
What if your child discovered and developed their unique genius?
Introducing Expanse
Expanse offers a full middle school program for children 10-14.
We immerse your child in exceptional peer learning experiences that lead to high-level academics and skill development. Our program is personalized to support your child’s pursuit of their distinctive genius.
We are warm, purpose-driven, and effective. Our students are intellectual, creative, and entrepreneurial.

Purpose-Driven Experience
World-class skill development
Students develop passions and confidence
Diverse forms of talent nurtured and accelerated
Focused development on key 21st century skills
More of the same
Content “covered” rather than learned
Disengaged students
Unrecognized talent
Skills not relevant to success in life
10 - 10:30 am
Community
We begin the day with vibrant, guided community activities. Students discuss shared experiences, present ideas clearly and persuasively, authentically express emotions, resolve conflicts, give and receive useful feedback, and discuss world events. Improv and theatre as skill development exercises provide fun while guiding skill development. We customize an approach to “Designing Your Life.”
10:40 - 11:20 am
Socratic
Students spend 40 minutes together analyzing issues they care about, drawn from closely reading complex texts. They engage with peers as listeners, speakers, thinkers, and leaders. This collaborative learning starts with deep, thoughtful primary texts, both classic and contemporary, that span world history, literature, poetry, and philosophy.
11:30 - 12:00 pm
Writing
Students learn to express in writing the opinions and observations they’ve already verbalized in Socratic, developing their written voice in both creative and discursive ways. We supplement assignments with exercises on the nuts and bolts of grammar and punctuation. As a result, students leave middle school with exceptionally strong essay-writing skills.
1:00 - 1:50 pm
Mathematics
Students follow the Quantum Camp curricula, which develops problem-solving skills and is aligned with standard middle school STEM content. Advanced students are given more challenging problems; those with gaps receive personalized practice. All are coached on effectively learning mathematics using principles of Barbara Oakley, author of the highly -regarded Learning How to Learn.
2:00 - 2:50 pm
Science
The Quantum Camp curricula structures middle school learning through a series of inquiry-based experiments inspired by the actual history of science. Families receive kits in the mail, which students then use to conduct the experiments. The program combines rigor and experiential discovery to provide a rich middle school science experience.
3:00 - 3:30 pm
Mentorship
With mentorship, students are guided through the intentional design of their lives in compelling ways. It is also a space for them to articulate personal setbacks and successes with a mentor who can help them develop a strategy to constructively address whatever is going on in their lives.
3:30 pm & beyond
Personal Project
Mentors provide guidance in determining the optimal personal project for your child each step of the way. Weekly check-ins ensure that your child is moving forward in a constructive manner. Projects in history, science, technology, and media, among others, enhance awareness of the world’s options.
Weekends
International Project-Based Learning
Nobel Explorers, a global STEAM bootcamp, engages your child in project-based learning options with talented students from around the globe. For the full international experience, students meet on Saturday mornings so they can work with peers in Kenya, France, the Ukraine, and elsewhere.
Our Founder
Michael Strong is an experienced school creator whose projects include Moreno Valley High School, a charter school in New Mexico ranked the 36th best public school in the U.S. by Newsweek; Winston Academy, a school for highly gifted students in Florida who successfully completed AP exams; and The Academy of Thought and Industry, the high school model for the largest U.S. Montessori network. He is the author of The Habit of Thought: From Socratic Seminars to Socratic Practice and Be the Solution: How Entrepreneurs and Conscious Capitalists Can Solve All the World’s Problems.
Our Team
Our Secret Sauce

What if peer culture actually supported deeper learning, rather than being ambivalent towards it? Expanse is the result of decades of teamwork experience developing adolescent programs. We are experts at creating a peer culture that supports intellectual development and purpose-driven achievement. Each program component nurtures a high-performance, supportive peer culture, with adult guides carefully selected and trained to encourage a positive learning environment.
Rolling
Admissions
We accept students on a rolling basis. Our program is personalized such that we can accept students at any time. We integrate students into our community and chart out their personal development path together.
