing disorders, ASD or anxiety that prohibits them from participating in synchronous sessions may struggle at Prisma.
Prisma has a robust learner and parent community—with families who organize events, summer camps and a variety of ways to get together from museum tours to time in a local park across the US. We’ve found that Prisma families love to tell their friends about their experiences with us, so often small groups of learners wind up geographically co-located and find great ways to connect regularly in their local communities.
Socialization also happens organically online. At Prisma, learners have daily social lounges where they have the option to hang out or play games with other young people from all over the world. They can join learner-led clubs that meet each Friday, some of which are Baking club, Nature club, Inventor's club, Coding club, Debate club, and Prisma News. There are also lots of coach or expert-led enrichments to choose from each cycle like art, musical theater, leadership and survival skills.
Prisma offers flexibility in many ways! Beyond the ability to learn from wherever you want, Prisma gives learners
All high school graduation requirements can be met through Prisma themes, workshops or missions. We frontload most graduation requirements in the first two years to give learners lots of flexibility to explore AP or dual enrollment courses or to spend time diving deeper into areas of passion through capstone projects and internships.
A wide range of kids thrive in our middle school program and we expect our high school to be the same, but it may be an especially good fit for:
