To view a PDF flyer to print and hang up or hand out, click HERE.
We are seeking…
engineers and artists;
makers, tinkerers, and deep thinkers;
theoreticians, working professionals, and hobbyists.
If after reading through the information on this page, you would like to further explore becoming a teacher, please submit an application through our online teacher portal. You will be put in touch with one of our Teacher Coordinators who will be happy to answer any questions not addressed on the website and guide you through the next steps.
Class topics we would like to pursue include
- architecture
- ASL
- coding with emphasis on fun projects
- collaborative music, either jazz band or rock band
- dinosaurs
- engineering
- entrepreneurship, especially TSSP merchandising
- food science
- improv
- nutrition
- responsible pet ownership
- set-collection games: mahjong, gin rummy, canasta taught separately or within one class
- sports math such as strategy, stats, and/or fantasy leagues
- spycraft and white-hat hacking
- STEM kit sampling and reviewing
- strategy card games including blackjack, poker, and Pokémon
- trick-taking games: bridge, euchre, hearts taught separately or within one class
- zoology: entomology, herpetology, marine biology…
- We would also like to expand upon our popular classes and academic competition teams by offering complementary curriculum or greater depth for older students.
Your idea for a class does not need to be limited to this list. We are looking for any class idea that satisfies gifted children’s needs for deeper and more creative exploration, accelerated pacing, and interaction with gifted peers.
What learning experience would have delighted your own child (or you as a child) if only it were offered?
Or, maybe you would prefer to start with our unused curriculum and make it your own.
TSSP is put on by a volunteer-run 501(c)(3). We do, however, pay our teachers. Teachers may set a lab fee to cover their costs for materials. TSSP will cover both tuition and the lab fee for financial-aid students. To make it easy for teachers to focus on their curriculum, TSSP handles marketing, registration, payment, facilities, and more. As an added benefit to teachers, TSSP posts teacher biographies to our website with links, and we share teachers’ relevant events via our Google calendar, email, and social media. Our community is glad that we share these events with them.
A class consists of six, two-hour lessons. Teachers may choose to teach an AM and/or a PM class in a term and may choose to teach one, two, or three terms per school year. Co-teaching and class sharing are options, provided each teacher is pre-vetted.
Currently, we offer classes for ages 4 to 14. The minimum and maximum age for each class is decided by the teacher. Most classes have an age range spanning three years, some two, some four. Broader age spans can be a turn-off for students. A few of our teachers have an AM class for younger students and a PM class for older students or vice versa. Other teachers rotate age ranges term to term. Some teachers structure their classes in a series with the prior class as a prerequisite for the next.
Class enrollment is caped at 12 students and may be reduced in size for new teachers. Parents may be asked to stay and assist in the classroom, and a teen earning community service hours as a trained teacher’s aide can be assigned to the class. We have a substitute teacher on-site every Saturday in case of teacher illness or emergency. Our teacher coordinators have taught classes themselves and have helped both experienced and first-time teachers.
Strictly speaking, TSSP does not do field trips to avoid liability issues. Rocketry teachers reserve a suitable location for students to launch their finished rockets. Chess class students are invited to come to the Queen City Chess Tournament. There may be past examples. These optional outside events are included in the course description. So, there is precedent for families understanding when signing up for particular classes, there is an event for which they will need to transport and supervise their child.
Important Dates
The deadlines are based upon how long it takes to get a background check, ready our registration system, and create marketing.