Tesla is an alternative school. We work on a trimester system, allowing students more opportunities to earn credits. We also have smaller class sizes, allowing students more time and attention from teachers.

Tesla offers a flexible schedule. Students are required to take a minimum of 5 classes. Classes can start as early as 7:05 am or as late as 9:05 am to accommodate students who cannot be at school that early.

Our schedule is very flexible, so students that do work can still earn their credits.

That depends on how many credits you need, and how hard you are willing to work to get those credits. Most students who are not over a year behind in credits can usually earn the credits they need to graduate on time. Students have the opportunity to earn up to 21 credits in a year. If a student needs to earn more than the 21 credits at Tesla, they can dual enroll with Digital High School to earn the additional credits at night.

Students in District 11 can attend high school until they turn 21 years of age. There is no rule that states you have to graduate after 4 years of high school. Some students need an extra year or two for whatever reason and there is nothing wrong with that. If you find yourself needing too many credits and you are turning 21 soon, you still have the option to take the GED.

YES! We do not allow our freshman and sophomores to take more than 5 classes per trimester. However, juniors and seniors may take up to 7 classes per trimester. Once a student has earned the 46 credits required for graduation and has completed the additional graduation criteria, they are eligible to graduate, regardless of what trimester it is or what grade they are in. 

No! Tesla grades the same as traditional schools. Students from Tesla are strongly encouraged to go to college. If you would like to go to college, Tesla staff will do everything they can to help you get there. Tesla also has representatives from PPCC who come to talk with the students and to help them get signed up for PPCC. PPCC and Tesla staff make sure that the transition from high school to college goes smoothly.

If you have an active truancy case at your current high school or middle school, we will continue with that case. Just because you switch schools does not mean that your truancy case will go away. Tesla is an attendance-driven school. If you cannot attend school regularly, then Tesla is probably not the school for you. At Tesla, we believe in giving all students a second chance. If you do not attend classes regularly at Tesla, you cannot earn credits. Tesla takes attendance daily. We try to help parents come up with solutions to help their students be successful. At Tesla, our #1 goal is to have students graduate. (Sometimes that requires intervention from the courts.) Please keep in mind that we are not trying to punish, we are only trying to help you better your future.

Tesla is an alternative school and 95% of our students are at risk of not graduating from a traditional high school. Many of our kids are at risk due to no fault of their own. We try to give all students a second chance, and have been very successful with seeing students "turn around", so to speak.  At Tesla, we will not give up on a student if they truly want to graduate. However, if a student is causing problems at Tesla and does not make an effort to get their credits, they will be sent back to their home school. Tesla will not tolerate a student causing problems on campus. Any students caught breaking any rules will be dealt with accordingly.

Yes! The Tesla graduation is very important to students, parents and staff. The Tesla staff goes to great lengths to make graduation as meaningful as possible. You will have a cap and gown ceremony in the auditorium. The District 11 Board of Education and the Superintendent will attend your graduation. It does not matter if you graduated in the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd trimester, any student who graduated during the current school year is invited to attend graduation.

Because Tesla is not a traditional school, there are several pro's and con's that families need to consider before enrolling at Tesla. We want the entire family involved in learning what their role will be if you decide to attend Tesla. Tesla is a parent involved in school and parents need to be aware that they will be receiving phone calls on a regular basis and they will be held accountable for ensuring that their child is at school on time every day.  Students will also be held accountable for grades and attendance. If a student or a parent is not willing to take on the responsibilities that Tesla requires, we do not want you to enroll.  We try to be as honest as we can about what is expected, and we want you to be honest about whether Tesla is a good fit for you or not. 

Although we try to get as many students in as possible, we have to look at class sizes and availability.  If you have come to an information meeting and have made the required call back the next day, we will get your student's transcript to see if we have openings in the classes that they will need to graduate. If we do not have enough room in those classes, we will call to put you on a waitlist. Wait list times will vary by what classes we have openings in. We can only enroll for a short period of time at the beginning of each trimester. We do our best to make room for all students who wish to attend Tesla, but due to our small size, sometimes that is not possible. We will try to get you in as soon as possible.

Tesla has one special ed teacher who works with both our high school and middle school students. That teacher must first look over your IEP to see if we have the resources to accommodate it at the time. It is best to let us know in advance so that there is time to look and see what availability, if any, we have. We will try to take as many students as we can who are interested in coming to Tesla, as long as we have the resources available to do so.

Tesla has a student government and various clubs that are set up by the students with a teacher advisor. If you would like to participate in sports or other after-school activities, you are able to do those at your home school for District 11. If the activity or sports team you would like to be on is not at your designated home school, you will need to get permission from that school to participate. Even though you are going to Tesla, participation in sports and other activities in District 11 requires you to keep up your grades and attendance to remain eligible. If you fall behind, you will no longer be allowed to participate until you get your grades caught up or you start attending school regularly.

Transportation is provided from various District 11 schools around town. Please see our bus schedules to find the closest bus stop to your house. The Bus Schedule link will be updated before the 2022-2023 School Year.