About Us

While Easton Country Day Student has served high school students in small numbers over several years, beginning in 2010-2011 we will formalize the high school program, which will include enrolling students in greater numbers and expanding facilities.  The high school program will maintain a commitment to the core values established at ECDS in grades PK-8, while simultaneously adding components dedicated to a college preparatory experience focused on preparing students for success at the post-secondary level.  Specific elements of this experience include:

• Highly individualized educational planning driven by student needs and interests
• Active instruction focused on “learning how to learn”, and “understanding one’s own thinking” (i.e., meta-cognitive strategies).
• Curricular opportunities and experiences above and beyond standards set by public school, including opportunities for college level curriculum and structure
• Highly collaborative post-secondary planning grounded in student interests and focused on exploring options and planning for success
• Frequent feedback to students and parents that helps to promote learning and growth for students

High school is an important time in a youngster’s social, emotional, and academic development.  While obtaining a diploma is one end goal, setting sights on that goal alone is not enough to promote success at the next level.  Post-secondary institutions and corporations alike confirm that students need to be prepared for a workforce that requires independent thinking, problem solving, and the capacity to self-monitor.  Any educational system that invests too heavily in rote memorization and surface learning will not yield these results.  The ECDS high school program seeks to promote depth of knowledge in a context that supports student accountability through personal goal setting and individualized academic planning. 

Vision

Students of any age are not well suited to be passive receptacles of information imparted by an identified expert.  Regarding any student as best taught in this context disregards what we know to be true about how human beings develop knowledge and skill as it ignores the fact that our learning is largely constructivist in nature.  We all build on what we already know – whether what we know is accurate or not- by either accommodating new information through revising our beliefs or assimilating new knowledge on top of what we already have learned.  If we want to reach students and help them to continuously grow throughout their educational experience we must plan for teaching and learning using this understanding as our foundation.  For secondary students this is perhaps most crucial.

As students grow older they become less and less of a captive audience.  They are therefore more likely to disengage if the learning environment does not offer opportunities that are personally meaningful.  Furthermore, even those students who do comply in the absence of a meaningful learning environment (perhaps because they identify compliance as an important personal trait) do not necessarily end up well prepared for the world that awaits them at work or in post-secondary school.  This is significant since a primary mission of secondary school should include developing skills that will help learners to be successful after graduation.

What do students need in order to have the best opportunity to be successful after high school?  Fundamentally students need the following: to have a sense of self that allows for a foundation of security, the ability to effectively communicate their thoughts and ideas, a capacity to access and use technology to increase or deepen knowledge, a capacity to think critically, a capacity to plan for their own success, and the ability to function effectively as a member of a group.  It is important to note that this list is much different than it would have been 50 years ago, or even 20 years ago.  The ability to recall information does not appear at all where it would have been primary and the capacity to use technology is essential whereas it may not have been listed.  

The mission of any high school that is to be maximally beneficial to students must be strongly aligned with the above listed outcomes.  Additionally, the overall structure of programming, from the classroom, to parent meetings, to faculty meetings, must be designed to serve the same outcomes. 

The mission of the Easton Country High School program is to foster the growth and achievement of the whole student within a student centered environment.  We believe that students continue learning throughout high school and beyond and it is the responsibility of the educational environment to nurture growth and achievement in an environment that is both meaningful and inspiring. 

Academics

In order to be competitive in applying to post-secondary settings it is essential that certain core subjects be covered.  These subjects are listed below:

Mathematics

• Algebra I
• Algebra II
• Geometry

Science

• Earth Science

§  Biology

• Chemistry

Social Science

• Global Studies
• US History
• Civics

English

• Essential Literature I
• Essential Literature II
• Essential Literature III
• Essential Literature IV

World Languages

• Minimum of two years

The subjects above represent approximately 50% of what the ECDS student will complete.  English classes will place significant emphasis on writing skills that provide students the appropriate foundation to complete successful college level written assignments.  Interests, strengths, and personal goals will drive the remainder of coursework each student pursues.

In order to promote the notion of depth over breadth, we ground our work in universal conceptual frameworks, which emphasize that all learning is to some degree cross- disciplinary and exists within overarching concepts. 

Universal Conceptual Frameworks

Focus Area: The life cycle in the natural world

• The life cycle is a process that can be seen across time and nature
• Understanding of the life cycle can be applied across content areas in the natural sciences and beyond the natural sciences
• Mathematics skills and knowledge across traditional areas of study (Algebra, Geometry, Calculus) are critical in helping us understand the natural world
• Energy cannot be created or destroyed; however, energy can be converted from one form to another
• The electrical force is a universal force that exists between any two charged objects
• Humans use various sources of energy and all have advantages and disadvantages
• Atoms react with one another to form new molecules
• Due to its unique chemical structure, carbon forms many organic and inorganic compounds
• Elements on Earth move among reservoirs in the solid earth, oceans, atmosphere and organisms as part of biogeochemical cycles
• In sexually reproducing organisms, each offspring contains a mix of characteristics inherited from both parents
• Evolution and biodiversity are the result of genetic changes that occur over time in constantly changing environments
• The fundamental life processes of plants and animals depend on a variety of chemical reactions that occur in specialized areas of the organism’s cells
• Mutation and sexual reproduction lead to genetic variation in a population
• A multi-cellular organism develops from a single zygote, and its phenotype depends on its genotype, which is established at fertilization
• Genes are a set of instructions encoded in the DNA sequence of each organism that specify the sequence of amino acids in proteins characteristic of that organism
• The genetic composition of cells can be altered by incorporation of exogenous DNA into the cells
• Stability in an ecosystem is a balance between competing effects
• The frequency of an allele in a gene pool of a population depends on many factors and may be stable or unstable over time
• Evolution is the result of genetic changes that occur in constantly changing environments
• Organisms have a variety of mechanisms to combat disease

Focus Area: Communication between individuals and groups

• The capacity to effectively communicate ideas is an essential skill for all individuals in virtually all of life’s endeavors
• Exposure to knowledge and information across domains (arts, sciences, history, etc.) has the effect of enriching one’s capacity to communicate effectively
• Technology has changed the nature of global communication by making it more accessible, immediate, and multi-modal, future changes are certain and not all of these changes can be foreseen
• Written communication includes multiple genres (e.g., persuasive writing, technical writing, business communication, etc.) and it is essential that the nature of each genre be understood
• A significant element of the effectiveness of written communication is appropriate use of spelling, grammar, and mechanics
• In all forms of communication, understanding one’s audience is critical
• The nature of communication is altered by context
• Individuals and groups are shaped by their experiences
• In supporting ideas one must be able to draw conclusions and accurately comprehend and use evidence to substantiate them by using sources heard, read and viewed
• In order to effectively use resources to support ideas it is critical that one be able to accurately judge the validity of those resources
• Creative expression is a form of communication that exists in many forms and holds value to both the creative source and those who share in the result
• Individuals must be able to make and justify inferences from explicit and or implicit information
• Effective communication requires the capacity to distinguish between fact and opinion
• A rich vocabulary aids effective communication

Focus Area: Identity within groups and institutions

• Individuals identify with various groups
• Group identifications can change over time
• Identifications can impact perspective and perception
• Identifications can influence values, ideology, and behavior
• Identifications can have a direct impact on shaping history
• The nature of group identification has been impacted by changes in technology
• Group identification (e.g., gender, religion, family, etc.) impacts personal development
• Identification with groups or institutions become an aspect of one’s self-identification
• Differences between groups or institutions can and have been a source of significant conflict throughout history

Focus Area: The nature of time and space

• Time cannot be simply defined
• Time is sometimes referred to as the fourth dimension
• Time is measured in a multitude of different spans and context impacts the measurement used
• Scientific discovery alters our understanding of time and space
• Earth-based and space-based astronomy reveal the structure, scale and changes in stars, galaxies and the universe over time
• Plate tectonics operating over geologic time have changed the patterns of land, sea and mountains on Earth's surface
• Fundamental mathematics provide a crucial foundation to inform one’s understanding of space and time

Focus Area: Our response to the aesthetic

• Artistic expression generates a range of reactions in the creator(s)
• Artistic works generate a range of responses in its audience
• An aesthetic component exists in many aspects of our world, including those not typically defined as “art”
• The capacity of the aesthetic to elicit emotional reaction has played a pivotal role in human affairs throughout history

Sensory experiences to the aesthetic can be explored as a means of developing new understanding and insight

Admissions

Easton Country Day High School is a program that is student driven.  In keeping with this model the focus of admissions is on the proper match between student and school.  All students can and should learn when provided with the right educational plan and proper supports.  Student applications will be reviewed from that perspective rather than with respect to any specific criteria related to past academic performance.  Past performance is relevant to determining the proper course selection once a student is enrolled. The application forms may be viewed and printed on our Admissions page.