I just had a lovely phone conversation with Ian Brown, one of the founders, and have notes to share. (These are paraphrases from my notes, please don't take them as quotes.)

How will commuting work from the Peninsula/South Bay?
We are committed to making commuting work from the South Bay. Right now there are two main possibilities: a school-owned shuttle picking up along the Peninsula, or a chaperoned Caltrain ride where students are met at the platform and escorted all the way to school in a group.
The school motto is NO WASTED TIME and this will be addressed during commuting as well. We're looking into options for making the ride useful. For instance, if a teacher were to live in San Jose and ride all the way up, there could be informal discussions on the train or shuttle that students join as they get on. This would make the commute a positive learning experience.
School will start late enough to make commuting practical, possibly 8:45. [He was responsive to concerns here and it sounds like start time will move back as needed.]

How big will you be? How will electives that usually require a large student body work?
We will start small and grow - initially 40-60 students. We will offer what we can and intend to outsource a lot of electives by taking advantage of programs from San Francisco institutions that serve school groups.

What about homework?
Overall: Less Is More. In general, if you can't get it done in a long school day plus commute time - it's too much.
There will be little homework in the mathematical sciences (such as algebra, number theory, programming, theoretical physics) because we already devote so much time in the afternoon block and evening programs to these subjects. (There will be a regular schedule of evening programs with visiting experts, seminars, student presentations, etc.) There may be a bit more, though manageable, in the other subjects because there's less class time. But overall, with the best content and teaching, homework adds very little. We're teaching that work is a joy, is purposeful, and excessive homework doesn't help with that. Kids need time to sleep, have fun, do extracurriculars, see friends. NO WASTED TIME does not mean no downtime; downtime and playtime are important.

And curriculum?
We will be getting WASC accreditation.
We will not be offering official AP courses, though we will assist students who have a personal goal of taking an AP test.

Will that make it harder to get acceptance into college?
In short, NO. Most of the kids here will be going into math or math related departments and all those departments already know about Proof School. They are already asking how they will be able to serve our graduates, who will already have learned what they teach in an undergraduate math degree. Many universities are going into portfolio based admissions anyway and our portfolios will be very strong.

How can I know if Proof is a fit or not?
Come to our Previews in late August to try out a sample half-day of school.

Last edited by ljoy; 03/21/14 01:18 PM. Reason: add detail about start time