Academic Excellence

English
Focusing on the American Experience, children maintain a writing journal in which they respond to selected texts, write creatively, and explore forms of poetry and personal writing. In addition, vocabulary and critical reading skills are taught through teacher-guided, student-directed interactions with novels like To Kill a Mockingbird and Romeo and Juliet. Similarly, grammar and writing is addressed in conjunction with designated essays and in-class exercises. The year culminates with the City Project that gives students an opportunity to display their research, writing, and presentation skills.

Mathematics
Children are grouped by ability and are either enrolled in Pre-Algebra or Algebra. Pre-Algebra focuses on operations with integers, fractions and decimals, as well as solving basic equations. Instruction incorporates technology to teach inequalities, linear and quadratic equations, and complex graphing of mathematical relationships. Algebra is designed to help children master more complex concepts involving quadratic equations and graphing polynomial functions. Children incorporate knowledge of relations, exponential functions, and algebraic fractions to solve real world problems both individually and in group projects.

History
This class focuses on the major topics and themes in American History from the earliest days through the modern era. Subjects range from the early colonies of Jamestown and Plymouth to the end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union. Through reading and writing assignments, children gain knowledge and understanding of salient political, historical, and current events. Special emphasis is placed on the development of chronological and spatial thinking, economic reasoning, historical interpretation, and evaluating questions from primary and secondary sources to understand the importance of history on modern day America.

Science
Children study aspects of life as seen in organisms of varying complexity with a final focus on the structure and function of the human body. The cell, cellular biochemistry, genetics and heredity, natural selection, taxonomy, and human anatomy, and physiology are covered in this course. The first half of the year focuses on the characteristics of life that are shared among all living things.
During the second semester, students investigate the incredible diversity seen among living organisms. Throughout the year, children learn the inquiry approach in a classroom setting and science laboratory.