Curriculum Overview
While School of the Future comprises a middle school and a high school, our curriculum intentionally builds from sixth grade through tenth grade to prepare students for Senior Institute (eleventh and twelfth grade), which is designed to prepare students for the demands of college.
Our approach to students’ coursework reflects our educational philosophy. School is where students are “apprentices” in how to read critically, solve problems, research, communicate, apply content, approach their work smartly, and persevere. Because of our thoughtful school-wide curriculum design, from year to year and from class to class, students become more independent, worldly, and self-aware.
Beyond Core Classes in Middle School
In addition to their Core Academic classes, middle school students also have Study Hall three days a week at the end of the day for thirty minutes. We aim to help students learn to manage their workload in proactive and responsible ways.
Students have Physical Education two to three times a week. The sixth graders also have Art, Music and Drama each twice a week. Seventh and Eighth graders can choose of the following: Computer Science; Music; Drama and Art. Students also start taking Spanish in seventh grade. Finally, once a week, We meet in Circles to connect as a community.
Beyond Core Classes in High School
From the moment students enter ninth grade, the daily life at SOF revolves around educating the whole student for college and career readiness. Much like a stream to a river to the ocean, the goal at SOF High School is to support students as they gradually become independent learners. In ninth and tenth grade, students take a class once a week called Overcoming Obstacles. This class is designed to teach what is important in becoming successful eleventh and twelfth graders who are preparing themselves for college and careers. Some of the topics taught are confidence building, communication and decision-making skills, and setting and achieving goals—just to name a few. By the time SOF high school students have reached eleventh grade, they have already had discussions about college and the application process. In eleventh and twelfth grade, which is called Senior Institute, students are given a pre-college experience where they receive more choices in their daily schedules and take classes that further support their goal of preparing themselves for college and beyond. Classes such as Internship class and College class are built into student daily schedules. Juniors and seniors can also take honors and AP classes in English, science, math, and Spanish III.
SOF high school students are exempt from most Regents Exams as the school is a member of the Consortium and has a waiver from the state that allows SOF students to show mastery in a core subject by completing an exhibition. Exhibitions are thesis papers that are roughly ten to twenty pages in length in English, science, math, and history. Students choose the subject they will complete and finish it by the end of a semester in eleventh and twelfth grade. The final paper and an oral defense presentation are graded by a committee of student peers and teachers and the combined score is the student’s state test score in that subject area. Students also must take the ELA Regents exam.
Students with Individualized Education Plans
We have a full inclusion model at School of the Future where students with IEPs take all General Education classes. There is a Special Education teacher for each grade who knows the IEPs of the students and works with the teachers to ensure that the classes both accommodate the needs of each student and are designed so that each student has opportunities for continued growth and success. Special Education teachers work with students both in and out of the classroom depending on the changing demands of the course and the needs of the students. We also offer Reading Support classes to students with and without IEPs in grades six through nine to help all of our students read on grade level by Senior Institute.
» Examples of Common Middle School Assignments
Here is an overview of student courses.
Daily: Two periods of Humanities (Reading, Writing, & Ancient Civilizations); Math; Science (Life Science)
During the week: Physical Education, Studio Art, Drama, Music and Circles.
Sample Curriculum Map:
Sixth Grade Humanities
Seventh Grade
Daily: Two periods of Humanities (Reading, Writing, & Early American History); Math; Science (Physical Science)
During the week: Spanish (all year); Physical Education (all year). Two electives, twice per week: Computer Art & Design, Drama, Studio Art, Music, and Circles (all year).
Sample Curriculum Map:
Seventh Grade Mathematics
Eighth Grade
Daily: Two periods of Humanities (Reading, Writing, & Post-Civil War American History); Math; Science (Earth Science)
During the week: Spanish (all year); Physical Education (all year). Two electives, twice per week: Computer Art & Design, Drama, Studio Art, Music, and Circles (all year).
Sample Curriculum Map:
Eighth Grade Humanities
Ninth Grade
Daily: English; Global History I; Algebra I; Biology; Spanish or Mandarin (four days a week).
During the week: Ninth grade students have Physical Education twice a week; And an elective, twice per week: Computer Art & Design, Drama, Studio Art, Music and Circles.
Students who score above an 85 on their eighth grade Algebra I Regents, may take Algebra II in ninth grade. We offer the Algebra Regents for high performing 8th graders.
Students take a placement test to determine eligibility for Advanced Spanish.
Sample Curriculum Map:
Ninth Grade English
Tenth Grade
Daily: English; Global History II; Algebra II; Chemistry; Spanish or Mandarin (four days a week).
During the week: Students have Physical Education twice a week one semester and once a week the other semester. When the students have Physical Education once a week, the other class is Health class.
During the week: An elective, twice per week: Computer Art & Design, Drama, Studio Art, Music and Circles.
Sample Curriculum Map:
Tenth Grade Math
Eleventh and Twelfth Grades
Daily: English, AP English, Neuroscience, Math.
Eleventh Graders can choose between Physics or Neuroscience and US History or Economics/Government.
Twelfth Graders can choose among Physics, Astro-Physics, Honors Physics, Computer Science or Neuroscience, and Statistics or Calculus, Civics, and Film Making.
During the week: College class once a week (all year). Internship once a week (one semester a year). Electives three times a week (one semester a year). Juniors have a SAT Prep class twice a week.
Exhibition Advisory is once per month.
Sample Curriculum Maps:
Calculus
Physics I
12th Grade English
Democratizing Social Studies
AP Literature & Composition
Grading Policy
