Seabury Academy-Academics

Academics

As a college-preparatory school whose mission is to provide an excellent education rooted in moral principles, we take our work in the classroom very seriously. We want our students to be challenged with truly rigorous classes, but we want those classes to be exciting for all, and we do everything possible to support our students and help them achieve success. Students who graduate from Bishop Seabury Academy will have the knowledge and the tools to be highly successful wherever they attend college.

At Bishop Seabury Academy, learning is an active and exciting process. Most classes are taught seminar style with students sitting around a common table. All students are expected to participate actively in class through thoughtful discussion. Seabury students don’t sit at the back of the room while a few students in the front row pay attention; everyone is on the “front row” and everyone is expected to take part in class. Whether students are engaged in a discussion of what motivates Othello, hunting fossils on a field trip in earth science, conversing in the “bistro corner” of the French room, or explaining to the rest of the class how to solve a math problem, they will be involved in critical thinking and active learning.

A core aspect of the Seabury academic experience is that students write. From the seventh grade “Human Essays” to biology lab reports, to in-class essays and major research papers, Seabury students are always writing in one or more of their classes. Seabury graduates consistently report that that they are most thankful for how well they learned to write at Seabury.

The Seabury curriculum is a traditional college preparatory curriculum with few choices until the final years of high school. Students study math and English every year. They must study foreign language, science, and social studies through three years of high school study and must take a fourth year of at least one of those subjects. All courses are preparatory for Advanced Placement work and would be considered “honors” or “enriched” in public schools. Advanced Placement courses are offered in all subject areas for a total of twelve different courses.

Seabury classes are not simply about information. It is not enough to provide facts. What is important is teaching students how to use facts, how to ask questions about those facts, how to ask questions about why something matters. We believe that a fundamental part of our mission of providing character development is to pose moral and spiritual questions. We believe that asking the right questions may be more important than knowing the right answer. From seventh grade humanities to ninth grade biology to twelfth grade Ethics, we struggle with questions of right and wrong and moral decision-making. Students who graduate from Seabury have studied philosophers and writers, history and current events, and various cultures and belief systems to help them define their own beliefs and learn to be active and thoughtful citizens in their communities.