Program of Studies and Curriculum

The Program of Studies has been prepared to assist students and their parents in planning an academic program for the upper school. Selections should be made after considering the goals of each student and after consulting with academic advisors and administrators at the school.

Graduation requirements are intended to serve as a minimum standard for a student. All students are required to take five courses each semester, but no sophomore, junior or senior may take more than six classes without advisor and administrative approval. Physical Education does not count toward the five-course requirement. Assuming a normal load, students will graduate with the minimum of 20 units of academic credit; however, most students will exceed the minimum requirement. Students who wish to carry a different academic load may petition the principal for approval.

Personal and career interests should be considered when deciding how many advanced courses to take in each department. We would expect our most capable students, who are interested in applying to highly selective colleges, to take a broad distribution of subjects at the Advanced Placement level. Four-year planning should be done with advisors, taking into consideration academic and extracurricular goals.

We have found it nearly impossible to schedule students in their courses and, at the same time, attempt to honor student and family requests for a particular teacher. Therefore, we will not accept requests for a specific teacher unless there is a compelling reason. During the advising and course planning process, an advisor, teacher, or parent can make a request in writing for special consideration. This request should include the compelling reason for special review and be signed by the parents and the advisor.

If scheduling has already occurred, requests for change will be divided into categories:

(1) Mandatory: scheduling error, graduation requirement. These will be changed as soon as possible.
(2) Desirable: administrative or teacher change to maintain class balance, gender balance, etc.
(3) Discretionary: [Note: A request to move from a smaller class to a larger class will not be honored.

If a problem occurs after the first day of classes, a request for change can be made if parents, advisor, college advisor (if a senior), and the appropriate department chair agree that there is a compelling reason. Changes will be considered only during the first days of each semester for semester-long courses, and during the first days of the school year for year-long courses. No student may enroll in any course after the first interim grading period of the semester.

*Students who withdraw from a course after the mid-semester may do so only with the approval of their parents, advisor, current teacher, and college counselor (for juniors and seniors). Courses dropped after the mid-semester will still appear on a student’s transcript with a grade of WP (Withdrew Passing) or (Withdrew Failing), depending on the student’s grade at the time of withdrawal.

Each department has established criteria for student enrollment in Advanced Placement sections. Students enrolled in AP sections are expected to take the AP examination unless it is explicitly stated in the course description that taking the AP exam is not a course requirement. Students may also request to be excused from the AP exam requirement by appealing to the teacher, department chair, and the principal.

* Juniors enrolled in A.P. courses are expected to have a second semester final evaluation. Seniors will follow the senior exam policy.

Students are assigned to sections in English, language, and mathematics courses by the faculty and department chair. Students should consult with their language and mathematics teachers to determine the appropriate section in which to enroll.

*A.P. exams cost approximately $90 per exam. Parents will be billed through the business office.

Independent study is an option available to students, not as a substitute for courses offered, but as an opportunity to pursue an interest in-depth or to study an aspect of a discipline not available through the existing curriculum. Students interested in independent study must obtain the cooperation of the teacher or teachers with whom they wish to work and submit a written proposal to the Academic Dean. The proposal must include:

a)  a clear statement of goals;
b)  a detailed explanation of ways to meet those goals;
c)  the signatures of the college counselor, the department chair and the teacher or teachers supervising the project;
d)  the time to be allocated to the project and;
e)  the credit desired, if any.

The Upper School Academic Dean, the chair of the appropriate department, and the cooperating teacher(s) will constitute an ad hoc committee that must approve the proposal. Final approval for independent study credit must be granted by the principal.

Non-credit independent study projects can be short or long term (from one week during Jan-term to a full year) and take a variety of forms: A student may pursue a special interest in-depth, work in the community, shadow a professional, teach a mini- course, or pursue any number of other possible interests.

Students must be sponsored by a faculty member and submit their project proposal to the head of the Independent Study Committee for approval. Projects culminate with a reflection paper and oral presentation. Exemplary independent study projects are recognized at the year-end Awards Assembly.

Pembroke Hill students are imbued with the responsibility to do good for the benefit of all. To this end, we envision community service as engagement- engagement with the community at large and within the Pembroke Hill School. Engagement is premised upon relationships that are both mutually beneficial and long-term. It is our goal to cultivate meaningful opportunities that ground classroom knowledge with real- world issues, believing that exposure results in greater awareness and compassion.

From our Early Years program, nested in a Reggio Emilia approach, to Upper School community engagement, experiential opportunities are woven into the fabric of engagement both inside and outside of school, reflecting the foundational inspiration of John Dewey’s experiential, hands-on approach. This approach, too, extends contemporary models of service learning where “students use academic knowledge and skills to address genuine community needs.”

In the spirit of engagement, students are encouraged to actively engage in direct experiences with interpersonal contact, to serve those in need and to step outside of their comfort zones of familiarity. Our graduates complete at least 60 hours of service over four years, of which 40 hours must be outside of Pembroke Hill. Students may start accruing service hours summer before their freshmen year. For transfer students, at least 15 hours of service is required per year. Most of this work will take place with a nonprofit organization. There are many worthwhile volunteer and service needs but not all qualify for credit under the Pembroke Hill vision of community engagement. Hours will not be awarded for meeting time, fundraising, or religious practice (eg, acolyte). Hours earned in pursuit of another goal (eg, Scouts) do not simultaneously count towards the Pembroke Hill requirement.

Service hours will be tabulated each semester and will be reported on semester report cards. We employ a digital service hour tracking platform and it is the student’s responsibility to enter and update their service hours in a timely manner. Hours may be submitted up to one year (June 1 to May 31). Recognition for the President’s Volunteer Service Award will occur every May; therefore, hours must be submitted with ample time in order to receive this recognition.