Academic Calendar
IN THE PAST, Rise Out offered 6- or 12-week classes in the fall, and another set in the spring. This was convenient because it dovetailed with the calendar of the homeschool co-op where we were based, but created confusion when parents tried to calculate credits for students applying to college, since our classes were not aligned to a school calendar.
BEGINNING IN 2021, Rise Out will operate on a schedule of six 6-week terms, or 36 weeks total. Terms 1 and 2 will meet from Labor Day though Thanksgiving, followed by a generous winter break. Term 3 ("Winter Term") will meet in January-February, followed by back-to-back Terms 4 and 5 in the spring, and, finally, Term 6 ("Summer Term") from Memorial Day to the end of June.
Students can dip in and out of terms as needed; they do not need to enroll for the full year. But breaking the calendar up this way allows us to provide consistent documentation to families who need to define a class in terms similar to the Carnegie units used by most American high schools.
As a general rule, two terms = 1 trimester; three terms = 1 semester; and 6 terms = 1 year. So, for example, the student who takes Wilderness Philosophies and Big History I in the fall (two terms each) followed by Big History II in the spring (another two terms) will have completed a total of six terms, or the equivalent of one year of high school science.
Different states and homeschool programs will have different ways to calculate these things so check with your specific oversight agency if you need additional information. We are happy to help with this process.
The calendar for the 2023-2024 school year is as follows:
Fall Term 1: Sept. 5 - Oct. 13 (No class Oct. 9)
Fall Term 2: Oct. 16 - Dec. 1 (No class Nov. 22-28)
Winter Term 3: Jan. 2 - Feb. 9 (No class Jan. 15)
Spring Term 4: Feb. 20 - Mar. 29
Spring Term 5: Apr. 1 - May 10
Summer Term 6: May 20 - June 28 (No class May 27 or June 19)