Our Approach
How it works
The key to Mentava's success is allowing students’ learning to be fully self-paced. In school, “gifted” classes are typically 1 year above grade level and just stay there. Schools don’t consider that an accelerated pace of learning compounds over time. A student who can learn 2 years of material in a year should be 1 year ahead after 1st grade, 2 years ahead after 2nd grade, 3 years ahead after 3rd grade, and so on. Few schools are equipped to handle students who learn so quickly.
Mentava follows the “flipped classroom” educational model. Rather than relying on a teacher to teach material, which requires all students to progress at the same pace, we follow a learner-centered model in which a student can progress as soon as they understand a topic. We use software tools that support adaptive, individualized learning, while instructors monitor student progress and give supplemental instruction when needed.
Mentava is not private school. It is not intended as a wholesale replacement for your child's regular school. Nor do we want to be your child's "school after the school day". Our goal is to allow your child to continue being part of their local school community, attending school with peers their own age, but without restrictions on their pace of their learning.
Learn-to-Read Digital Tutor
Mentava's reading curriculum is delivered through our software-based daily tutor. It's intended to take a student with no prior literacy instruction and turn them into an independent reader. With daily progress, we expect our program to take less than a year, with a goal of achieving basic reading fluency in preparation for math.
Mentava is most appropriate for children who are already speaking in full sentences. We use a science-backed, phonetic approach to reading. At this age, you should expect to see a child's reading ability limited by their spoken vocabulary, as it's much easier to sound out words that they already know.
Our program is individually paced and focuses on daily software-based tutoring to provide adaptive, individualized learning. Due to the childrens' age, the program requires some adult supervision, decreasing significantly over the year as a child's ability to teach themselves improves. We can provide additional support to you and your classroom to build the soft skills that support effective learning, like dealing with frustration and celebrating progress.