Ninth grade students are required to take Humans in the Natural World, which integrates English, Social Science, and Natural Science. This is a three-trimester course.
American Studies and Writing and Research are required for juniors in lieu of 11th grade English and U.S. history to provide a richer exploration of American society, culture, and history.
1.5 Credit
American Studies is a year-long, interdisciplinary course, organized into five thematic units: American Political Thought, the American Landscape, Slavery and its Legacy, Conflict and Capitalism, and the "American Dream." Each unit poses its own set of essential questions and asks students to derive their own insights and lines of inquiry from a combination of historical and literary texts. Whether they are US citizens or not, students will learn to appreciate the complexity of the American story and to recognize their own lives as a part of that story.
Humans in the Natural World: English, History, and Science
All 9th-grade students are required to take a full-year interdisciplinary program titled Humans in the Natural World, which is composed of three distinct but thematically connected courses: English, history, and science. Students earn three academic credits (1.0 in English, 1.0 in history, and 1.0 in science). These courses provide new students with a foundation in analytical thinking, creative expression, and interdisciplinary inquiry.
Using the tools and methods of each discipline, Humans in the Natural World begins with the essential question: How do we know what we know? Students start by observing and investigating their local environment and expand outward to global contexts. They engage with literary texts, scientific investigations, and historical documents to explore the human relationship with the natural world—its patterns, resources, and meanings.
Throughout the year, students complete a series of long-term projects, including in-depth studies of a plot of land, a country, and a commodity. They develop skills in analytical and creative writing, oral presentation, research and data analysis, and collaboration. Core habits such as reflection, perseverance, and critical thinking are intentionally cultivated across all three courses.
Students demonstrate their learning through essays, experiments, presentations, wikis, and teaching peers. They will emerge from this program able to:
-Observe and critically analyze their environment
-Collect and interpret GIS data
-Write in both scientific and literary forms
-Synthesize scientific and historical facts into meaning
-Embrace complexity, ambiguity, and the iterative nature of learning
Additional Support for ESOL Students
An ESOL teacher supports international students enrolled in the Humans in the Natural World program who need added language assistance. New ESOL students are enrolled in an introductory course ESOL Structure and Use.
0.5 Credit
11th Grade Course Requirement
The primary goal of this course is for students to develop an effective, individualized research and writing process and to write one or more substantial research papers. Students use library and online resources, engage in close reading of primary and scholarly secondary source materials, and turn their curiosity into clear, useful historical questions. This course is linked to American Studies, and research questions and topics are often designed around content and themes from that course. Writing and Research is taught by members of the history and library departments.