High School: Academics
Four Year Curriculum
Academic Philosophy
English
The English language is an artform with practical applications. Students cultivate the skills of reading, writing and rhetoric over the course of a four-year core curriculum that spans from literature to expository writing, from historical fiction to contemporary journalism. They develop an ear for tone and nuance, while they gain an understanding of how grammar and literary techniques inform understanding and evoke diverse responses among readers.
History
History provides students the opportunity to gain perspective on the present by understanding the past. Students engage in the work of a historian as they analyze primary documents, share perspectives, and craft arguments. They learn to interrogate history, with the recognition that the existing structure of the world is not the product of fate, but of human choice and some degree of chance. Our core curriculum covers World History and American History/Civics and encompasses historiography: how history is recorded; philosophy: the history of ideas; and cultural history: the history of ideas through artistic expression.
World Languages
Our world languages curriculum, comprised of Spanish, Mandarin and Hindi, takes a conversation-first approach. Teachers use improvisational theater techniques to empower students to communicate with a limited vocabulary in skits of their own devising. This approach is grounded in research and enables students to get comfortable speaking in a foreign language. By beginning with conversation, eventual grammar lessons are rooted in a context that facilitates grammatical and linguistic understanding.
Math
The Tessellations math program meets students where they are, matching their curiosity and passion with the cognitive challenge they seek. Math placement is based on ability-level rather than grade-level, and our math levels extend into college math to ensure that challenging math courses are available to students for the full four years. We support students as they express themselves as mathematicians through competitions and providing time and space for students to interact with mathematical content in real world scenarios and experiential circumstances.
Science
We believe science education should not require students to memorize an endless list of facts, but rather to prepare students with knowledge and skills they need to engage in their own learning. Our core science curriculum in 9th and 10th grade is based on the Next Generation Science Standards and follows a physics-first approach. Students learn about the physical and chemical principles that underlie the systems and processes of the natural world and then, in 11th and 12th grade, they choose from science electives to do a deeper exploration of topics of interest.
Electives
9th/10th graders choose one elective per semester; 11th/12th graders choose additional electives depending on their completion of graduation requirements.
In addition to academic electives for each of the five disciplines above, Tessellations also offers visual & performing arts electives as well as other popular programs:
- Visual Arts
- Drama
- Improv
- Musical Theater
- Music Ensemble & Theory
- Photojournalism
- Screenwriting
- Speech & Debate
- Mock Trial
- Politics and Civic Action
- Economics