Academics at Walnut Hill School for the Arts

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Our

ACADEMIC SCHEDULE

About the Walnut Hill

ACADEMIC PROGRAM

Between 8am and 2pm, you will engage with your academic classes. The academic schedule at Walnut Hill is distinct from that of many other schools, as you will take two or three classes each semester. This allows you to focus on learning without the hectic pace of most traditional academic schedules. It also allows you to manage our double arts and academic program, all while completing the academic requirements necessary for graduation as well as for competitive university/conservatory placement. Wondering how that works? See below:

In Walnut Hill’s academic program, you learn to observe closely, engage, persist, solve, create, and find your voice in the world. Through a process-oriented approach that emphasizes hands-on and project-based learning, the academic curriculum encourages you to recognize and value multiple perspectives and embrace complex challenges. The academic schedule allows you to focus on fewer courses at a time, resulting in meaningful engagement with subject matter, promoting natural curiosity, and solidifying learning.

Our college-preparatory academic program, together with our high-level arts program, create an experience for students that is much greater than the sum of the two. Along with your intensive arts training, you will master the subjects and skills necessary for future academic success, while gaining valuable context for your art-making and your growing understanding of the world around you.

Traditional School Academic Schedule

Walnut Hill Academic Schedule

• Classes last all year

• Classes last for a semester

• You take 4 – 6 short classes each day

• You take 2 – 3 longer classes each day

• 200 – 250 minutes of class time per week

• 350 minutes of class time per week

• 4 – 6 subjects of homework each night

• 2 – 3 subjects of homework each night

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HAVE MORE QUESTIONS OR WANT TO SCHEDULE A TOUR? ADMISSION OFFICE: 508.650.5020 • admissions@walnuthillarts.org

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walnuthillarts.org Walnut Hill School for the Arts 12 Highland Street | Natick, MA 01760

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The Academic Day in the Life of a

Walnut

frequently asked

WALNUT HILL GRADUATES:

QUESTIONS

Get up and breakfast with dorm friends

8:00 - 9:10 AM In French 2, perform three skits we wrote based on Le Petit Prince

9:15 - 10:25 AM Modern World History class: prepare a debate on the ethics of colonialism in New Zealand

10:25 - 11:00 AM Check in with French teacher about a question, then work with history team

11:00 AM - 12:10 PM Lunch with friends, then homework in the Skills Center

How can a whole class fit into a semester?

The true measure of a course is the depth of student engagement and the amount of quality time students have with a good teacher. Walnut Hill’s schedule allows for 350 minutes of class time with each teacher each week and asks students to attend to only two or three subjects at a time. Less fractured, this schedule provides a rich and more enduring learning experience.

12:10 - 1:20 PM Group review, then quiz in Algebra 2A

1:25 - 1:50 PM Head to Assembly for announcements and a poetry reading from the students in Writing, Film, & Media Arts

2:05 PM Arts schedule begins...

Why doesn’t Walnut Hill offer any Advanced Placement classes?

The huge content coverage required by AP courses generally means moving very quickly through topics with little time to ask questions or to engage in any processes of discovery or skill-building. Walnut Hill courses are instead designed to teach you the skills and habits of deep engagement, revision, and process.

It is also important to note that when schools do not offer AP classes, colleges do not penalize you for not taking them.

Sarah Lawrence College

Fordham University

Savannah College of Art & Design

The George Washington University

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Harvard College

School of Visual Arts

Indiana University at Bloomington

Scripps College

Ithaca College

Skidmore College

Kenyon College

Smith College

Loyola Marymount University

Southern Methodist University

Manhattan School of Music

Spelman College

Mannes School of Music

Stanford University

Marymount Manhattan College

Swarthmore College

McGill University

Syracuse University

Middlebury College

Temple University

Our students read extremely well in the admission process for highly selective colleges because colleges seek students who have shown passion and deep commitment to a discipline over time; they prefer depth over breadth, which our students undeniably exhibit. Our impressive admit and matriculation list is a testament to how colleges view our students.

Mount Holyoke College

The American University of Paris

Mozarteum University Salzburg

The Juilliard School

Muhlenberg College

Trinity College Dublin

New England Conservatory of Music

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance

Walnut Hill students have continued their studies at some of the world’s finest colleges and universities, including:

The academic program at Walnut Hill, coupled with intensive arts training, provides a solid foundation that prepares you for a conservatory, film school, dance company, or liberal arts college or university. We build your confidence and support your growth as a critical thinker. The skills you gain here will serve you well in any number of future endeavors — as a result, you are poised for success.

How do students manage all of the work they have to do in their day?

Walnut Hill is a busy place, and you will learn quickly that you need to get your academic work done with any spare time you can find. You also need to eat well, practice, find teachers for extra help, and spend time with friends. Between free periods, X-blocks, lunch, gaps in the afternoon program, weekends, and study hour at night, you learn to get it all done.

Faculty and staff are also available to help you learn efficient time-management skills by providing guidance and structure as needed.

San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Emerson College

positioned for success

SAMPLE SEMESTER

7:20 AM

Elon University

How do colleges view Walnut Hill’s academic program?

What are the academic faculty like?

The academic faculty at Walnut Hill are a passionate lot and bring energy and a wide range of rich experiences to their classes every day. Two very important things that they all have in common are deep expertise in their disciplines and a love for teaching artists. For the academic faculty, Math, Science, History, Language, and Literature are all crucial ways of understanding the world and of understanding ourselves. Ultimately, to learn these disciplines is to become more empowered, more insightful, and more engaged as creative people, regardless of our vocation.

What is the average class size?

Classes are small, usually between 12 and 18 students, to better enrich the learning experience.

With fewer students per class, you can connect more closely with your peers and become more confident and comfortable when it comes to sharing your ideas and perspectives. Also, teachers have more time to individualize their feedback, as well as assess the strengths, weaknesses, and needs of each student.

Colleges will review your application in the context of Walnut Hill’s mission and offerings, rather than comparing you with students from another school.

Since Walnut Hill is different from other schools, our College Counseling Office goes to great lengths to ensure that colleges fully understand and appreciate the rigors and unique structure of our dual curriculum. It is particularly impressive to colleges, universities, and conservatories that you engage in a rigorous academic program while also training at such a high level in your art major.

The New School (Mannes School of Music, Parsons School of Design, School of Drama)

Tufts University Tulane University

New York University

University of California

Northeastern University

University of Cincinnati

Northwestern University Oberlin College of Arts and Sciences

University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

Oberlin Conservatory of Music

University of Hartford

Otis College of Art and Design

University of Massachusetts

Pace University, New York City

University of Miami

The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University

University of Michigan

Pennsylvania State University

University of North Carolina School of the Arts

Pepperdine University

University of Notre Dame

Point Park University

University of Pennsylvania

Pomona College

University of Southern California

Pratt Institute

University of St. Andrews

Princeton University

The University of Texas, Austin

Purchase College, SUNY

University of the Arts London

Rhode Island School of Design

Vanderbilt University

Rice University

Vassar College

Ringling College of Art & Design

Wagner College

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art

Wake Forest University

Royal Academy of Music

Washington University in St. Louis Wellesley College

Baldwin Wallace University

Carnegie Mellon University

Bard College

Central Saint Martins

Barnard College

Cleveland Institute of Music

Bates College

Colburn School

Berklee College of Music

Colby College

Boston College

Colorado College

Boston Conservatory at Berklee

Columbia University

Boston University Brandeis University

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science & Art

Brown University

Cornell University

Bucknell University

The Curtis Institute of Music

Butler University

Duke University

Royal College of Music

California Institute of the Arts

Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Wesleyan University

Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama

Yale University

Photography: Coffeepond Photography, Antonio Viva