Roeper School (Michigan) - Curriculum

Curriculum

Once admitted, students adhere to a liberal, yet demanding, curriculum. The curriculum does start out fairly well-structured at the elementary school level, which, at Roeper, is divided into four stages (pre-school, K-1, 2-3, 4-5). Each stage classroom has a team of two professionals who remain responsible for reading and mathematics, as well as over-seeing the scholastic development of their students. There are also teachers and professionals offering courses in French, Spanish, dance, science, computer, art, library, music and other traditional disciplines. There are no grades in the lower school. Children do receive extensive narrative reports from their teachers documenting strengths and weaknesses two times a year.

Students in the Middle and Upper Schools are free to choose from most courses offered. There are only a few required classes at the Middle and Upper School level. The Roeper School offers a wide array of courses ranging from bioethics to statistics to numerous literature classes. In offering a range of courses and imposing few requirements, the school hopes to appeal to its students' strengths and interests. Students have advisers and access to administration to help them make educated choices. There is also a dedicated college counselor available at the middle/upper school campus. Letter grades are given at the Middle and Upper School level to help prepare students for the rigors of college life. The Upper School has approximately 200 students in four grades of about 50 each. The community does not choose a valedictorian or rank its students; the act of choosing a valedictorian would be difficult due the fact that many of the students have various intellectual accomplishments, and would inherently oppose the school's anti-competitive philosophy. Each student chooses a member of the faculty or staff to deliver a speech about the student at the commencement ceremony.