Comprehensive Curriculum

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.

Learning Blocks

Each term is composed of three main Learning Blocks: Studios, Seminars and Supplemental Coursework.

Studios

At the heart of NuVu’s curriculum are studios, a series of immersive, interdisciplinary, three- to four-week projects. In a typical trimester, a student will 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.

In studios designed for younger students, our coaches focus on supporting the development of foundational skills and creative confidence. As students learn to navigate open-ended problems, collaborate effectively, build empathy for others and communicate their ideas using a variety of media, studios become more sophisticated. This process eventually prepares each student to complete a 12th grade Capstone Project on a topic of their choosing.

Each year, the NuVu team develops a new assortment of studios that connect with the relevant issues and challenges of our time.

Seminars & Workshops

Seminars meet 1-2 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:

Equity & Technology
Famous U.S. Trials
Health & Wellness
Beyond NuVu

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.

Supplemental Coursework

In order to ensure that all NuVu High School students have a well-rounded foundation in traditional disciplines, we integrate supplemental coursework into the overall academic program. Students can devote up to five blocks per week to this work, allowing our students to take accredited academic courses through specialized online providers and with support from NuVu’s coaches.

NuVu’s academic advisors work with each student to craft a personalized multi-year plan based on that student’s particular academic goals. Most NuVu students apply to highly selective colleges, and our team ensures that those students have met all of the expectations to be very attractive candidates for acceptance at those institutions.

Sample four-year supplemental coursework plan:

9th: Algebra 2, English 9, Earth Science
10th: Geometry, English 10, Biology
11th: Precalculus, English 11, Chemistry
12th: Calculus, English 12, Physics

Sample Weekly Schedule

Our schedule provides focused blocks of time for students to work on their studio projects and also includes specific blocks for seminars, workshops and supplemental coursework.