Join us this summer for our Advance! Summer program! Students of all ages and abilities are welcome to sharpen their skills to master what was covered last year and get ready for the upcoming school year.
Our classes are built from the ground up with universal access so students of all learning styles are able to comprehend and master skills. We do this by providing thoughtful, engaging lessons with as much multi-modality input as we possibly can!
New for this summer, join us for practice for the SAT exam! We’ve taken the time to condense the information into informative chunks so you can master the test and know what you’re being asked to do! All materials are included, including your SAT practice book.
Our classes meet 5 Days a week starting July 10 and End August 11. Join us for all five weeks, or come when you are able to! Not in the Santa Barbara area? Join us remotely! We’ll send out all the physical books and hands-on activities that you need to learn along!
Early Bird Discount! Enroll by June 9 and save on multi-class enrollment! 7% on 2 classes, 12% on 3 classes, 15% on 4 classes, and 16% on 5 classes! Space is limited for small group attention!
High School Classes
SAT Math Prep: 9:00 – 10:00
We’ll review all aspects of math that are on the SAT, calculator and non-calculator questions. Test directions, including grid-in problems will be covered. After a practice test on the second day of class with item analysis, each type of problem category will be reviewed, including: heart of algebra, problem solving, data analysis, advanced mathematics & equations, and geometry / trigonometry. Students will receive their own practice book to continue studying outside of class, too. Students will have access to calculators in class, but it is highly recommended to have your own! 2023 Summer Bonus: Students will have access to practice problems on delta math to receive immediate feedback on their problem solving skills outside of class!
Subject matter note: while this class reviews math concepts, they will not necessarily cover what students will learn in their math books due to the format of the SAT. Please join us for a math class, below, if you need instruction for next years math class!
SAT English Prep: 10:00 – 11:00
Did you know the SAT doesn’t really test what you learn in your English class? If not join us to better understand how to read history and science passages and how they ares structured differently from the fiction from your English Teacher. We’ll review how nonfiction passages are argumentative, find the claim, evaluate how evidence is used to support the claim (including data), and the implications of the argument. Last but not least, students will build their vocabulary through root word development and high-impact thematic vocabulary lists.
Subject matter note: while this class does cover some comprehension, grammar, and language, it is designed to expose students to the SAT, not necessarily prepare students for the upcoming classes. Please look for our other language arts classes, below.
ADVANCE! Math 1/2: 11:15 – 12:15
Get a clear, concise explanation of what linear, exponential, and quadratic functions are with no-nonsense instruction! We’ll cover the essentials of working with equations, functions, and their graphs so you are ready to go for your Algebra 1, Math 1, or Math 2 class in the fall. Resources provide through Google Classroom with extra practice on Delta Math.
ADVANCE! Math 2/3: 11:15 – 12:15
Gain clarity of quickly working with quadratic functions, rational functions, exponents, and logarithms in a visual representation that makes sense so you can power through your math in the upcoming school year. You’ll leave with a list for formulas and directions to break down even the more complicated problems! Resources provide through Google Classroom with extra practice on Delta Math.
ADVANCE! Current Events, Rhetoric, & Language: 12:45 – 1:45
Do you know to argue a point effectively? We’ll cover essential argumentation through emotional, logical, and credibility appeals to make our points and evaluate stories and op-ed pieces of others to better understand how to change the world and how to see what others want to do. Students will practice writing a claim and choosing evidence to make their point in a variety of mediums (text, visual). All view points are welcome, and debate and discussion are key to this class’ success!
ADVANCE! Stories & Comprehension: 1:45 – 2:45
Practice your literary devices and figurative language analysis to make your English teacher proud! We’ll focus on story elements from a short story authors every week to find the big ideas of life and how we can better ourselves and communities. Students will practice writing thesis statements and gathering in-text evidence for future literary analysis papers as well as practice responding to quick write prompts to bring a balanced literacy approach to the class.
Middle School Classes
ADVANCE! Math 1/2: 11:15 – 12:15
Get a clear, concise explanation of what linear, exponential, and quadratic functions are with no-nonsense instruction! We’ll cover the essentials of working with equations, functions, and their graphs so you are ready to go for your Algebra 1, Math 1, or Math 2 class in the fall. Resources provide through Google Classroom with extra practice on Delta Math.
ADVANCE! Pre-Algebra: 12:45 – 1:45
Can you make math work for you? Students will learn to decompose numbers to make math computation simpler. If you used to hate fractions, this class will show you how to break them apart for speed and accuracy! Order of operations, expressions, and linear equations will all be explored with visual examples to bring about a concrete understanding of proportional relationships. This class is recommended for students that need review of Grades 5-7 math skills or entering Math 1 / Algebra 1 in the fall. Resources provide through Google Classroom with extra practice on Delta Math.
ADVANCE! Logic & Problem Solving: 1:45 – 2:45
Due to community request, we are proud to offer our first logic and problem solving class! Our goal is to slowly build sustained attention to thinking problems through, rather than getting frustrated and using technology to find an immediate answer. We’ll go over visual / spatial problem solving and symbolic logic and patterning first before moving into verbal analogies, classifications, logic, deduction, antonyms & synonyms, and more!
We’re proud to offer this class, as there really isn’t a spot for this type of critical thinking in our traditional school subjects. The thinking skills that are developed in this class will help in every subject and make writing those longer school papers easier!
ADVANCE! Writing: 9:00 – 10:00
Are you ready to expand your writing skills? We’ve got the creative writing for you! We’ll cover narrative story telling, research skills & report writing, as well as persuasive writing (our favorite)! In true IES fashion, we’ll integrate the important English grammatical structures so students understand grammar’s effects on our writing.
This class is open to all learns, and writing supports will be individualized through each student’s needs, including: word banks, graphic organizers, sentence frames, and other supports as needed.
We’re BYOD (bring your own device) and welcome students that have a laptop or tablet to type finished products on! Classroom resources will be made in part on our Google Classroom page.
ADVANCE! Stories & Comprehension: 10:00 – 11:00
Join us into an exceptional dive into middle school literature! We’re bringing out the BRAIN strategies to help students not just read, but appreciate written works. We’ll help students practice their visualization skills to develop imagination, creativity and vocabulary! This is a huge area of need right now, as so many students watch videos and never let their own cognitive skills develop.
We’ll also expose students to figurative language and literary devices so they can prepare to read literature selections in high school and beyond!
Our book selection(s) will be finalized upon group enrollment; we want to make sure we have a good book that the group hasn’t been read yet.
ADVANCE! Physical Science & STEM: 12:45 – 1:45
Join us for some in-person hands-on learning! Students will explore science the way its supposed to be: with labs! We’ll cover essential topics in physics and chemistry so students can go into their science classes in the fall with some exceptional background knowledge of electromagnetism, the periodic table, and an introduction to physics. Best of all, you can take all of your projects home!
We’ll integrate writing in the content areas through vocabulary development, lab reports, and researching important scientists. We’re BYOD (bring your own device) and welcome students that have a laptop or tablet to type finished products on! Classroom resources will be made in part on our Google Classroom page.
Elementary School Classes
ADVANCE! Upper Grade Math: 11:15 – 12:15
Need to brush up on multiplication facts or understand fractions a bit better? We’ve got you covered! Our group will build visual representations to create patterns of understanding for all the basic math operations and the apply their computational knowledge to problem solving! Planned concepts include: number decomposition, fractions, integers, modeling with variables, and an introduction to algebraic concepts. We’re known for having students make years of progress with our visual and hands-on teaching strategies. Join us this summer and feel like you’re ready to meet the next year of math! Classroom resources will be shared via Google Classroom and extra practice on Delta Math.
ADVANCE! Pre-Algebra: 12:45 – 1:45
Can you make math work for you? Students will learn to decompose numbers to make math computation simpler. If you used to hate fractions, this class will show you how to break them apart for speed and accuracy! Order of operations, expressions, and linear equations will all be explored with visual examples to bring about a concrete understanding of proportional relationships. This class is recommended for students that need review of Grades 5-7 math skills or entering Math 1 / Algebra 1 in the fall. Resources provide through Google Classroom with extra practice on Delta Math.
ADVANCE! Writing: 9:00 – 10:00
We love seeing students take success in their writing! Our aim is to make writing accessible for all students over the summer, especially with the multi paragraph writing that is expected of them as soon as August! We believe in providing the supports upfront so students feel supported enough to take a risk and grow their skills. Depending on each individual needs, we may use word banks, spelling supports, graphic organizers and flow charts to work towards the final product!
This class will focus on developing connections between cognitive skills and multi paragraph writing, such as compare & contrast, cause & effect, main idea & details, and categorization & classification. We’re BYOD (bring your own device) and welcome students that have a laptop or tablet to type finished products on! Classroom resources will be made in part on our Google Classroom page.
ADVANCE! Stories & Comprehension: 10:00 – 11:00
Join us into an exceptional dive into middle school literature! We’re bringing out the BRAIN strategies to help students not just read, but appreciate written works. We’ll help students practice their visualization skills to develop imagination, creativity and vocabulary! This is a huge area of need right now, as so many students watch videos and never let their own cognitive skills develop.
We’ll focus on plot devices and characterization to better understand stories and the craft of telling a story with a theme. With a small group, we are able to help students learn to go back to their text book to cite evidence and learn to use that evidence to back up a claim. A great bonus of focusing on pot devices is understanding how problems and solutions come about!
Our book selection(s) will be finalized upon group enrollment; we want to make sure we have a good book that the group hasn’t been read yet. We’re BYOD (bring your own device) and welcome students that have a laptop or tablet to type finished products on! Classroom resources will be made in part on our Google Classroom page.
ADVANCE! Physical Science & STEM: 12:45 – 1:45
Join us for some in-person hands-on learning! Students will explore science the way its supposed to be: with labs! We’ll cover essential topics in physics and chemistry so students can go into their science classes in the fall with some exceptional background knowledge of electromagnetism, the periodic table, and an introduction to physics. Best of all, you can take all of your projects home!
We’ll integrate writing in the content areas through vocabulary development, lab reports, and researching important scientists. We’re BYOD (bring your own device) and welcome students that have a laptop or tablet to type finished products on! Classroom resources will be made in part on our Google Classroom page.
ADVANCE! World Cultures & Art: 1:45 – 2:45
Gain a better understanding of the world! We’ll integrate social studies, history, geography, and art so we can gain new perspectives of people all around the world! We’ll stop to appreciate how cultural values created different art styles and media. Each week will focus on a different continent: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
All supplies are included, and the process (mess) stays in the office with us!