AT Silicon Valley Academy

The AT Academy by Advantage Testing of Silicon Valley

The AT Academy by Advantage Testing of Silicon Valley merges our best-in-class academic enrichment with the benefits of small group learning. Designed around students’ interests, our classes are rigorous, engaging, and collaborative. Classes are offered both online and in our branch offices around the country. Fall classes begin soon—contact us to learn more!

AT Silicon Valley Academy

The AT Academy was designed to help students accomplish several goals:

1. Reconnect with old friends or make new ones

Our Academy classes are designed for pods of 4–6 students. We believe that learning is fundamentally joyful, even more so when you experience it with others. If your child wants to meet new people, let us know and we’ll place them in a great pod. Or, if your child and their friends would like to learn together, we’ll create a pod just for them!

2. Explore the topics *they* want to explore

We can build an Academy class around virtually any topic, and we specialize in interdisciplinary curriculum design. Call us to set up a brainstorming session with you and your child!

3. Build critical generalist skills

By building generalist skills, we complement the work our students do during their regular school hours and give them the tools they’ll need for more advanced coursework in high school and beyond. Developing these skills prepares students to thrive in the college admissions environment and the future global job market.

Our Academy classes help our students develop a range of generalist skills and traits:

  • Reasoning skills: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and logical reasoning
  • Communication skills: oral communication, writing fluency, and presentation skills
  • Character development: curiosity, creativity, and perseverance

Below are just a few examples of Academy classes that are running right now.

Sci-Fi Entrepreneurship

This class explores some near-horizon technologies (e.g., quantum computing, gene editing, and space elevators) and introduces the basics of writing business plans. Students will be challenged to create products or services that could form viable businesses using these near-horizon technologies. The final event is a “shark tank” competition where students present their business plans, and each member of the audience has $50K (fake!) dollars to invest. (Designed for a group of 8th–10th graders)

Justice League: Superheroes and Social Justice

This class explores the history of superheroes as vehicles for social justice, from the creation of Superman in the run-up to World War II, to the X-Men’s fight for civil and gay rights, to the Black Panther’s Afrofuturist vision of the present, to the feminist evolution of Captain Marvel. Students will learn to deconstruct the superhero genre both as an artistic and a narrative medium, analyze how these figures relate to other mythological and religious figures, and develop their own superhero or heroes directed at the social issues that most concern them. (Designed for a group of 6th–8th graders)

Heroes and Monsters

This class explores the enduring theme of the battle between good and evil, manifested in the conflict between the Hero and the Monster. Students will learn what makes a great hero and a great monster, and they will create and present their own hero/monster pair. (Designed for a group of 4th–6th graders)

Capital Markets for Tweens

This class introduces stocks, bonds, and vanilla options, and also includes basic spreadsheet modeling and company valuation techniques. It was designed for students who want to answer questions like, “What are stocks, really? What happened with GameStop? How do people value companies?” Students have mock investment portfolios and present their own buy/sell recommendation in the final class. (Designed for a group of 6th–8th graders)

AT Silicon Valley Academy Program Logistics

Fall pods are being developed now and will run primarily on Sundays during the school year. We will be offering both virtual pods and in-person pods in our branch offices. Let us help you design a class or classes that will help your child build new friendships, deepen existing ones, and foster curiosity and love of learning, all while building critical long-term skills. We can create pods for students of any age (including adults!). Let us show you what we can do together!

More Details

Download our AT Academy by Advantage Testing of Silicon Valley brochure

 

Contact Us 

Call: 650.617.3439
Text: 917.692.5588
Email: atsiliconvalley@gmail.com



Zarif Adnan

Zarif Adnan

Tutor of: SAT, ACT, LSAT, GRE, MCAT, SSAT, ISEE, AT Silicon Valley Academy

M.F.A. in Literary Arts from Brown University.
B.A. in English and American Literature from New York University.
University Honors Scholar; FEMA-certified Emergency Medical Technician.

Alicia Gaj

Alicia Gaj

Tutor of: SAT, ACT, LSAT, GMAT, GRE, SSAT, ISEE, AT Silicon Valley Academy

M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Oxford.
B.A. in Philosophy, Linguistics, and Classics from the University of Arizona.
Americorp Fellow.

Jessica Kinloch

Jessica Kinloch

Tutor of: SAT, ACT, LSAT, GMAT, GRE, MCAT, SSAT, ISEE, AT Silicon Valley Academy

M.A. in International Policy Studies from Stanford University.
B.A. in History and International Relations from Harvard University.
Harvard Law School Howe Grant for Civil Liberties Research; Oakland Teaching Fellow; National Merit Scholar; Stanford Institute for Entrepreneurship Fellow.

Rebecca Krouner

Rebecca Krouner

Tutor of: SAT, ACT, GMAT, GRE, SSAT, ISEE, AT Silicon Valley Academy

M.A. in Music from the Manhattan School of Music.
B.A., with departmental honors, in Comparative Literature and Italian Studies from Brown University.
“Sweetheart Award” from the Palo Alto Community Advisory Committee for Special Education.

Xander Manshel

Xander Manshel

Tutor of: SAT, ACT, GRE, SSAT, ISEE, AT Silicon Valley Academy

Ph.D. in English Literature from Stanford University.
M.A. in English from Stanford University.
M.A. in Literature from Middlebury College.
B.A., magna cum laude, in English and American Literature from Middlebury College.
Andrew Smith Memorial Essay Prize; Centennial Teaching Award; Stolley-Ryan American Literature Prize.

Gus Mattammal

Gus Mattammal

Tutor of: SAT, ACT, LSAT, GMAT, GRE, MCAT, SSAT, ISEE, AT Silicon Valley Academy

M.B.A. in International Strategy and Finance from Yale School of Management.
B.A. in Physics and Mathematics from Pomona College.
Director of Advantage Testing of Silicon Valley, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis, New Orleans, St. Louis, San Diego, and Seattle.

Seren Orgel

Seren Orgel

Tutor of: SAT, ACT, LSAT, GRE, GMAT, AT Silicon Valley Academy

M.A. in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago.
B.A., with honors, in Political Science from the University of Chicago.
National Merit Scholar; University Scholar; Indiana State Policy Debate Champion.

Alexandra Reisner

Alexandra Reisner

Tutor of: SAT, ACT, GRE, LSAT, SSAT, ISEE, AT Silicon Valley Academy

M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of New Orleans.
B.A. in English Literature from Columbia University.
National Merit Finalist; John Jay Scholar; Samuel Mockbee Award in Nonfiction.

Luke Youngvorst

Luke Youngvorst

Tutor of: SAT, ACT, GRE, SSAT, ISEE, AT Silicon Valley Academy

Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Minnesota.
M.A. in Communication from Minnesota State University.
B.A. in Psychology and Biology from Gustavus Adolphus College.
Doctoral Dissertation Fellow; Top 1% of graduate students at the University of Minnesota.

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