The main lesson block format rotates intensive morning study in major subjects every three to four weeks throughout the school year.
Art blocks in the afternoon round out the day with a complement of fine, practical and performing arts to support the morning academic studies.
One-hour track classes run for approximately 8 weeks. Teaching focuses on skill development in areas of writing, math, foreign language, movement and music.
Waldorf high school curriculum specifically addresses the development of capacities in the maturing adolescent. Thinking is nurtured with the development of a progressive set of skills, starting with observational and descriptive skills and moving into synthesizing material and critical thinking.
Ninth Grade
In ninth grade, students are summoned to exercise powers of exact observation. They study art history, geology and chemistry, engaging in experiments and projects that focus on documenting observed phenomena. Students at this age live in polarities, and subject matter in classes such as Light and Dark Drawing and Comedy and Tragedy allows them to explore the opposite impulses in their world.
Tenth Grade
In tenth grade, observation is expanded to include comparison; students are called to notice similarities as well as differences. In this year there is interest in process and transformations. Greek history illustrates several transformations: the movement from myth to philosophy and monarchy to democracy. Projective geometry and meteorology also demonstrate transformation. Writing skills move on to compare and contrast.
Eleventh Grade
In eleventh grade, students develop powers of analysis and abstraction as well as delve into the question of individuality and self exploration. "Who am I" is the question that characterizes this year's study. They explore the literature of Parzival, a true quest story. They study botany, electricity and magnetism, exploring the forces that shape our world. They explore Dante's realms of morality and their own cultural identity in American history.
Twelfth Grade
In twelfth grade, the student is capable of synthesizing information to create an integrated picture of the world and their place in it. Survey courses such as the History of Ideas and Comparative Religions, and course work that highlights interconnections and systems such as Optics and Climatology all serve to bring perspective and answers to their question, "What is my place in the world?"
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