Education as we know it believes that all students will and must learning certain tasks and standards alongside their peers at the precise, same pace. This simply is not true. Students learn at their own pace and filling classrooms with 30+ students does not support what brain research suggests. Instead, authentic learning occurs when students receive one-on-one instruction, assistance, and the freedom to prove their own levels of learning.

These are the reasons that I created the Academy for the Individual. After working in the standard educational arena for greater than 20 years, I watched countless students struggle and experience frustration when they were either ahead of their peers or behind their peers and teachers were forced to push forward because the state or school had told them they must teach this standard on this particular week. We do NOT use this methodology at the Academy for the Individual. Instead, we create individualized education plans for ALL of our students based on their needs, wants, and wishes.

Students learn state standards as required for academic attainment but do so without the confines of grade level, academic calendars, and strict scope and sequences that they would encounter in their neighborhood school.

I am proud that the Academy for the Individual also provides the flexibility for students to work when it is convenient for them and their families. If your student is involved in travel sports - as an example - the Academy for the Individual provides him/her the flexibility to travel, participate in sports, and still activate their learning. If your student has a strict IEP - as another example - and the school system is struggling facing this, the Academy for the Individual is THE SOLUTION for you as we are built to address these needs one by one!

I look forward to working with you, your student, and the entire state of Mississippi to change the landscape of education as we know it!

—

Dr. Michael D. Miles
Head of Schools