Rethinking Education

Traditional education models don’t ask students what they are interested in learning. Curious Cardinals does the opposite. We work with our students to develop personalized learning models so they can discover and explore their passions in a setting that liberates them from the pressure of grades and other ranking systems.

Giving Every Curious Child the Opportunity to Ask Why

At Curious Cardinals, we strive to make high-quality education accessible to students of all socioeconomic statuses. In addition to collaborating with numerous community partners, we are constantly expanding our own financial aid program to ensure that no student faces financial barriers to participation. We offer flexible tuition on an indexed scale for our students who demonstrate need for our workshops and merit-based scholarships for our passion projects.

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Diversity, Equity,

and Inclusion

Curious Cardinals is committed to creating diverse, equitable, and inclusive education environments. We engage our team in discussions about anti-discriminatory pedagogy and how to create inclusive classrooms, we partner with programs specifically focused on increasing BIPOC students in enrichment opportunities and private education, and we bring together diverse students, speakers, and mentors to share their perspectives and passions. 

Mentoring

Our mentorship program pairs elementary to high school students with a like-minded college student. Mentors will collaborate with their mentee(s) to design a project that both supplements their conventional learning and gives students agency over their education. Throughout the year, our mentors will work with their student(s) to help them build a portfolio of interdisciplinary projects. Whether it be building a video game, recording an album, designing an airplane, starting a business, or addressing a social inequity, our mentors will challenge their mentees to achieve previously unimaginable feats.

Classes

Our reimagined online seminars of under ten students bring together a cohort from across the country to challenge each other in an interactive learning experience. Each teacher is uniquely passionate about the curriculum they create, and classes include lectures, discussions, and debates to keep things lively. We employ a diversity of media for homework including films, college level readings, and even experiments! We have invited distinguished guest speakers including Harvard Law Professor Randall Kennedy, feminist icon Liz Plank, several representatives from The Innocence Project, Dean of UC Berkeley Law School Erwin Chemerinsky, and many more.

Tutoring

Our tutors supplement the need for one-on-one attention in the age of isolating online classes. Tutors cater their materials to students’ specific interests, combining skills they want to improve, like writing, with topics they care about, like food science. Tutors demonstrate real-life applications of the conventional subjects taught in school so students see what they can do with their education. Each tutor is close enough in age to their students to relate to their interests and academic struggles. Tutors inspire our students by enthusiastically sharing their passions and demonstrating what each student is capable of achieving themselves!