We plan to enroll 20-30 new students each year with the maximum enrollment capped between 100-150 depending on the facilities.

No. No school is right for everybody. This is one of the most fundamental problems that currently exists within our nation’s education model: The one-size-fits-all approach. We believe that Telos is the best fit for students who are deeply curious, motivated to have full ownership of their learning pathways, and who maintain high expectations for themselves when it comes to producing work.

Yes! If you are ready to begin your journey at Telos Micro School, then we are ready to have you. Simply follow the steps listed on our admissions page. Once the application process has been completed we are ready to begin.

Yes, we cap the acceptance of students at the age of 15 (beginning of 10th grade). We believe that acceptance beyond this age group does not permit Telos the opportunity to make the long lasting and empowering changes in a students’ life that we desire to make.

It is important to note that we do not discourage any students who currently have an IEP from applying to Telos. In some cases, Telos is exactly what your child may need; however, due to limited resources and the inherent nature of intentionally removing support, Telos may not be the best fit if your student requires more individualized attention.

We do not offer grades. Students will either receive a “mastered” or “not yet mastered” determination on the portfolio of evidence they present for each competency. You can learn more about our Mastery Transcript here.

There will be three checks and balances in place that will hopefully mitigate an unequal distribution of work on the group projects.

First, we want to develop students' capacity to have the type of hard conversations with their peers that would be necessary in this situation. In a real world setting, effective group members are holding each other accountable in meeting deadlines and quality work production. If students can have many opportunities to practice these types of difficult conversations with their peers, in a safe and supported environment, prior to entering the workforce, they will be notably more prepared to be highly valued members of their companies.

Next, at the culmination of each project, students will have an opportunity to give feedback to their peers. This feedback loop will help ensure all group members are being actively and purposefully involved in the project.

Lastly, our mentors will be trained and skilled at ensuring that rigor remains high throughout these projects, as well as providing guidance on how all group members can contribute effectively to the projects.

While standardized testing is often at odds with the core values of Telos Micro School, we recognize its role in society. Standardized tests tend to reduce students to numerical scores and fail to assess essential real-world skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, adaptability, and creativity.

However, given that assessments are frequently used as gateways to future opportunities, avoiding them entirely would not serve our students well. Many careers require passing standardized tests, and we want to ensure our graduates are well-prepared for the real world.

The issue lies in how traditional schools use standardized tests—to label and track students based on averages. At Telos, we use assessments as tools to inform, not define. To monitor progress in math and literacy, we administer the NWEA MAP test three times a year. This adaptive assessment helps identify each student’s next steps based on their individual progress, without labeling or categorizing them. Our goal is to use the insights gained from testing to support personalized learning, ensuring that assessments enhance rather than limit our students' educational journey.

No, not all of it. However, in some cases, we would encourage students to complete work they may have missed while at home. Another scenario would be if a student is coming in part way through the day due to a doctor's appointment or other related situations, we would like to see the student complete whatever self-directed learning they can while at home, prior to joining their peers for that day. This would also be a demonstration of ownership, in which we are actively seeking to develop in all Telos students.

No. Telos participates in a program where families will pay a small fee each year. At the end of three or four years (depending on the contract negotiated by Telos and the computer suppliers), students are then able to keep the computers for themselves. In doing this, Telos will be able to provide access to high-quality computers for all students regardless of their economic situation. Furthermore, this approach allows Telos to ensure measures related to cyber-security and internet safety are firmly in place.

Students are expected to be at school everyday. Students are actively working on group projects together, and these projects hinge on all students making meaningful contributions to the project.

We believe in the power of collaboration and working closely with others. We believe that connection and community creates a sense of belonging and it reinforces the idea that collectively we are better together. With this in mind, there are no formal virtual or hybrid options available as we speak.

We do not provide a specific boxed curriculum. We believe that rigidly adhering to a specific curriculum is yet another fallacy within the traditional school system. It is well researched and accepted that students learn in different ways, as well as having different interests and passions. Refusing to acknowledge these unique attributes of students and prioritizing a specific curriculum leads to the loss of passion and desire to learn that we see so widespread in school age children.

Therefore, we offer a wide ranging bank of options for students to select from. As well as making the content they are learning as applicable to the real world as possible. This allows students to choose the programming that caters most to their interests and passions and will lead to deeper and more sustained learning experiences.

Because we are an independent school, we have the freedom to prioritize the learning that we value the most. With that being said, many of the adaptive learning programs we use are based on the common core state standards.

Once a student believes they have mastered a specific competency, or subcategory within a competency, they will then submit a body of evidence to the Telos staff via the MTC portal. The staff will then evaluate this body of evidence and determine if it has met mastery or needs further work.

We do not offer grades on our transcripts. We have also found it to never be a barrier to entry for colleges or universities. Most colleges have various ways in which they measure a student’s readiness such as the SAT or ACT.

As mentioned earlier, we belong to an organization of schools called the Mastery Transcript Consortium. There are nearly 400 schools across the country that belong to this group, all of which are using a mastery-based transcript. From these schools, students have attended thousands of different colleges and universities, including every Ivy League school in the nation. We have yet to come across a higher learning institution that does not accept our transcript.

Every school has its own policies and requirements so it is important that you speak with each school directly to determine an appropriate solution. In general, however, credits are typically transferred and not grades. Furthermore, every student at Telos Micro School will have a robust portfolio of all of their learnings and projects which may be used to earn credits through the transfer process. Again, each school is unique and you will need to work out a solution with your accepting school.

For the ‘25-’26 school year, we have set the tuition rate at $15,000.

On our home website, there is a place where you can login to your Telos Micro School account. Here you will be able to submit your payments.

Currently, no tuition assistance is available. However, as Telos grows in enrollment, so too will our capacity to provide tuition assistance. It is a top priority of Telos to be able to offer tuition assistance as soon as possible.

Securing an internship is a flexible process that will require work on both ends. Telos will be working tirelessly in our networking attempts and cultivating lists of organizations that have expressed interest. Students themselves are also responsible for taking initiative and creating the opportunities for themselves as well. If a student has a specific company, non-profit, or organization they want to learn from then they are encouraged to pursue an opportunity for an internship.

Internships may also be volunteer based. For example, spending significant time at a soup kitchen or a homeless shelter would constitute a valuable learning opportunity and thus lead to earning credits toward one of our four competencies.

Possibly. However, this is not assured. The most important element is that your student is getting real-life work experience. If your student is able to negotiate some form of wage, then even better!

We align with the National Equity Project when they state, “Educational equity means that each child receives what he or she needs to develop to his or her full academic and social potential.” Working toward equity involves:

1. Ensuring equally high outcomes for all participants in our educational system.

2. Removing the predictability of success or failure that currently correlates with any social or cultural factor.

3. Discovering and cultivating the unique gifts, talents, and interests that every human possesses.

As students begin to adjust to significantly more freedom and autonomy over their learning, we fully expect students to misappropriate their time. Rather than seeing this as a failure, this will be utilized as a clear opportunity for growth. With their mentors, students will be given the space and time to reflect on what led to these decisions, as well as the various impacts these decisions have on themselves and those around them. The student and mentor will work closely on setting systems in place to prevent this from happening again in the future.

If a pattern of work-avoidance becomes apparent and increasingly concerning, the staff, students, and parents may have a conversation to determine if Telos Micro School is the best fit for their child.

No, students will need to bring their own lunch each day. We also have an off campus lunch policy, so if a student wants to run out and grab their own lunch at a local restaurant, they are more than welcome to do so.

The staff for Telos Micro School is always searching for local entities to partner with. These will often be the same organizations that allow our students to have internships, apprenticeships, or other opportunities for volunteering. These organizations also may be companies in which our own parents are involved with. Collectively, we feel confident that we will be able to provide a wide-ranging options for the Problem of Practice learning experiences every year.

Currently, Telos does not offer any sanctioned sports teams. However, students and staff may start after school clubs and sports teams based on their own interest.

Furthermore, there is a dedicated time in the schedule for all students to join, start, or participate in any student-led club of their choice. Furthermore, students are welcome on campus an hour before and an hour after the school day begins in order to allow for more socialization, play, clubs, etc. to happen.

Lastly, in Colorado, many districts offer the opportunity to participate in high school sports if your current school does not provide a sports option. Students will attend their normal school and then travel to their school of choice to participate in the sports team that they choose.

As Telos grow, it is our full intent to create a college support committee. This committee would be a team of staff specifically hired to support our Courage Schools graduates in the completion of college. Many schools support students up to college. We want to support students through college. College can be an extremely challenging time for many students and it is often not the academics that lead to a student dropping out or withdrawing, but rather the lack of support and guidance to help them navigate these uncharted waters.

It is no secret that parents play a critical role in the educational and emotional development of their children. With this in mind, it's important that we acknowledge education and learning does not happen only within the confines of a school building, but rather, is a natural process of life and being. We fully encourage parents to provide students with a wide-ranging variety of experiences and opportunities. Having deep intellectual conversations with your students while also modeling your own curiosity for life can be an important example to set for your children.

In addition, we encourage parents to sit in on some of the group projects, listen to student presentations (not just your own child’s), provide feedback on the presentations, as well as be a part of any of the after school programming opportunities.

Furthermore, parents can play a major role in helping connect us to organizations to partner with for the Problem of Practice learning experience, as well as internship opportunities.

When it comes time to the self-directed learning aspect of our day, we encourage parents (and staff) to take a step back. It is important that students have the opportunity to explore, learn, fail, try again, figure out what they like and don’t like, while minimizing the feeling of obligation or doing something to make an adult in their life happy. One fundamental intention of self-directed learning is that students discover their own passions and interests, while developing the confidence and ability to identify problems and solutions on their own…a critical life skill.

Having a tight-knit and connected community where all students feel safe and welcomed is of paramount importance at Telos. All behaviors that impede on this vision will be addressed on an individualized basis. It is important that parents, students, and staff all have a say in the cultivation of this community, as well as during events that takeaway from our community. Our student and parent handbook will discuss in more detail the steps we take when and if an issue relating to behavior arises.