Curriculum
The high school provides a well-rounded and challenging college curriculum which prepares students for demanding college studies with extensive offerings in English, social sciences, mathematics, foreign languages, sciences, art, music, and drama. We have chosen to offer AP courses in departments where the curriculum and rigor of courses best fit the present and future academic needs of students.
In addition to two semesters, Paideia has two 3 1/2 week short terms a year: one in January and the other in May/June. During short term, students generally take fewer courses that meet for longer periods during the day. Short-term courses offer a learning opportunity where students can…
- study a topic in greater depth and intensity than is possible in a long-term class
- take a class outside of a traditional academic offering or department
- take team-taught classes by different teachers throughout the school
- take an interdisciplinary course
- have classes that provide hands-on learning experiences
- try out a new skill or improve an old one
- meet graduation requirements such as: PE, Art, Music or Drama, or Internship
- explore personal creativity and academic passions
Below is a sampling of recent short-term courses:
- Astronomy
- Green Home Design
- Earthshock
- Fish!
- Planet Earth
- Independent Study: Pollinators
- 3D Modeling/Animation
- Coding Computer Games
- Primitive Living
- Sexuality
- aRt Class
- Robotics
“We gather in our hive every day, rubbing antennae, to make each other smarter, more attuned, more moral, more aware - we make each other better people. The collective wisdom of a group can emerge when the climate is right. Kids think thoughts they have never thought. I want to welcome and kindle the individual sparks into a collective conflagration, so that young people are not afraid of testing themselves and their ideas out in the open.”
Paideia high school English teacher