True Student Pathways

Mission

To uplift the dreams of students aspiring to opt out of high school and reconstruct their personal, college, and career success.

  • Are you a high school student who finds hard to engage in the classroom?
  • Is high school a source of stress: socially, mentally, and/or academically?
  • Does your high school lack opportunities for personal growth and developing new skills?
  • Do you see yourself as more capable than what your teachers and principals expect from you?
  • Would you like to design your own educational journey, tailored to your dreams and needs?

If you answered YES to 3 out of the 5 questions above, you could be a good candidate for the True Student Pathways (TSP), in which students participate in designing their own path to a college degree. With mentorship and support, high school students learn to identify their needs, build self and social awareness, capitalize on their strengths, expand competencies, engage in their local communities, and most importantly be free to explore, grow, and dream.

Go through the resources on this page to explore why over 50% of high school students are "struggling" and how the education system is not designed for ALL students. Students who are distressed or disengaged in school are sending a loud and clear message that high school is not working for them. We are here to listen and innovate so YOU can reach your full potential.

Did You Know

On The 2024 Nation’s Report Card for 12 graders:

  • 13% scored proficient in U.S. HISTORY.
  • 22% scored at or above the proficient level in MATH.
  • 35% scored at or above the proficient level in READING.

Gallup: K-12 Schools Struggle to Engage Gen Z Students

  • Less than half of students say their schoolwork positively challenges them or aligns with what they do best.
  • 54% of American high school students report lacking engaging experiences in school.

Students’ Perspective:

Check out this 2025 PEW Research on problems teens see in their schools.

Teachers’ Perspective:

Check out this 2024 PEW Research on challenges in the classroom.

Applying Self-Determination Theory to Education

Applying Self-Determination Theory to Education

Mastering Your Inner Weather

A Templeton Foundation article on emotional intelligence, by Alene Dawson

Paul Tough writes in his book, Whatever It Takes

A Defense of Human Capital: The author debunks the argument that deficits related to poverty—whether in knowledge, self-control, persistence, or health—are not moral failings, but a lack of resources, both external (money, safe neighborhood) and internal (non-cognitive skills). The appropriate response is to directly provide the missing resources, knowledge, and support. Changing the Odds, Not Just Beating Them. He explains, "Skill begets skill; learning begets learning. Early disadvantage, if left untreated, leads to academic and social difficulties in later years. Advantages accumulate; so do disadvantages."

Grace Llewellyn writes in her book, The Teenage Liberation Handbook

Learning is an innate human process: The author rejects the classroom as the primary learning environment and emphasizes that passionate and direct engagement with the world is the only sustainable engine for deep learning. The drive to learn is as natural as the need to eat or sleep; thus, it cannot happen in coercive environments that actively inhibit the development of independent thinking and curiosity. She defends the value of boredom (when free from mandates), seeing it as a necessary space that allows true, self-generated interests to bubble up, which is impossible in a highly structured schedule.

We work with individual students, learning centers and schools.

For Individual Students

Fill out the following questionnaire to start a FREE 30-minute discussion about your path.

Start Questionnaire

For Learning Centers & Schools

Submit your request for a FREE initial consultation to explore ways to collaborate to serve your struggling students.

Contact Us