Academics
Latin utilizes a research-based approach to education that emphasizes the value and importance of learning that is:
- Inquiry-based - aims to place the student's own intellectual curiosity at the foundation of the learning process.
- Personal - recognizes that learners are valued and fully supported in the development of self-knowledge, interests and sense of purpose.
- Inclusive - creates environments that make space for all students to feel known, respected and cared for regardless of race, gender, identity, religion, sexual orientation or ability.
At the center of this approach is our Portrait of a Latin Learner, which is helping our students develop into critical thinkers, curious explorers, inclusive collaborators, creative communicators and change makers.
Learn more about how we build upon our proud tradition of academic excellence and provide our students with the knowledge, resources, and support they need to thrive both in and out of the classroom.
Our vision for educational excellence is to reinforce the value of an exemplary liberal arts education that makes learning inquiry-based, personal and inclusive. Our educational approach will expand each Latin Learner's capacity for purposeful learning - whether in our school, our city or our world.
Inquiry-based learning
Inquiry-based learning aims to place the student's own intellectual curiosity at the foundation of the learning process.
Personal learning
Personal learning recognizes that learners are valued and fully supported in the development of self-knowledge, interests and sense of purpose.
Inclusive learning
Inclusive learning environments make space for all students to feel known, respected and cared for regardless of race, gender, identity, religion, sexual orientation or ability.
We value the potential that Latin will provide our children with the determination, resilience and curiosity to be successful in the world.
At Latin, I value the project-based learning where students are able to take their own interests outside of school and bring them into the classroom and share their passions with others authentically.
I love the way that Latin accepts everyone. No matter race, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc., Latin is always accepting and welcoming to everyone.
How We Approach Teaching and Learning
Research says the deepest learning comes from reflecting on mistakes that have come up in the process of problem solving.
Research says the deepest learning comes from reflecting on mistakes that have come up in the process of problem solving.
MISTAKES WELCOME
The upper school honors precalculus classroom discussions are entirely student-led. Students do six rich, exploratory problems for homework, which can often be done in more than one way or might have more than one answer. They then bring their work to the classroom and present it on the board to discuss as a group. If no one is willing to share his or her errors, then everyone misses out on opportunities for learning. To incentivize this behavior, students are encouraged to utilize the class’s marble jar, dropping in a marble each time a mistake is shared. When the jar is full, the class celebrates with a pizza party.
When learning resonates with the students' own values and beliefs, the content is seen as relevant and tied to real-world concerns and projects.
When learning resonates with the students' own values and beliefs, the content is seen as relevant and tied to real-world concerns and projects.
Scratching beneath the surface of the syrian refugee crisis
Seventh grade students in the Global Perspectives course researched the lives of individual Syrian refugees and told their stories using a programming language called Scratch. The project takes users on the journey of a real-life Syrian refugee, the choices they face, as well as the realities of the refugee experience.
The value lies in the well-formulated question rather than on the right answer.
The value lies in the well-formulated question rather than on the right answer.
SINGING THE PRAISES OF SINGAPORE MATH
As part of the lower school Singapore Math curriculum, fourth grade teacher Amanda Schirmacher noted that her students love sharing their methods, which she can project on a screen after taking a picture of the method with her tablet. "They are getting more comfortable with their speaking and presentation skills," she said. "It enables them to be confident in sharing their thinking," a skill that will serve them well as they enter middle and high school. "The earlier you find your voice, the better," she said.
responsive classroom, hopes and dreams
In a responsive classroom, the exercise of naming hopes and dreams is critical to feeling personally connected to and engaged in learning.
Hopes and Dreams
Lower school students took the school's theme of action to heart and defined things they hoped to accomplish over the course of the school year.
Silent Sky
When students are conscious and proactive about learning, it provokes a more personal response to engaging with the material.
SEEING STARS
The upper school Advanced Acting Company class performed the play “Silent Sky” by Lauren Gunderson during the 2018-19 school year. This true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, whose quest to measure the distance of stars begins at Harvard Observatory and ends up changing our understanding of the universe.
Advanced Acting Company is made up of juniors and seniors who have taken classes in the upper school acting curriculum. The course culminates in a production fully produced and managed by students. With the rehearsal process embedded into class time throughout the semester, it allows the cast and crew to delve deeper into the play, spending more time on script and character analysis, ensemble building and dramaturgy, while also providing students opportunities to oversee behind-the-scenes work like costume and makeup design.
Upper School History Class
Our students are able to take their own interests outside of school and bring them into the classroom and share their passions with others authentically.
Sugar, Spice and Everything They Impact
Students in the upper school class "Spice: Food, Trade & Culture" took a field trip to the world’s largest Starbucks to study the globalization of companies and to see in action the impact commodities have on society.
Academics
Inquiry-Based, Personal & Inclusive Learning
