We are the Arness family. Julie and I have been together for 21 years and married for 15. We have three children and are doing our best to prepare them for their future. After being in the public school system for many years, we realized that the wonderful teachers our children have had, are handcuffed by a system that simply isn't pushing our kids. We believe that education should be more than memorization and standardized testing. It should be more than finishing X number of worksheets in order to earn game time. Life will be filled with complicated choices and external pressures, our young leaders will need the tools to think critically and problem solve. We believe that the structure of the public school system doesn't allow for the freedom to make choices and fail or succeed in the decisions you have made. At Apogee North we will use large, project based activities to allow kids control over the direction they choose to drive their experience. They will have opportunities within that structure to make plans and decisions that will lead to outcomes that are not clearly defined. They will have to think and respond in real time and then live with and learn from the results. None of us know what the future will hold for our kids, but at Apogee North, we will aim to arm them with the life skills necessary to traverse the unknown and ever changing environments in which they will live.