ACADEMICS

The EBS academic program is designed to prepare young people for high school and for life through fostering their curiosity and ability to understand themselves as learners. Our program encompasses traditional academic courses featuring multiple modalities of assessments and lessons as well as project-based, cross-curricular coursework that supports exploration of identity, reflection on social justice, and the cultivation of core academic skills. EBS students will grow to stand out as particularly engaged, thoughtful and courageous young adults in their communities.

OUR CORE LEARNING COMMITMENTS

  • We believe in high expectations for our students and want our students to strive to meet their potential in all areas of our program. 

  • We believe that in order for all of our students to reach their potential, teachers will examine their practice through professional reflection and evaluation, students will reflect on their performance with teachers and advisors to review and improve their performance, and the school and families need to communicate with each other in a straightforward, thoughtful, and clear way about needs, successes, and challenges. 

  • We believe a student’s approach to their learning is as important as their understanding of content. 

  • We believe that work should be meaningful, of high quality, tied to a standard/objective, and play a part in a larger concept or project (not busywork or seatwork).

  • We believe that rubrics help teachers understand learning outcomes and grading metrics and help students reach high expectations.

  • We believe that our students need feedback, as well as grades, that are timely, abundant, and clear. 

  • We believe that families should be informed with both quantitative measurements for progress and qualitative summaries. 

  • We believe that assessments should reflect what students know and understand, as well as their participation and effort in their assignments. 

  • We believe that sometimes we cannot be 100% sure of what a student knows until they’ve been given a chance to apply it; evaluation may be an ongoing process and we should include a variety of data-gathering assessments.

  • We believe in building student independence by providing adequate support and appropriate challenges.