Curriculum
Coastal Studies for Girls understands that adolescent girls are most fully engaged by experiences that encourage and support the discovery of self, both individually and within a community. A small student body and a dedicated, knowledgeable faculty combined with course work in scientific research, leadership adventure and core subjects create the ideal ground on which this discovery can take place. We have developed a unique and rigorous curriculum that integrally connects learning to students’ lives, the local environment, and the world and includes extensive collaboration with our educational partners. Our curriculum has been reviewed by a consortium of experienced educators, using the National Education Standards as competency guidelines for each subject. It is our ultimate goal that students return to their sending schools and communities with a heightened sense of what it means to excel as an individual and as a member of a community, with a solid foundation in science, leadership and environmental stewardship.
The Scientific Research Strand
The Scientific Research Strand embodies the challenging and rigorous science-based exploration that is the foundation of Coastal Studies for Girls. The Coastal Marine Ecosystems course proceeds from the premise that authentic research-based inquiry offers students the best opportunity for nurturing their keen interest in science. Using the Maine coast as a natural laboratory, students design and conduct original research projects and present their results to an audience of peers, staff, family and community members.
The Leadership Strand
The Leadership Strand offers unrivalled opportunities for personal growth and connection to the world around us. In the Leadership Adventure course, students will be presented with opportunities to explore, cultivate, practice and reflect upon their capacity as a learner, leader, and community member through activities such as backpacking, sea kayaking, canoeing, team challenges on a ropes course, rock climbing and snow camping. These activities and immersion in the natural world lend themselves to the cultivation of interconnected awareness that enables students to envision and create a sustainable future.
* this course is the equivalent of a half-credit in Physical Education.
The Core Strand
The Core Strand offers an array of courses including: World History, English, Algebra, Geometry, Pre-Calculus, French and Spanish. The primary goals of the Core Strand are to ensure that students maintain good standing at their local high schools, to enhance their college admissions prospects and to explore various academic disciplines from the perspective of environmental stewardship.
Assessment
Coastal Studies for Girls employs a variety of assessments in order to meet multiple academic objectives, including those of the individual student, her sending school, and CSG. Students are assessed in each academic subject through daily class participation and discussion, written assignments, experiential projects, tests and exams, and are awarded letter grades based on a standard grading scale. CSG issues Mid-Term and Final Academic Transcripts with grades and detailed qualitative evaluation comments from faculty for each subject.
In addition, students participate in two culminating projects that serve to document and highlight student learning and accomplishments during the semester. These include the Student Portfolio and the Exhibitions of Learning.
The Student Portfolio is a collection of student work samples gathered over the course of the semester in each class. Portfolios include quizzes and tests, assignments, essays, expressive pieces and a DVD for audio-visual files, and serve as evidence of the student's progress and proficiency with regard to state and national standards as well as sending school graduation requirements. Students are responsible for maintaining the Portfolio and are encouraged to share it with their sending school and college admissions officers as evidence of their unique experience and of their learning and growth at CSG.
Exhibitions of Learning are student led presentations held on the last full day of the semester in front of a public audience of faculty, parents, sending school personnel, CSG board members, and guests from the community. Designed to showcase students' learning and achievements during the semester, Exhibitions feature work from each of the academic program areas at CSG. Core Academics are featured in our Student Gallery, a visual display highlighting student work in Humanities, World Languages and Mathematics. Our Science Exhibitions are a symposium style event in which student teams present the results of their original research conducted in the Coastal Marine Ecosystems class, supported with posters and a PowerPoint slideshow. The final Exhibition is the Semester Reflection, a capstone multi-media presentation in which each student shares her reflections and insights on leadership, and on her learning and growth during the entire semester. Exhibitions include a community response component in which audience members are invited to ask questions and join with the students in dialogue about the subject.
Exhibitions are designed with intention--not only to publicly acknowledge student learning and success, but also as a further opportunity to practice and demonstrate leadership as students prepare for and deliver their presentations. Through Exhibitions, students learn and employ 21st century skills designed to prepare them for success in the present era, in college, and in life:
Transfer of Credit
All academic credit will be awarded by the student’s home school or sending institution. Students will receive comprehensive evaluations for the courses and work they complete at CSG, which will be used by the sending school’s academic office to determine grades and/or credit earned.
P.O. Box 266 308 Wolfe's Neck Road, Freeport, Maine 04032 207.865.9700
© Copyright Coastal Studies for Girls, 2012
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