Resources
Practical guides for families.
These guides help families compare learning formats, plan an academic path, and prepare for the admissions conversation.
Compare options
How each format works in practice, week to week.
Learning option comparison
Review where instruction, study time, advising, and activities take place.
Open guideSample weekly structures
See how live classes, independent work, and check-ins can fit into each format.
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In person: a full school week on campus
On-site students keep a school-day rhythm: mornings anchored by seminar-style core classes, afternoons given to electives, project blocks, and studio or lab time. Advising is a standing weekly appointment for every student.
- Monday–Friday: live core instruction in the morning
- Afternoons: electives, project work, and collaborative blocks
- Weekly: one-on-one advising and a community gathering
Hybrid: two or three days on site, the rest by design
Hybrid students attend live classes on set campus days and complete independent and project work from home on the others. Each home day begins with a clear agenda agreed with an advisor.
- 2–3 campus days: seminars, labs, group work, advising
- 2–3 home days: assigned independent work with a written plan
- Daily: brief check-in with instructors on home days
Online: live classes from wherever you are
Online students join the same live seminars by video, in real time — this is not a library of recordings. Independent work follows the same expectations as every other format, and advising happens weekly by video.
- Scheduled live video classes across the week
- Independent and project work between sessions
- Weekly video advising and open office hours
How to use these
Read each format against your student's actual week — training schedules, health needs, travel, family logistics. The right format is the one your student can sustain for a full year. We build each student's final schedule individually during admissions.
Academic guides
Questions and frameworks for planning a coherent high-school program.
Course planning
Map core subjects, electives, prerequisites, and longer-term goals before selecting courses.
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Start from the destination, then work backward
A strong four-year plan begins with an honest picture of where the student is headed — university study, a conservatory, professional sport, a trade, a gap year with purpose — and works backward to the courses that make that destination credible. Every year should leave more than one door open.
The order we plan in
- Core sequence first: English, mathematics, laboratory sciences, social sciences, and a world language across four years
- Prerequisites second: place courses so nothing a student needs later is blocked
- Electives third: chosen for genuine interest
- Project work throughout: at least one substantial independent or collaborative project each year
Questions worth bringing to a planning conversation
Course planning at Golden Coast is done with an advisor, year by year, and revised when life changes. A plan is a working document, not a contract.
- What does this student already love, and what are they ready to be challenged by?
- Which courses need to appear on the transcript for the paths we're considering?
- Where does this student need more time — and where are they ready to accelerate?
- What would a changed timeline (illness, relocation, training) do to this plan, and how would we adapt it?
Assessment approach
Understand how projects, discussions, practice, and formal assessments can show progress.
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Assessment should show what a student knows — in more than one way
A single exam format rewards a single kind of mind. We assess through a mix of evidence so that a student who thinks brilliantly out loud, a student who writes with precision, and a student who builds and demonstrates are all visible to us — and to themselves.
What counts as evidence
- Seminar discussion: preparation, listening, and the quality of a student's contribution
- Written work: essays, problem sets, lab reports, and revisions — drafts count
- Projects: sustained independent or collaborative work with a public result
- Formal assessments: tests and examinations where they genuinely fit the subject
What families receive
Progress is reported in narrative and in terms a transcript can carry. Parents hear from advisors regularly, and students learn to read their own record, because self-knowledge is part of the curriculum.
- Regular advisor reports to families
- A transcript that travels: courses, levels, and results in a recognizable format
- Student self-assessment built into each term
Family resources
Prepare the environment and support a student will need.
Technology checklist
Plan for a reliable computer, internet connection, audio, video, and a focused study space.
Read guide
Required for hybrid and online students
- A laptop or desktop computer (not a phone or tablet) with a current operating system
- A reliable broadband connection — video classes need stable upload as well as download
- A working webcam and microphone; a headset is strongly recommended
- A modern browser kept up to date
Strongly recommended
- A quiet, consistent place to join live classes — a door that closes matters more than square footage
- A second screen or a way to view materials alongside the class video
- A backup plan for outages: a phone hotspot, a nearby library, a neighbor's connection
What the school handles
We provide the learning platforms, class links, and accounts a student needs, plus orientation for students and parents before the first week. If cost is a barrier to any item on this list, tell us during the inquiry conversation and we will work out a solution together.
Readiness questions
Discuss routines, communication, independence, travel, and access to adult support.
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For any format
- Does the student have a daily routine they can keep — sleep, meals, movement — or does one need to be built first?
- Who at home knows the student's schedule and can tell when the week is slipping?
- How does the student handle being stuck: do they ask for help, go quiet, or push through alone?
For hybrid and online students especially
- Is there an adult reachable during home-study hours, even if only by phone?
- Can the student work independently for a 60–90 minute block? An honest answer helps us plan well.
- What will the student do for in-person friendship and activity, and how will the school's community complement it?
- If health, training, or travel is part of the picture: what does a hard week look like, and what should teachers know in advance?
How to use these
Answer them together, in writing if you can. Bring the answers — including the difficult ones — to your admissions conversation. The gaps you find are exactly what advising is for.
Ideas on access
Read essays about equitable academic design, varied assessment, and community across distance.
Open guideCalifornia requirements
Understand the private-school framework, state filing, study areas, records, and what to verify.
Open guideFrequently asked questions
Find direct answers about learning options, tuition, international participation, admissions, and records.
Open guide