High School Curriculum

In the 21st century, science plays a powerful role in guiding the world’s decision-making and its progress toward sustainability. Under this paradigm, high school science courses incorporate a focus on the health of the planet and on the individual.

The high school general path is comprised of a three-year lab sequence. The program is both skills and content based, ensuring that all students completing the program understand the methodology of and have a strong foundation in science. Curricula incorporate traditional content enhanced by contemporary research with each course emphasizing unifying concepts, inquiry-based approaches, and use of technology. All are based on National Science Education Standards and California State Education Standards.

Students also master the skills necessary to obtain scientific literacy in the modern world and are encouraged to use their skills and knowledge to make contributions to the local, national, and global community. Upon completion of the science program, students are able to explain natural processes using scientific evidence and knowledge, are proficient in writing both technical papers and those for a lay audience, and are adept at discussing scientific concepts relevant to current social and environmental issues.

Instruction combines lectures with guided problem solving and hands-on lab work. Students spend approximately 25% of class time working on laboratory exercises while upper-level science courses provide additional opportunities for original research. Many courses require longer-term research projects culminating in a usable process or product, community service, research paper, or oral presentation.

Students must acquire computer proficiency in order to succeed in the 21st century. A dedicated computer classroom is used for computer science courses and by faculty who wish to incorporate technology into their curriculum on a daily or long-term basis. Teachers also have access to Chromebook carts, which students can use for in-class research, paper writing, or online assessments. For independent student use, our Study Hall has computer stations equipped with the latest software, which students have free access to during school hours. In addition, a comprehensive audio-engineering lab provides state-of-the-art technology for Audio Engineering, Multimedia Journalism, Yearbook, Video, and Digital Media courses. 

Students enter the mathematics program based on level of mastery, as determined by an assessment test. Student grade level does not determine course level. Hence, math classes generally contain students from a range of grades.

The program is designed so that most students entering in middle school can complete AP Calculus BC before graduation, with many going on to courses such as Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Differential Equations. The mathematics program takes full advantage of our small class sizes, and instructors spend one-on-one time with students during regular problem-solving sessions.

The sequence of classes is fast-paced and taught primarily through problem solving by the students. The courses include a rich mix of word problems oriented toward solving real-life problems through mathematics.

The Algebra 1-Geometry-Algebra 2 sequence follows a traditional math sequence with examples from SAT examinations incorporated into the standard curriculum. Fundamentals are supplemented by work in exponential and logarithmic functions, matrices, sequences, series, and probability. Students may enroll in AP Statistics at any point after completing Algebra 2.

The development of writing skills is a primary objective in every English course. High school students practice and master a range of writing types, including literary analysis, timed writing, fiction, poetry, personal essays, and research projects. Here's a close up look at one of English 9's assignments. By graduation all students produce meaningful, well-written, and well-developed papers. Teachers use multiple drafts, one-on-one conferencing, peer revision, and detailed feedback to develop each student’s writing and critical-thinking skills.

Language skills are cultivated through the teaching of vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension, and oral expression. All English courses teach vocabulary and grammar instruction is integrated with writing assignments in all grades. In addition to stressing writing and language skills, courses engage students in the study of literature. The variety of literary genres—novels, short stories, plays, poetry, nonfiction, and essays—are explored in both traditional and modern works. Eleventh and twelfth grade students choose from a number of rotating semester-long and yearlong courses, enabling them to study topics of interest.

While the foundation of the upper level English courses is consistent, the course themes vary from year to year based on student interest so that the students can take courses in line with their own curiosity.

The study of history at Kirby is global in its approach and grounded in the chronological study of human activities from ancient times to the present. History courses cover dates of battles and exploits of kings, but students also study the religious beliefs, philosophical values, aesthetic sensibilities, and the cultural mores of each era and place. Furthermore, the histories of those traditionally “without history”—the women, the children, the poor, and cultures outside of the mainstream—are studied to provide a fuller sense of human endeavor. Analytical and historiographical skills, such as recognizing the importance of historical context and identifying change and continuity over time, are stressed in all grades

History 9 and 10 follow the chronological narrative of world history and carry it through the medieval, early modern, and modern eras, surveying a wide range of civilizations and global perspectives. In tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade, students are given the choice of regular or AP/Honors level courses. The history choices at the twelfth grade level rotate regularly and ask students to use their foundational study of world and U.S. History to understand their rights and obligations as civically-engaged citizens and to understand both national and global economics. Each year’s course comprises a survey of major movements and events combined with in-depth studies of selected areas of interest. At each level, students undertake individual research projects that develop valuable skills and add greater depth to the era. Class format includes lectures, discussions and seminars, group study activities, artifact analysis, student presentations, debates, mock trials, slide shows, and films.