Our High School curriculum is designed to develop students’ ability to think critically and creatively, collaborate with others, communicate clearly, merge knowledge from different disciplines, adapt technical skills to diverse needs and solve complex problems. Each term, students further develop these competencies while gaining exposure to a variety of themes and issues.
At the heart of NuVu’s curriculum are studios, a series of hands-on projects lasting three to four weeks. In a typical trimester, students participate in two different studios designed by our team of expert coaches. Each trimester ends with an open innovation period, during which students have the freedom to dig deeper into a topic of particular interest from earlier in the term. Studios become progressively more sophisticated, culminating in a 12th grade Capstone Project on a topic of the student’s choosing.
Seminars meet 2 times per week and last for an entire trimester. Through reading, writing and discussion, seminars allow NuVu students to explore topics that extend and inform each year’s studios. Here are some examples of recent seminars:
Digital Storytelling
Media and Democracy
Computational Calculus
Artistic Inquiry
Workshops are opportunities to develop a skill or get an introduction to a topic. Throughout each trimester, a wide variety of standalone one-hour workshops are offered.
An important part of our curriculum is the student presentation that occurs at the end of each design studio. Students are required to present and defend their work to coaches and peers, much like a final thesis. At the end of each trimester, students host a larger presentation that welcomes families and the greater NuVu community together for an evening of student work. Students hone their communication skills through presentations and demonstrations of their work, answering questions and diving deep into their work.
To ensure that all NuVu High School students develop a well-rounded foundation in traditional academic disciplines, we integrate subjects such as English, Science, and Math into our studios and seminars. For Math, we offer dedicated courses to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the subject. These courses run for 2 hours per week throughout the year and cover topics including Algebra 1 and 2, Geometry, Precalculus, and Calculus. Our approach emphasizes making these courses as project-based and engaging as possible, aligning with our hands-on, experiential learning philosophy.
