About Us

We prepare students for life beyond the classroom.

Not all students go to college after they graduate from high school. We examine students’ skills, abilities, and passions and help them create a clear vision of what their lives will look like once they enter the real world.

We make complex topics accessible for all students.

By breaking complex topics down into simple examples, we can help students of all abilities build the basic skills they need to succeed in higher level classes.

Our method helps students build proficiency quickly.

By delivering class content to students in small servings, we are able to force higher level thought for smaller, more targeted areas of material. Once a student finishes reviewing the content, we assess them immediately so they can quickly demonstrate their competency and understanding of the class content.

We use competency-based grading to measure success.

Instead of just relying on state education standards to grade our students, we also consider how proficient they are in the topic they are studying. Students must earn a grade of 80 percent or higher to receive transferable credit for their work.

Think of us as your partners in education.

We are working to become a certified online school in Wisconsin and cannot issue diplomas at this time. While we work toward becoming a school, we will partner with organizations, businesses, and high schools to deliver credit recovery programs and will issue recommendations to local school districts that credits be issued for the classes students take.

Meet the Northwoods Education Team

Alex Nerad, Founder & CEO

Alex has worked as a teacher in both urban and rural settings.  He enjoys making multi media content that helps students reach their goals.  Prior to working as a teacher he worked as a trail builder, wildland firefighter and environmental educator.

Alexander Nerad

Sandra Fridley, Advisor

Sandra has over 40 years of educational experience as a grade school teacher.  She acts as an advisor and content editor for Northwoods Education.  She currently runs a tutoring program for a Methodist Church.

Sandra Fridley