Curriculum OVerview
Unity High School curriculum is designed to meet the following goals:
At least three days per week, the schedule will start with daily Mass, offered by Mary, Mother of the Church parish. As the sanctuary shares the same building as the school space, students and faculty will easily be able to move from Mass to the classroom regardless of the weather. It is anticipated the readings and sermons that are part of Mass will contribute to the Unity High School educational experience. Students are eventually expected to serve as lectors/musicians at Mass.
The curriculum for Unity High School students is uniform, with only limited elective options, generally confined to upper grades. Each day will have six instructional periods of about one hour. The academic year will be divided into two 18-week semesters, with the last week of each semester devoted to final exams.
Unity High School teachers use the following methods to provide instruction:
Many of the courses will use classroom discussion to teach a particular subject. In these cases, the teacher will make every effort to give equal opportunity to all students to participate in the discussion. Teachers will modulate effusive students while encouraging shy students.
Visual and hands-on learning will be important techniques in some classes. For example, the auto maintenance section of the Life Skills class will have students under the hood of a car, actually changing oil, jump-starting a battery or changing a tire.
Unity High School faculty will coordinate to minimize homework, so students can participate in family time after school and on weekends. The goal for homework time is 60 minutes or less on weeknights and two hours or less on weekends. (The variable on homework time is always reading, as students read at different rates of speed. The weekly school schedule will include time for reading.)
Unity High School intends to work with Teach for Christ, a volunteer program that provides recent college graduates to assist in the classroom. Teach for Christ volunteers are likely to assist in classes featuring internet-based instruction.
Math and foreign language will be entirely delivered via the internet. Each student will have a laptop or desktop computer, where instruction in both these classes will be offered via Apex Learning of Seattle. These courses offer a mix of standardized instructional delivery and customized teacher-driven instruction. Math and foreign language are excellent candidates for internet delivery because students typically come into these classes with a wide range of readiness. Computer delivery allows the instruction to be tailored exactly to a student’s readiness level. Because students will have the option of repeating lessons as often as they like, they can advance at their appropriate learning pace. These courses will have live teachers available via computer chat. While students will engage in these classes at the specified daily schedule time, students have the option of returning to these classes at any time during the day or night should they wish additional instruction. In addition to the chat-based teachers during class time, students will have access to a Teach for Christ volunteer or other in-person educator.
Unity High School will make internet-ready computers available to each student for in-school use. They will not be allowed to take computer equipment out of the school building. A teacher or other adult staff member will always be in the room where students are using computers. Furthermore, the computers will be loaded with software that will restrict their used to educational purposes.
We have outlined the Unity High School curriculum as thoroughly as possible, given the early stage of the school. We fully expect that teachers and other faculty members will influence the curriculum that ultimately is delivered. The Real World Wednesday portion of the curriculum is likely to be a collaborative effort of the entire faculty. So although we expect the final product to vary somewhat from the descriptions provided on this website, we propose this information as a reliable representation of the Unity High School curriculum.
- Teach a traditional Liberal Arts curriculum, plus math and science. There is an emphasis on the practical, as well as the academic. Students are taught with the idea that they will use this knowledge later in life.
- Teach with the understanding that the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ is at the center of all knowledge and wisdom. As appropriate, Unity High School’s curriculum integrates the history of the Church and the development of Catholic theological ideas.
- To provide a broad survey of educational information, so the students receive a generalist’s understanding of the subject matter. This approach is designed to prepare a student to specialize and go further into depth on any one subject during their post-high school studies.
- To satisfy standards for high school graduation articulated by the State of Minnesota.
At least three days per week, the schedule will start with daily Mass, offered by Mary, Mother of the Church parish. As the sanctuary shares the same building as the school space, students and faculty will easily be able to move from Mass to the classroom regardless of the weather. It is anticipated the readings and sermons that are part of Mass will contribute to the Unity High School educational experience. Students are eventually expected to serve as lectors/musicians at Mass.
The curriculum for Unity High School students is uniform, with only limited elective options, generally confined to upper grades. Each day will have six instructional periods of about one hour. The academic year will be divided into two 18-week semesters, with the last week of each semester devoted to final exams.
Unity High School teachers use the following methods to provide instruction:
- Lecture
- Discussion
- Group projects
- Video instruction
- Internet-based instruction
- Guest speakers
- Assigned reading
- Hands-on projects
Many of the courses will use classroom discussion to teach a particular subject. In these cases, the teacher will make every effort to give equal opportunity to all students to participate in the discussion. Teachers will modulate effusive students while encouraging shy students.
Visual and hands-on learning will be important techniques in some classes. For example, the auto maintenance section of the Life Skills class will have students under the hood of a car, actually changing oil, jump-starting a battery or changing a tire.
Unity High School faculty will coordinate to minimize homework, so students can participate in family time after school and on weekends. The goal for homework time is 60 minutes or less on weeknights and two hours or less on weekends. (The variable on homework time is always reading, as students read at different rates of speed. The weekly school schedule will include time for reading.)
Unity High School intends to work with Teach for Christ, a volunteer program that provides recent college graduates to assist in the classroom. Teach for Christ volunteers are likely to assist in classes featuring internet-based instruction.
Math and foreign language will be entirely delivered via the internet. Each student will have a laptop or desktop computer, where instruction in both these classes will be offered via Apex Learning of Seattle. These courses offer a mix of standardized instructional delivery and customized teacher-driven instruction. Math and foreign language are excellent candidates for internet delivery because students typically come into these classes with a wide range of readiness. Computer delivery allows the instruction to be tailored exactly to a student’s readiness level. Because students will have the option of repeating lessons as often as they like, they can advance at their appropriate learning pace. These courses will have live teachers available via computer chat. While students will engage in these classes at the specified daily schedule time, students have the option of returning to these classes at any time during the day or night should they wish additional instruction. In addition to the chat-based teachers during class time, students will have access to a Teach for Christ volunteer or other in-person educator.
Unity High School will make internet-ready computers available to each student for in-school use. They will not be allowed to take computer equipment out of the school building. A teacher or other adult staff member will always be in the room where students are using computers. Furthermore, the computers will be loaded with software that will restrict their used to educational purposes.
We have outlined the Unity High School curriculum as thoroughly as possible, given the early stage of the school. We fully expect that teachers and other faculty members will influence the curriculum that ultimately is delivered. The Real World Wednesday portion of the curriculum is likely to be a collaborative effort of the entire faculty. So although we expect the final product to vary somewhat from the descriptions provided on this website, we propose this information as a reliable representation of the Unity High School curriculum.
