How did APL begin?

In my experience teaching at a university, high school, and grade school both professionally and as a tutor, the most important characteristic I have discovered for education is simply this: you have to be 100% invested in your students. When the teacher demonstrates that they will do whatever it takes to help the students, they gain the students’ respect. When you gain the students’ respect the students become more willing to push themselves. This sincerity also develops better communication. The students become more comfortable asking questions and giving feedback and the teacher can better identify miscommunication. This transforms the classroom into an educational community where the student and teacher grow together.

What is Advanced Personalized Learning?

What Makes it Advanced?

Having experience with alternative as well as traditional education helped me appreciate where both systems are useful. Traditional education has its flaws, but it is the product of experts who have been refining this system for approximately a century. Creatively combining this wisdom, with practices seen in alternative schools and then delivering this combination in very small classes produces something powerful.

In our classes we not only teach the material, we teach how to absorb the material, how to think about the material, how to study, and how to prepare for tests. The strategies we teach are based off my research in advanced learning methodologies while in graduate school and medical school. refined these ideas into a system that I lectured to approximately 600 medical professional students. We also understand that helping a student develop their learning style is a process of teaching skills and modifying habits. My experience was developed through working as a personal trainer and through developing a published curriculum entitled “Small Changes Counseling,” which taught medical students how to sensitively counsel patients to lose weight.

What Makes it Personalized?

We have a base curriculum for every one of our classes offered but it changes every year. Based on the skill level of the students and size of our classes we are able to adapt the curriculum to the class. We make our math materials week by week depending on the performance of each specific class meaning each different group of students gets a class fit to their needs. The same goes for our robotics classes which the students get to input on their favorite sections and we can give them a more detailed assignment on their favorite topics.

About Each Class

Math Classes (Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Algebra 2/Geometry, Pre-Calc/Stats)

Our math class has three primary goals: to develop a deep understanding of the language of mathematics, to use math to mature a student’s ability to think, and to genuinely connect the student to the subject by making it fun and relevant. Since we have instructed math from the second grade level to calculus, we understand the greater “game” of math. We know what types of concepts they need to learn and which procedures are irrelevant. We also intelligently schedule review and quizzes within in our classes to ensure the students truly retain what they have learned. If a student falls behind, weekly office hours are included in the price of the class and become mandatory for anyone with low scores.

Programming and Game Design (Levels 1 - 4)

Our goal with programming and game design is to teach kids an academic level of programming that they would see in an intro college course (similar to AP programming) but give it in the context of something fun, game design. The students progress through the fundamentals of programming and develop to being able to create games such as Pong, Breakout, Flappy Bird, etc. using object oriented programming. With the addition of a teacher with a minor in Computer Science, our curriculum is designed the give students a similar understanding of basic terms that you would see in an introductory college course.

Robotics (Levels 1 - 4)

The hands-on project based robotics class naturally develops thinking skills, creative problem solving, grit, and the ability to apply logic and math. The class progresses from having the student build simple circuits that turn on LED lights to building a robot that can navigate a maze autonomously. It teaches the basics of electricity and wiring, computer programming, and how to use assorted sensors and motors to create robots. The class can be offered at multiple levels to fit the child’s level of understanding so that they feel challenged, but never overwhelmed. We also offer this class as an independent study where the student and I determine a project and build it together.

Physics including AP Physics

Having written the textbook Mastering AP Physics 1 to prepare students for the national AP Physics 1 exam, I am very qualified to teach physics. I use physics as a way to connect math with their physical reality and see the world on a deeper level. The math involved in many physics problems is relatively simple; physics is more about thinking about how you can describe a situation with math and use it to make predictions or build a machine. The projects in the class will challenge them and go well beyond typical experiments seen in most classrooms. Students will also learn how to read scientific research papers, evaluate their claims, and then reach their own conclusions independent of the authors.

Life Science with a Focus on Human Physiology

This class will teach some traditional topics in biology including understanding parts of plant and animal cells, but will have a greater focus on the mechanisms of physiology. For instance, students will learn how a neuron communicates with other neurons using action potentials. Students will not only have to memorize and understand key terminology, but they will also have to be able to think about how the body works mechanistically. Students will understand human physiology more from an engineer's perspective as opposed to rote memorization. This also will carry over into basic exercise physiology, students will understand how exercise affects the body and causes physiological adaptations.

The labs will be hands-on activities where students will gain an understanding of how to perform an experiment. For instance, students will grow two different sets of sprouts (one treated, one untreated) and then compare assorted measurements. Other labs will include measuring their body's response to exercise.

Pricing And Schedule

What is the Course Schedule?

Due to the highly customizable nature of our classes we are constantly shifting class dates and times to meet the needs of our families. Please reach out to us if you are interested in taking any class and we will update you with our most recent schedule. Below is an image of our current schedule for the 2025/2026 school year.

How Much do Classes Cost?

All regular fall classes meet twice a week and cost a total of 70 a week ($35/class). The cost includes two classes a week plus access to office hours to get additional one-on-one help. In-person classes are 90 minutes in length and online classes are 60 minutes. Most classes meet once a week in person and once a week online, though classes can be entirely online or in-person depending on what the community desires.

We hold summer courses every year for various subject including Math and Robotics. Make sure to reach out if you are interested in attending a summer course as we change classes based on demand!

If you want to receive a class or tutoring in a one-on-one setting from the instructor it costs $150 per hour. The co-teachers can also give one-on-one instruction at a rate of $80 per hour.

Who do I contact to set up classes or learn more?

Contact William Billich at thethinkerteacher@gmail.com