Curriculum

The high school program represents a rethinking of the traditional high school experience. Students engage deeply in challenging projects tailored to their strengths and challenges. Building on three core foundations -- skill development, content standards, and project-based learning -- the program is carefully designed to empower students with the knowledge and stimulation they need to reach their full potential. Though a typical high school program may focus on credit accumulation, at Chartwell High School the goal is to ensure that students have the skills needed to thrive in higher education and beyond. Students and parents are encouraged to view progress towards graduation as a process of building readiness and self-reliance.

Chartwell High School’s curriculum is focused around key educational and research-based elements:

• Small class size (average eight students per class)
• Project-based learning
• Specific skill development
• Collaborative teaching teams
• Integrated technology
• Field experiences
• College advising

Our curriculum offers a distinct combination of engaging projects, conceptual rigor, and integrated skills instruction. It is designed to tap into the learning potential of students who may have struggled in a traditional learning environment.

We incorporate a project-based learning model ensuring that the curriculum remains interesting, relevant, and meaningful for our students. As Chartwell students progress towards graduation, they come to understand their own learning styles and become effective self-advocates. Ultimately, our goal is to inspire them to develop their unique strengths and talents, and in the process, become contributing members of the community and lifelong learners.

The following core skills are embedded within our curriculum: organization, reading comprehension, note taking, test taking, research, writing, decoding/fluency/spelling, mathematics, technology, self-knowledge, and presentation.

Students typically take six classes per year, in addition to an advisory class that gives them extra time to complete work with the support of their teachers. A typical course load for a ninth grade student might include: Literature I, Wellness and Fitness I, World History, Art I, Algebra I, and Advisory. In each class, students benefit from teachers who tailor instruction to the needs of the students. Students also complete four major collaborative projects each school year, and these projects appear on their transcripts. Seniors must also complete a senior project that spans the course of a school year as a graduation requirement.

Our course requirements meet or exceed state graduation requirements, and our credits align with other area schools. As our students accumulate credits toward a high school diploma, they come to think of themselves as successful learners with the potential to succeed in college.