Academic Curriculum
Overbrook Academy offers a rich, competitive and challenging standards-based curriculum. We meet Common Core, National Content Standards, National Technology Standards, Cardinal Newman Society Standards, and 21st Century Standards.
Our curriculum is designed to support and challenge our student’s abilities in an English-speaking environment where all the subjects are taught in this language. We set high, yet attainable academic expectations for our students. We thrive to help them acquire:
- A greater proficiency in English as a second language, which includes reading, writing, and speaking English with the greatest possible fluency.
- A wealth of knowledge in general culture and the particular disciplines; a firm grounding in math and the sciences, and in the scientific method.
- An ability to think, speak and write clearly, coherently, precisely, attractively and persuasively.
- Mature thinking, reasoning and communicating skills which are built upon a keen sense of perception and a sharp memory.
- A capacity for reflection and imagination, as well as those technological and inquiry skills intrinsic to the exact and social sciences.
- Study habits essential for ongoing intellectual formation after graduation– including concentration and critical thinking, perseverance, and a desire to produce high-quality work.
We introduced Blended Learning, which combines face-to-face instruction, innovative technology, and real-time data to increase personalization, engagement, and mastery of essential skills.
Blended learning integrates online content and instruction with traditional classroom teaching and experiences for the best of both worlds. It is a hybrid learning environment that combines on-line instruction, with small group instruction and hands-on learning. Students are more engaged and responsible in a blended learning environment and it empowers them to learn in ways that work best for them.
Each student works at her own level and pace as she progresses through the program of study as well as working with staff to develop an Individual Learning Plan which is goal oriented and specific to the individual needs. Teachers go more in depth with class content through small group work and a 1:1 instruction.
Standardized test scores, student interests and input from teachers are used to develop this plan. The Individual Learning Plan allows Overbrook Academy to meet the learning needs for each student.
In a dynamic, increasingly complex world, it is more important than ever that our students are prepared to bring knowledge and skills to solve problems, make sense of information, and know how to gather and evaluate evidence to make decisions.
This is why since 2017 we introduced the STEM curriculum at Overbrook Academy which is based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in an interdisciplinary and applied approach. STEM integrates these four disciplines into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real-world applications. Students elect to study Engineering, Oceanography, Environmental Science or Meteorology.
With the STEM curriculum, we keep on fostering blended learning environment and showing students how the scientific method can be applied to everyday life. This will prepare our future leaders and workers to have the ability to understand and solve some of the complex challenges of today and tomorrow, and to meet the demands of the ever-changing and evolving workforce, building student’s skills and content knowledge.
Overbrook Academy, directive staff, teachers, deans, and all volunteers are accredited by the Praesidium Safe Environment Program to offer our students a safe and secure environment.
We have been accredited by AdvancED (now cognia), which is the largest community of education professionals in the world. A non-profit organization that conducts rigorous, onsite reviews of a variety of educational institutions and systems to ensure that all learners realize their full potential. They have accredited 30,000 public and private schools throughout the USA and 70 countries worldwide.
The Course of Study Includes the Following
- Literature (Curricular materials used vary according to grade level)
- Language Arts (Grammar, writing, public speaking)
- Biology (6th and 7th grade)
- Physics (8th grade)
- Chemistry (9th grade)
- STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)
- Placed according to results of placement test. (Content varies)
- Common Core Math 7
- Common Core Math 8
- Common Core Pre-Algebra
- Common Core Algebra I
- Visual Art
- Technology
- World Cultures and Geography (6th and 7th grade)
- World History and Geography (8th and 9th grade)
- Students elect from a list of books one title they wish to read and they do it in small groups with a teacher. This improves oral language skills, practicing pronunciation, developing reading comprehension skills new vocabulary and a love for reading.
- This is a non-graded elective that focuses on reading and speaking in English
- Content varies according to grade level
- This elective is available to students who have achieved a minimum TOEFL Junior score of 800
Here in Overbrook we believe that:
- Learning should be grounded in faith.
- Learning should be experiential.
- Everyone can learn and everyone has a desire to learn.
- Structure is essential to forming the individual.
- Differentiated instruction is needed to meet varies learning styles.
- Teaching is most effective when it is cross-curricular and collaborative.
- Education must be engaging.
- All are life-long learners.