Learning at Prisma is organized into interdisciplinary themes. Our world-class curriculum team has designed a set of themes that cover all academic subjects—differentiated to match each learner's interests and needs—while growing the skills researchers identify as essential to future success. Each theme contains:
At the end of each 6-week theme, kids celebrate their creations together as a cohort on Expo Day, where they present their projects to their peers and families. Beyond developing key skills, our themes ignite kids' enthusiasm about learning. 96% of our learners agree that Prisma themes are 'hard fun.'
If we don’t make Prisma the kind of place where kids love to show up every day we will be unable to bring out the best in them. We give kids autonomy and choice, a deeply interesting and relevant curriculum, a supportive social environment, learning coaches that know each child well, a culture that celebrates progress and encourages risks and plenty of time for fun!
The world is changing faster than ever; 65% of current elementary students will work in jobs yet to be invented. It’s no longer enough to focus on reading, writing and arithmetic; we must develop kids holistically for a world that’s global, technology-driven and ever-changing. We’re committed to being best in class at preparing kids for the 21st century. Every aspect of our model is crafted to develop the skills, tools and mindset that kids will need.
This generation of kids faces global challenges more complex than any seen by recent generations. We need our kids to grow up deeply committed to changing in the world. Our program is designed for this. From our focus on real-world issues, ethical dilemmas, leadership and social responsibility to our diverse cohorts, inspiring speakers, service learning and cohort values, Prisma learners are primed to be future change-makers.
Instead of having multiple teachers who each have hundreds of students, Prisma middle schoolers are matched with a tight-knit cohort intentionally-matched peers and one mentor coach who they can stay with for multiple years. Coaches meet 1:1 with each learner in their cohort, provide personalized academic feedback, and facilitate engaging live workshops. 100% of Prisma parents are happy with their child's mentor coach. (Of the 200-500 applications we receive for each coach we hire, we handpick the most kind, supportive, and brilliant educators who are exceptionally talented at building beneficial, motivating relationships with kids.)
When considering online learning, the most common concern we hear from parents is that their child will have limited social interactions. We believe how connected kids feel to their peers and mentors impacts how they feel about learning, so we laser focus on building a safe, dynamic community where every learner feels seen and loved. Whether bonding through learner-led Clubs (Art Club, Chess Club, Prisma News), coach-led Enrichments (Songwriting, Cooking, STEM Extravaganza), or simply hanging out together in virtual gaming or social Lounges, we put tremendous emphasis on ensuring that every learner makes at least one close friend and finds an ongoing social experience they enjoy.
Every child and family is different and has unique routines, schedules and priorities. Our schedule allows ample opportunities for learners to interact with and socialize with their peers, while maintaining flexibility.
Some workshops (like Standup) happen every day, and others once per week. What's listed here is a sample of what a day might look like.
Exact times vary by time zone and cohort placement.
From late August through early June, Prisma learners experience three Sessions (Fall, Winter and Spring), with breaks in between. Each session is divided into two 6-week cycles centered around a real-world theme. The first and last cycles of each year are slightly shorter. In the first cycle of the year, learners build a foundation of self-directed learning skills to set them up for success. The last cycle of the year is our annual Change Makers theme, focused on Service Learning.
Newly launched in January 2024! The Australasia Prisma year runs from January 29th - November 28th. Learners also experience three Sessions, each divided into two cycles. Holidays and breaks are aligned with the Australian holiday calendar.
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"Prior to enrolling our son, Major at Prisma, we struggled with his behavior at public school. He was getting into fights, was called a "distraction" because he learned at a different pace, and he was struggling with the one-size curriculum. His spirit was broken, because he felt like a failure. He said “Mom, please don’t make me go back to that school.”
Since starting Prisma, Major has matured in his course work and at home. We don’t fight about chores or getting his work done, he is highly motivated to engage with his coach and peers, and he feels understood and supported. Hearing him laugh with his peers as I work in my office makes me smile. His engagement and motivation since joining Prisma is at levels we have NEVER seen when he attended public school. He never wanted to join any extracurricular activities, now he is in the cooking enrichment and taking Japanese!
Prisma has reignited the spark and joy in Major and has brought back the amazing human we knew was there all along."
-Latasha Harris, Prisma Parent
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"Prior to enrolling our son, Major, at Prisma, he was called a "distraction" because he learned at a different pace, and he was struggling with the one-size curriculum.
Since starting Prisma, Major has matured in his course work and at home. His engagement and motivation since joining Prisma is at levels we have NEVER seen when he attended public school. He never wanted to join any extracurricular activities, now he is in the cooking enrichment and taking Japanese!
Prisma has reignited the spark and joy in Major and has brought back the amazing human we knew was there all along."
-Latasha Harris, Prisma Parent
See full story
Parents at Prisma get the best of both worlds: the joy of being involved with their child’s learning without having to tackle teaching and curriculum design by themselves.
You'll get to be involved by seeing your child present at Expo Day, receiving feedback from their coach in biweekly progress updates and Parent-Coach-Learner conferences every 12 weeks, participating in our vibrant parent community, and by providing us with feedback. Our leadership team loves connecting with parents!
Families gather at virtual events, from Theme Previews to Family Game Nights. Many Prisma families choose to organize in-person regional meetups, parties, and even trips. We love helping families connect with one another!
Some experienced homeschool families opt for our Parent-coach program, which included everything our full program offers, except that the parent serves as their child's mentor coach.
Aside from our live workshops (which take up 90 minutes on Monday-Thursday), families are free to schedule their days however they wish. Flexibility is one of the great benefits of our program. If families wish to travel during the typical school year, that's no problem. We have many kids who tune into Prisma while traveling with their family (or simply take some time off during the school year). If families wish to fit in extracurriculars during the day or get-togethers with friends, that's also no problem. Having said this, we do provide a suggested schedule for those families that want a clear structure for their child's day and many of our learners do follow this.
There are as many different schedules as there are kids at Prisma! Learners live in different time zones, have a wide range of interests, and engage in varying outside commitments. Prisma allows for substantial flexibility while also prioritizing collaboration and community. You'll get to build your child's schedule collaboratively with your learner's mentor coach when you enroll.
If you are wondering whether Prisma could work with your family's schedule, the answer is likely YES! But if you want to have a sense of how you could build your learner's day, read on.
Sample Schedule:
Chat with us 1-on-1 to look at how your child's current weekly schedule could line up with a well-matched Prisma cohort.
We have learners with a wide range of special needs thriving at Prisma, though we certainly don't claim to be the right fit for all learners with special needs. Our curriculum allows learners to go at their own pace, make choices about how to demonstrate their learning, and connect learning to their interests. Some learners with special needs need fewer supports at Prisma than in a traditional environment due to this flexibility.
Our learning coaches are experienced educators trained in supporting learners of all abilities. They will work with your family to understand what kinds of accommodations have worked and not worked for your learner in the past, any challenges they may face interacting with our curriculum, and what lights them up as a learner. They will collaborate with you to customize the Prisma experience to best suit your learner's needs. We also have a counselor available to work with learners who may need additional support.
Many families of learners with special needs report the Prisma peer community to be the most accepting of any learning environment they've tried. Prisma parents of learners with special needs also connect with each other to share resources, connect, or attend Prisma guest speaker events in topics like executive functioning.
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 program is available in all geographies aside from UTC+4 to UTC+8 (i.e. We are not yet able to offer our program in countries with time zones like India, Russia or China).
Want Prisma in your time zone? Join our waitlist by filling out this form.
We believe that there are very valuable ways for kids to use screens (e.g. for research, learning about topics of interest and collaborating with kids from other places) and less valuable ways for kids to use screens. We (and a body of academic research) disagree with the idea that screen time is inherently bad.
Prisma learners use screens to participate in engaging live workshops with their cohort (an average of 1.5 hours per day), and they use screens for some aspects of their projects (e.g. to write responses and read materials, an average of 2 hours per day). We do believe there is great value to off-screen, hands-on learning, and we thus include as many off-screen options into our curriculum as possible. For example, this year's themes included projects where learners could visit a historical landmark in their area, conduct a hands-on science experiment, and choreograph & film a dance performance.
At the beginning of each theme, families & learners are given a detailed guide to all of the academic work for the cycle. Tasks are managed through a custom Prisma start page, task lists, and chat platform with learning coaches. When your learner signs on for the day, they will see their upcoming due dates and be able to access all of their work from their start page. When your child finishes a task, they check it off their task list and submit it to their mentor coach for feedback. Support and reminders for upcoming tasks are given during live workshops, and coaches also send parents regular updates on their learner's progress.
It is our goal that all Prisma learners develop the Initiative & Follow Through to manage this process independently. However, especially when new to Prisma, some learners need more parent support in getting started on tasks each day and planning work time to comfortably meet deadlines. Our mentor coaches are experts in gradually building task management skills and will partner with you in this process!
Prisma is accredited by Cognia, a nonprofit organization that provides quality assurance for schools, school districts, and education service providers around the world.
Cognia, formerly AdvancED, recognizes schools that meet rigorous standards focused on productive learning environments, equitable resource allocation that meets the needs of learners, and effective leadership. Earning accreditation from the Cognia Global Accreditation Commission means that Prisma is accredited, and that Prisma is recognized internationally and in every U.S. state as a school that meets Cognia Standards of Quality, and maintains a commitment to continuous improvement.
Dr. Mark A. Elgart, president and CEO of Cognia, stated, “Cognia Accreditation is a rigorous process that focuses the entire school and its community on the primary goal of preparing lifelong learners in engaging environments where all students can flourish. Prisma is to be commended for demonstrating that it has met high standards, and is making progress on key indicators that impact student learning.”
Cognia is the parent organization of the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).
Kids who attend Prisma will be prepared with all the prerequisite skills to be successful in any rigorous academic program. They will also graduate with a unique portfolio of projects in all subjects, service learning experiences, and authentic writing assignments. Portfolios & projects are becoming increasingly recognized as essential in developing a standout college application.
Learners who have graduated from Prisma Middle School have been accepted to competitive private high schools and accelerated programs such as Cooke Young Scholars. In the words of one parent whose child was accepted to a competitive program after Prisma: "I firmly believe that her time at Prisma made that possible. The application questions were big open-ended things that she knew just how to digest, research, and respond to, and that gave her a real leg up. Plus all the cool hands-on, photo-worthy projects she had completed made her application stand out from the crowd!"
Prisma High School will graduate its first class of learners in Spring 2025. All high schoolers graduate with an official diploma and transcript that meets entrance requirements at major universities. Our innovative LaunchPad program prepares learners for the next stage of their lives through a rigorous college & career exploration process, preparation for tests like the SAT & ACT, and individualized college application support. Mentor coaches provide personalized letters of recommendation and advice. We also support learners in designing a Capstone project, completing an outside internship, and writing a dynamite college essay.
When we surveyed new learners this year, 86% said that they had made friends at Prisma after just 6 weeks. Our program provides considerable opportunities for kids to form friendships, from our standups where kids meet daily with their coach to share their thoughts and have fun, to team challenges, small-group exercises and group projects.
We also have many popular learner-led Clubs and coach-led Enrichments, from Prisma Press to Dungeons & Dragons to Art to Cooking, as well as a highly engaged online learner forum. We also try to incorporate lots of one-off celebrations & extra events, from the annual Talent Show to the Prisma 100th Day Party to monthly Family Game Nights.
Many Prisma families also choose to organize in-person regional meetups, mini microschool-style learning hubs, and even trips. We love this and are happy to support and help publicize!
Yes! Prisma middle schoolers get an updated transcript every twelve weeks when they meet for conferences with their parents and coach. Their transcript contains all the academic badges they've earned, which are understandable by other schools as a list of skills & topics they've covered and their mastery of each. It also contains coach narrative assessments for each cycle, which are an amazing way to look back on your learner's progress and development as an individual.
Prisma high schoolers get a more traditional-looking transcript palatable to college admissions officers with their GPA, grades for each theme, and list of electives and extracurriculars they've completed. You'll be able to see your learner's updated transcript at the end of each theme.
In order to participate in Prisma, learners need a strong internet connection and consistent access to a computer with a camera and a microphone—which can be built-in, like on a laptop. We also strongly recommend that learners have access to a quiet and private learning space that’s free from distraction.
Learners should be able to independently navigate online resources such as live video, learning websites, Google Suite, etc. While we provide each new learner with the tools to navigate the platforms that everyone at Prisma uses, if your child does not yet know how to type or independently navigate online resources, we may ask your child to complete personalized digital literacy training before starting Prisma.