Common Ground | Curriculum

ACTIVE, AUTHENTIC LEARNING

…is woven through our courses

Common Ground’s curriculum has been designed to foster authentic learning – learning that is real, relevant, and meaningful for students – in an intensive, college-prep environment. We see no tradeoff between academic rigor and student engagement, consistently high expectations and individual support, environmental learning and state standards. All of these things are essential pieces of the educational puzzle. All of our classes are rooted in Connecticut Standards of Learning, and help students achieve on important tests like the CAPT and SAT. But rather than focusing just on skill-and-drill learning, we push our students to take on real problems and projects, work in teams, and perform for real audiences. We believe that this is the best route to student success in a high-stakes environment.

Our students are active learners every day. Imagine studying:

Literature while you… partner with professional actors to perform Shakespeare outdoors
Science while you…investigate the environmental health of your neighborhood
History, while you… work with the Peabody Museum to create a permanent museum exhibit
Math, while you… use statistics to compare species diversity in West Rock Park and the New Haven Green

Block classes – taught by two teachers, and combining two academic subjects – help us keep the focus on authentic, challenging learning. Block classes offered at Common Ground include:

Biodiversity, rooted in West Rock Park, and developing student's understanding of statistical analysis, ecology, and local species diversity
Drama, built around an intensive residency with the Elm Shakespeare Company
Environmental Justice, an upper-level science and social studies course that focuses on the environmental challenges facing low-income and urban communities.
Power, which combines physics and political science to understand energy policy issues in the United States.
Ecologia, a Spanish and Biology course that uses the school’s garden as its primary learning laboratory.
Food & Environment, in which students learn the science, politics, and environmental issues behind their food choices.

Core academic courses teach essential skills and concepts, while connecting to school-wide environmental themes. Common Ground offers a surprisingly large variety of courses, given its small size:

English courses include short stories, American literature, British literature, African literature, multicultural literature, fantasy literature, poetry, drama, and senior writing, along with intensive readers’ and writers’ workshops.
Math courses range from pre-algebra through pre-calculus, demanding that students demonstrate their learning on the same placement tests used by college math departments before moving to the next level. Students ready for additional upper-level math content are linked to classes at local universities.
Science classes include year-long courses in biology, environmental science, and chemistry/physics. Students also take Advanced Placement Environmental Science, Ecology, and Environmental Research courses, along with a number of team-taught interdisciplinary courses that focus on the local environment.
The Social Studies curriculum includes a year-long U.S. history sequence; world history courses focusing on conflict, empires, and religion/philosophy; Civics and Advanced Placement U.S. Government courses; and a range of social science electives: economics, women's studies, etc. Students also develop small businesses in the Environmental Ventures course, create plans for sustainable buildings in Green Architecture, and study the city's history through Documenting New Haven.
The foreign language curriculum offers students an opportunity to learn spoken and written Spanish and French, from introductory classes through literature courses. Students who wish to study other languages are connected with opportunities off-campus.
Physical education and site courses that focus in on personal fitness, nutrition, health, and maintenance of the school site.
Art courses develop students’ skills in painting, drawing, ceramics, and a variety of other media.


	Curriculum ACTIVE, AUTHENTIC LEARNING …is woven through our courses Common Ground’s curriculum has been designed to foster authentic learning – learning that is real, relevant, and meaningful for students – in an intensive, college-prep environment. We see no tradeoff between academic rigor and student engagement, consistently high expectations and individual support, environmental learning and state standards. All of these things are essential pieces of the educational puzzle. All of our classes are rooted in Connecticut Standards of Learning, and help students achieve on important tests like the CAPT and SAT. But rather than focusing just on skill-and-drill learning, we push our students to take on real problems and projects, work in teams, and perform for real audiences. We believe that this is the best route to student success in a high-stakes environment. Our students are active learners every day. Imagine studying: Literature while you… partner with professional actors to perform Shakespeare outdoors Science while you…investigate the environmental health of your neighborhood History, while you… work with the Peabody Museum to create a permanent museum exhibit Math, while you… use statistics to compare species diversity in West Rock Park and the New Haven Green Block classes – taught by two teachers, and combining two academic subjects – help us keep the focus on authentic, challenging learning. Block classes offered at Common Ground include: Biodiversity, rooted in West Rock Park, and developing student's understanding of statistical analysis, ecology, and local species diversity Drama, built around an intensive residency with the Elm Shakespeare Company Environmental Justice, an upper-level science and social studies course that focuses on the environmental challenges facing low-income and urban communities. Power, which combines physics and political science to understand energy policy issues in the United States. Ecologia, a Spanish and Biology course that uses the school’s garden as its primary learning laboratory. Food & Environment, in which students learn the science, politics, and environmental issues behind their food choices. Core academic courses teach essential skills and concepts, while connecting to school-wide environmental themes. Common Ground offers a surprisingly large variety of courses, given its small size: English courses include short stories, American literature, British literature, African literature, multicultural literature, fantasy literature, poetry, drama, and senior writing, along with intensive readers’ and writers’ workshops. Math courses range from pre-algebra through pre-calculus, demanding that students demonstrate their learning on the same placement tests used by college math departments before moving to the next level. Students ready for additional upper-level math content are linked to classes at local universities. Science classes include year-long courses in biology, environmental science, and chemistry/physics. Students also take Advanced Placement Environmental Science, Ecology, and Environmental Research courses, along with a number of team-taught interdisciplinary courses that focus on the local environment. The Social Studies curriculum includes a year-long U.S. history sequence; world history courses focusing on conflict, empires, and religion/philosophy; Civics and Advanced Placement U.S. Government courses; and a range of social science electives: economics, women's studies, etc. Students also develop small businesses in the Environmental Ventures course, create plans for sustainable buildings in Green Architecture, and study the city's history through Documenting New Haven. The foreign language curriculum offers students an opportunity to learn spoken and written Spanish and French, from introductory classes through literature courses. Students who wish to study other languages are connected with opportunities off-campus. Physical education and site courses that focus in on personal fitness, nutrition, health, and maintenance of the school site. Art courses develop students’ skills in painting, drawing, ceramics, and a variety of other media.