Woodward Academy reevaluates its curriculum every year. From around March to May, the final decisions are being made for the following year’s curriculum and any potential changes that might be made. Many new classes have appeared in the last few years alone. Indeed, while the curriculum is a complicated collection when finally put up for selection, the process of getting the final result is quite simple. You as a student may even change not only what we learn but how we learn.
Academic Dean Stephanie Stephens controls the whole process while each department chair is responsible for promoting new ideas for the curriculum every year. Social Studies teacher Chad Ross will be the new Social Studies department chair in August of 2023. Paula Gentry is the Math department chair. John Faison is the Science department chair. Jane Graham is the English department chair. Lori Beth Wiseman is the World Languages department chair. Tim Hipp is the Computer Science department chair.
At its core, Woodward’s curriculum is set up to accommodate every single student for their academic needs and wants. One such avenue is graduation distinctions. The first capstone class was religion. Now Woodward offers many different classes. They also offer a new opportunity for students to explore.
“Students can take a variety of classes and do a variety of activities and experiences that qualify them for a graduation distinction, which makes them stand out when they apply for college,” Stephens said.
The curriculum has changed in a variety of other ways as well. English Department chair Jane Graham has been at Woodward since 1990 and, in the early 1990s and early 2000s, saw the curriculum as more traditional than it has become recently.
“In the last five years we have added more voices such as Hispanic voices, Indian voices, Black voices, Female voices, and Transgender voices…represent[ing] the student body,” Graham said.
The Math department chair Paula Gentry has seen a lot of change in her department, too.
“Last year, we introduced a math support class for CP students who struggle in Algebra 1, Geometry, or Algebra 2,” Gentry said.
“In math, the ‘new’ course being considered is Data Science,” Gentry said. “This is a hybrid course combining analysis of large data sets using technology. Coding and elementary statistics form the main components of this course and the course is part of a new sequence of math courses proposed nationally for high school students who are not interested in the traditional STEM pathway.”
Chad Ross will be the Social Studies Department chair in August but already knows the whole process.
“The Social Studies department is continually reflecting upon and adapting our curriculum to ensure that the curriculum we offer is timely, accurate, and relevant to our students and reflect the advancements in what we know about the past and its context to our world today,” Ross said.
Change is all about the people involved and Social Studies is ready for it.
“Social Studies teachers love what we do and we strive to do our best. And we, as a department, are constantly growing,” Ross said.
Science department chair John Faison noted that his department is always open to changes for growth.
“Two years ago we added CP Astronomy because a faculty member was interested in it,” Faison said. “The faculty member teaches CP and EP physics. Students didn’t feel comfortable learning at EP level. They proposed a class at the CP level.”
Other changes might be within a class that already exists.
“Our biggest area of change in the last several years is trying to continually improve our lab experience for our students, and so that means investing in new technology, it means retrofitting classrooms, it means getting new equipment,” Faison said.
Of course, if new classes are under consideration, WA has to find a perfect balance to add them. The curriculum cannot be dominated by one subject area, nor can it be dominated by one particular level–hence why new APs are rare additions.
“Number one, you have to . . . have enough teachers to teach your core graduation requirements, and so, if you’re trying to add new electives, then you’re going to have to find a teacher to teach that to take core graduation requirements off their plate,” Stephens said.
Furthermore, the curriculum planners need a reason to add a class. A lot of factors go into the final decisions.
“We need to look at . . . the potential interest of enrollment,” Stephens said. “What students want, what the faculty want to teach, and also core graduation requirements.”
Woodward wants students to succeed and for every student to have the same chances. Woodward will not jeopardize the education of many for a select few.
“If you’re adding AP classes at the expense of getting rid of CP, EP classes because you need to make sure that you have enough electives at every level for every student to have the opportunity to have a broad range of courses,” Stephens said.
Requests for AP Psychology have been made as well as other classes, but Dean Stephens offered context for such requests.
“When we talk to schools like Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia, we say what AP’s get our students into your school,” Stephens said. “It is not AP Geography. It is AP Calculus, AP Physics– it is AP Science and Math and higher language and English classes such as AP Lit and higher level social studies classes, such as AP Euro and APUSH.”
New ideas are brought up and discussed from October to around March and April. If you have an idea feel free to go to the department chairs and ask about changes. Changes do occur based on availability, access and interest. If you want to try something new go ahead. Your department chairs and Dean Stephens will be happily awaiting you.
“It might just be taking an AP Lit class and just changing some of the books…or it could be adding a new course,” Stephens said
