A Reimagined Academic Program

As with so many things at George School, the new vision of our academic program began with a query: How can we facilitate deeper, more durable, more forward-looking, and more individualized learning and better help our students to—as it says in our mission—“let their lives speak?” The answer came not merely in revising our curriculum and calendar, but in reimagining them.

The new George School academic program is rooted in ongoing research on how people learn, our understanding of the student experience, and the vision articulated in our most recent strategic plan, which calls for a curriculum characterized by informed creativity and engaged citizenship. Offering more choices and more meaningful experiences, our academic program will be customizable to each student.

One innovation making this possible is a modular 7-Term calendar that begins in the 2022-2023 academic year. From late August to early June, the approximately 5-week terms will each include 4 “mods.” Students can chart their own path by deciding how to use their mods—for classes, other experiences, and the downtime so necessary for well-being.

Faculty are working hard to design new and revise existing courses, to determine how many mods each course needs, and to fit it all together seamlessly. George School remains committed to the IB program and to those who choose other options. This work will be completed by January 2022, in time for students to choose courses for the 2022-2023 academic year.

For more details on the new 7-Term calendar and its benefits, the research and thinking behind its adoption, visit the Academic Program FAQs and check out samples of what student schedules might look like,

We are eager to see the ways that our curious, creative, and diverse students take advantage of the new academic program to let their lives speak.