Sandia Prep Curriculum Guide 2018 - 2019

THE SANDIA PREP PROGRAM
A Curriculum Guide Written by Teachers with Students in Mind
Open the doors to our classrooms and you will find lively discussion and debate about
books and ideas, students working together to solve problems and interpret lab data,
presentations on research projects, building with 3D printers or dismantling machines
in the SPACE, painting, sculpting, singing, and acting. We know our students learn best
when they are engaged so our teaching is geared toward active learning, critical thinking,
and collaboration. Our courses are challenging and our expectations high, and we are
passionate about seeing all of our students succeed.
The Sandia Prep curriculum is designed to prepare our students with a first-rate academic
foundation, one that is skill solid and knowledge rich. But our classes are also designed to
give our students wings, to encourage them to discover an intellectual passion and soar.
Every department at Sandia Prep offers advanced classes, as well as the chance to take
multiple classes in the same discipline in one year. In Upper School Science, for example,
students may choose to take Physics 2 along with Environmental Science. In Math, Calculus
2 might be paired with Mechatronics, and in History, Critical Issues with Global Studies.
A Sandia Prep education positions our students well for admission to college. Each year,
one hundred percent of our seniors are accepted into a four-year college or university.
Most importantly, Prep graduates are well-prepared for the challenges of college work. We
know this because we ask. Our alumni surveys, as well as the colleges they attend, tell us
our students have the skills, the knowledge, the social skills, and the discipline to succeed
at the collegiate level. When a professor assigns a critical essay or a research paper, Prep
students know exactly what to do. They write sophisticated lab reports easily and ace college
calculus.
Several of our students are headed to medical school. Another has just discovered through
her work in Mock Trial that she wants to become a lawyer. One of our students is interested
in organic farming. We have aspiring nuclear physicists, politicians, and inventors. We take
very seriously our responsibility to teach and prepare each student for college and the world.
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