Academics at University
UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL’s Engaged Learning Approach encourages students to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and apply their learning to real-world situations.
By actively involving students in the classroom, University High School stimulates intellectual curiosity and self-confidence. We ask students to experience great works of literature, art, and music. Students learn to listen, to respect other views, to be concerned, and to make an impact on their world. The faculty encourages students to become creative and critical thinkers and to exchange ideas freely. Students cannot hide in the back row at University.
University High School has a thorough and rigorous college preparatory educational program developed by faculty who build students’ academic skills, deliver factual content, and push students to grapple with the meaning of the subjects. Our academic standards are rigorous because we want our students to fulfill every bit of their potential. We challenge students but we also help them succeed. Regardless of how students like to learn, they can count on supportive faculty who challenge them to do their best.
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Top Five Things to Know About Academics at University
1. Every class builds students’ academic and life skills. This means that every class deals not only with core content, but with academic skills such as note taking; collecting, organizing, analyzing, and presenting information; and class participation. Each class also deals with personal traits that lead to success in class, such as perseverance, dependability, and the ability to work with others.
2. Every class is clear about the fundamental knowledge that students must learn and then pushes each student to reach an explanatory level in the class. Each class offers a certain set of facts and a sphere of knowledge that students must master. Students reach excellence when they are able to handle the factual, process-oriented elements of a subject as well as its meaning and purpose.
3. Every class holds students accountable for their learning and pushes them to become active participants in their education. All classes use grades to keep students accountable, but at University, students also must evaluate their progress and account for themselves in the classroom and through mentoring. Students are to continually work toward taking an ever larger role in their education.
4. Every class personalizes the education and uses a range of instructional approaches to accommodate a variety of learning styles. Smaller class sizes allow teachers to identify and focus on each student’s strengths and weaknesses and adapt their approach to meet the needs of each class. Instructional approaches range from one-on-one instruction to lectures, collaborative work, independent projects, and guided discovery.
5. Every class presents information through multiple perspectives. Teachers push students to understand subjects in multiple ways. For instance, in English classes, students read texts by a variety of authors and express understanding of the texts in speech and writing. In music classes, students play their instruments while also studying the theoretical structure of the music. In mathematics classes, students deal with mathematical ideas in symbolic, graphic, and written forms. This goal values diversity and creativity of thought.