Download the Upper School Curriculum Guide

for the 2007/08 School Year HERE

The staff at Lawrence School is trained to meet the learning needs of bright students who need content to be presented using a multi-sensory approach so comprehension and recall accurately takes place. Teachers understand the importance of teaching content, as well as teaching students how to organize and master the material presented in class. Students are encouraged to engage in a rigorous academic setting with appropriate accommodations in place. The Upper School (grades 9-12) is a college preparatory program. Students continue to develop note-taking skills, organizational skills, study skills, writing skills, and reading/comprehension skill within the context of each academic course. Students are given a variety of electives to choose from and have the option of taking general courses, honors courses, advanced placement courses, vocational programming and independent study. Independent projects are assigned throughout the year, which are closely monitored by the teachers. Individual attention is our focus. The Advisory program allows each student to meet with a smaller group of students and a teacher to work on developing strong communication skills, learning to work cooperatively with others, maintaining high academic standards for the year, keeping organized and making sure individual learning and social needs are consistently met. We want our students to become lifelong learners, able to articulate their needs clearly so they can succeed in all they do.
 
Course Descriptions
Language Arts
  A multi-disciplinary, sequential approach is used when teaching Language Arts. The curriculum is theme-based so students in Language Arts read novels, short stories, and poems related to the topics being covered in history. Upper School students are taught to compare and contrast, write persuasive arguments, develop multi-paragraph narratives, and complete research-based papers. Rubrics and sequential steps in an outline are used to help students organize their thoughts and break down assignments into manageable tasks. Students continue to build mastery of the writing process including pre-writing, drafting, and editing. Grammar development and use is critical to the learning process and deliberately taught and reviewed at the Upper School level.
 
Math
Many students in the Upper School program enjoy Math and achieve great success in our college-preparatory Math program because concepts are taught using different modalities so every student can learn. Math courses include Integrated Math, Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, and/or Analysis. The Upper School Math curriculum also offers meaningful courses for those students who do not experience success with math. At all levels, projects and hands-on activities are introduced so math concepts become meaningful.
 
Science
Lawrence School understands that in an ever-changing, highly technical environment, a study of only today's scientific facts will not be sufficient for our students to cope with the scientific developments of the future. Therefore, we strive to teach our students scientific principles and to teach them how to access everyday resources to continually educate themselves about scientific developments. Curriculum offered includes Physical Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Biology II, Astronomy, Weather, and Health. Students are exposed to traditional course work, many experiments, and meaningful field trips to reinforce concepts learned throughout the year.
 
Social Studies
In the Upper School, students are exposed to content based on state standards. Students are taught note-taking skills, organizational skills, study skills, writing skills, and test-taking skills while mastering the concepts presented. Teachers use a multi-sensory approach so all students are given the opportunity to learn. Courses offered include World History, American History, Government, Psychology, Sociology, Economics, and 20th Century Issues.
 
Electives
Upper School students have the opportunity to choose from a variety of electives every year. Electives at this time include Speech, Journalism/Newsletter, Yearbook, Literature on the Screen, Practical Writing/Speaking, Advanced Composition, Law Studies, Accounting, Spanish, Keyboarding, Computer Application, Graphic Design, Research Skills, Life Skills, and Painting.

College and Career Guidance  

Lawrence School offers a comprehensive guidance program where students take an active role in exploring and planning for their future. Students take an academic assessment and receive feedback on an interest inventory during each year of the student’s high school career.  Information from these assessments and inventories are used by both the student and the Director of Post-Secondary Placement to discuss each student’s future.  Often times this means creating a proactive plan to best prepare each student for college. At other times, it means finding a training program to prepare a student for the world of work.  In both ways, every student is involved in a highly informative experience where his or her plan for the future has been personalized while keeping each student’s best interests in mind.  This information is explored to a greater degree during each student’s Senior Project – where students choose a specific occupation and consequently write a research paper, interview multiple professionals and organize a two-week internship in that chosen occupation.