Academic Program Vision

ACADEMIC PROGRAM VISION TheDerryfieldSchool

Principles Guiding Our Academic Program Vision

Character: Derryfield prepares students to be ethical, caring, and community-oriented leaders who excel at collaboration, communication, and innovative problem-solving of real-world problems.

Teaching: Derryfield prioritizes student engagement through individualized educational pathways, student-centered learning, and outstanding teaching throughout the disciplines.

Curriculum: Derryfield provides students with a 21st century education that harnesses technology to convey the innovative character of the STEAM disciplines and the enduring insights of the humanities and language study. We have a clear commitment to the 21st century skills of: critical-thinking, collaboration, creativity, communication, and curation.

Wellness: Derryfield’s curriculum teaches students how to care for and cultivate their own mind, body, and spirit.

21st Century Skills Program These skills include a sequence of assessments and projects of growing complexity through a student’s years at Derryfield.

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The sequence of communication skills, with an emphasis on writing and media literacy, is constructed and articulated holistically and within each department. This includes quantitative and qualitative expression through written oral, and visual means. For example, students have to know how to generate data tables and interpret them as part of presentation and writing.

The sequence of quantitative and qualitative problem-solving/design thinking skills is constructed and articulated holistically and within each department.

Problem-solving means equations as we typically think of them as well as real life problem analysis and solution development.

Required Courses (to be taken by all students) •

STEAM and design thinking (at least one term) in 6th grade.

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Computer Science (at least one term) in 7th and 9th grade. Courses are both conceptual and technical.*

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LEAD (Leadership, Ethics & Development) in all grades for one term each year.

Each grade has a curriculum structured around a theme. LEAD teachers design developmentally appropriate lessons, activities and discussions that enable students to learn and practice lifelong leadership skills.

* Computer science is ever-expanding, with sub-topics ranging from coding and robotics, to virtual reality and data analytics, to artificial intelligence and machine

learning. It is critical for students to have a foundation in this subject for later study. It is key that this learning starts at a young age and is required so that all students are poised to be successful and competitive for later jobs in the technology sector.

Independent Senior Project (ISP) Program All seniors participate in the five-week Independent Senior Project Program. ISP’s are typically internships or deep projects (i.e. composing music, obtaining a pilot’s license, building a car). A teacher-directed, problem-based or original research project is also an option.

Identity & Skill Development with Digital Portfolio •

Middle School Portfolio: Students in grades 6-8 curate their work to document their acquisition of critical skills. This work is placed in a digital portfolio that accompanies the student into the upper school.

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Pathway Program for grades 9-12 identify and cultivate students’ strengths, interests, and experiences. Aspects of character and leadership skills are developed through advisory, athletics, and extracurriculars. The pathway map is revised by the student and advisor as the student learns more about him or herself.

Calming the Pace of School •

The daily schedule has been devised to calm the pace of the day without reducing the academic program. Innovations include–fewer transitions, delayed opening every Wednesday, and longer passing times.

The Best Possible Top Level Courses •

The AP curriculum has been replaced with Advanced Topics (AT) courses for our most advanced students.

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AT courses may include: real world problem-solving (quantitative and qualitative), interdisciplinary content, original student research and public presentations. We have an engaging, individually challenging curriculum which also allows students to do original and inspiring work. We have guiding principles but leave space for faculty creativity, because we know the judgment and expertise of our Derryfield faculty make these courses remarkable. We are better able to meet the mission of inspiring bright, motivated students to be their best.

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These advanced courses help differentiate our students in the college process.

For more information contact: Associate Head of School and Dean of Academics Lindley Shutz lshutz@derryield.org

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