Teaching & Learning

The Academic Guidance Center serves a range of students from those who require assistance with study and time management skills to those who are mildly learning disabled or diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. Hebron Academy may request that a student participate in this program.

If students have a documented learning disability, documentation should include an aptitude test like the WISC-III or -IV or the WAIS. Tests should also include an achievement test like the Woodcock Johnson or the WIAT II. These tests should also include recommendations for accommodations and a history of the student’s difficulties. Students must have the ability to be fully mainstreamed into Hebron’s college preparatory curriculum. Students and parents should indicate that there is a documented disability and perhaps the need for support during the admissions process. This will allow for the appropriateness of our services to be mutually assessed by applicants and their families as well as by the Admissions Office. Parents and students should meet with the Academic Guidance Center director to discuss the program. It is not necessary for students to have a documented learning disability to enter the program.

Students already enrolled at Hebron Academy may refer themselves for this service; parents or faculty members may also refer students. Referrals will be reviewed by the program director to determine appropriateness of involvement.

Support for these students is provided in one or more of the following ways as appropriate:

• Routine communication with teachers and advisor to discuss progress and needs
• Teaching of study skills and compensatory strategies
• Teaching of time management skills
• Academic tutoring (small group setting)
• Accommodation plan management
• Arrangements for testing accommodations, as necessary and individually determined, including oral testing, extended time, dictation, distraction-free environment
• Assistance in preparing for college planning

Participating students are expected to meet the responsibilities involved with this program just as they would any other class obligation. Responsibilities for this class include, but are not limited to: being prepared, being punctual, and using time effectively.

There is a fee for this program. Please contact the Office of Admission for more information.

We affirm each unique voice by shaping its articulation in writing, speaking, listening, and artistic expression. At the core of this experience is our innovative four- year curriculum that systematically introduces, challenges, and inspires students as they experiment
with different media. Forming, stretching, and refining effective communication skills equip students to discover the power inherent in trusting both their views and voice while positioning them to participate in and contribute to life’s vibrant spectrum of opportunities.

In a world characterized by dynamic innovation and unrelenting change, those who lead fulfilling lives must be curious, adaptable, confident, and resilient. In presenting a comprehensive liberal arts and science program, we intentionally expose our students to many different styles of teaching, learning, assessing, expressing, and creating.

Our faculty is empowered to explore new pedagogical methods in the classroom, to recognize student uncertainty, and use it as a springboard for analysis and discussion. Our students are encouraged to reach, try, fail, change, and grow. Our approach to inspiring adaptability in our students is purposeful, precise, and proven.

Being connected, engaged, and open to new perspectives are the qualities today’s global citizen possesses and the ones we cultivate at Hebron. We nurture empathy and a shared sense of responsibility to ensure that our students feel part of a worldwide community here on campus and beyond. We support them as they participate in educational, linguistic, and service experiences that foster awareness, promote environmental stewardship and create opportunities to become accountable international citizens. We model and reward adopting
a global lens to recognize and analyze multiple viewpoints on issues.

The Hebron experience is alive with avenues for students to share their varied backgrounds and experiences in order to expand their perspectives and enrich interactions with each other, the environment, and the world.

Throughout their tenure here students acquire, cultivate, and hone leadership skills. We guide them in discovering how to identify their individual core values so they can leverage them to engage actively in the classroom, the community, and the world. We recognize that leadership comes in many forms and encourage students to better understand themselves in order to develop their capacity to take purposeful initiative.

Our academic program provides experiences that equip students to test their courage, rise to a challenge, take decisive initiative, learn from failure, face adversity, and embrace resiliency. These characteristics inspire Hebron students to succeed here and in college and to lead lives of deliberate purpose and meaning for their own benefit and the benefit of others.

All courses are standard college preparatory courses. Some courses may be offered only if there are enough qualified students.

Honors courses are more intensive than regular courses, and departments review and approve applicants based upon past performance. Advanced Placement courses are rigorous courses taught at the college freshman level and are designed for students able and willing to undertake such demands. Students are selected for honors and AP courses at the discretion of the departments which may take into account performance and attitude in prerequisite courses as well as standardized test scores. Departments generally require grades of B or above in prerequisite courses. AP students are required to take the corresponding exam in May in order to receive AP Credit. Students are responsible for the associated exam fee(s).

Each trimester the performance of students who do not maintain a C+ average in an honors or AP course will be reviewed to judge whether it is appropriate for them to continue in the course.

Sufficient qualified enrollment and staff are necessary to ensure the presence of some sections within the curriculum. In years when it is not possible to offer a specific AP section, stronger students may prepare for the AP exam in the context of a regular class. Other courses are only offered if there are sufficient qualified candidates.

Independent study programs are intended for seniors or exceptional juniors who have special circumstances or have exhausted the Academy’s offerings in a particular area. Independent study is a third-credit option which may be approved on a term-by-term basis as a supplement to a regular course load. Independent study proposals must meet the following criteria:

• Submission by the student of a detailed proposal outlining the scope of the project, the goals to be achieved and the assessment to be applied.
• Approval of the department involved and with both a willing teacher assigned and a common period in which the work is to take place.
• As a sixth course and only for a trimester at a time. Continuation of the course requires re-approval each trimester.
• As a one-third credit per trimester option (one credit for full-year) reported as pass/fail for transcript purposes.
• With final approval of the Academic Affairs Committee.

In a four-year progression, students will move from short narrative, expository and analytical essays to more advanced explorations of voice, structure, and genre. All English courses are writing-intensive; daily assignments help students to gain the flexibility to articulate and shape their impressions and observations in a variety of essay forms. All ninth graders take Humanities English as part of the Ninth Grade Program. In preparation for their entry into English courses, international students may be placed in ESOL foundation courses, according to their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.

Hebron Academy offers foundational and advanced ESOL courses for English, history, and science. Placement in these courses is based on academic proficiency of English, not merely on conversational fluency or student grade. Successful students will be able to place into regular English before or by their senior year. Proficiency testing occurs at the beginning and end of each academic year. For students recommended by their teachers, testing can occur at midyear.

The ESOL curriculum focuses on English grammar, academic composition, inferential reading comprehension, formal speaking, complex listening comprehension, and gaining vocabulary.

The Department of Mathematics aims to teach our students to think clearly, to use logical reasoning, and to manipulate quantitative relationships with accuracy. We teach problem-solving as a process and work with students to discredit the myth that either one can do math or one cannot. Because the worlds of education and work frequently require teamwork, our students practice communication with mathematics, acquiring this skill by talking with each other about math, explaining their thinking to each other, and justifying their ideas.

Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II comprise the required sequence in mathematics. All students must take three years in the Upper School, but four years are strongly encouraged. Honors-level and AP courses are available at many levels. Ninth graders and international students new to Hebron Academy are required to take a math placement test in order to verify correct class placement.

The Science Department members share their enthusiasm and interests to spark curiosity and to nurture and develop an interest in science. It is important for students to understand that science is a process for approaching problems and that the approaches used in science may be relevant to other situations in their lives. The department strives to provide students with a solid background in life and physical sciences to prepare students well for college-level courses. Ninth graders are required to take Conceptual Physics or ESOL Conceptual Physics as an introduction to all subsequent laboratory classes. Upperclass students take Biology, and either Chemistry or Physics depending on their course status when they enrolled at Hebron.

Honors and Advanced Placement sections of biology, chemistry, and physics are intense courses with significant laboratory experiences. They frequently require a greater commitment.

The history department at Hebron Academy supports the premise that students need to have an understanding of the past to comprehend the present. The department believes that cultural awareness is critical to future interpersonal communication skills as the world is becoming increasingly interconnected. Teachers foster student literacy within the writing and discussing of historical concepts as well as guide students as they formulate and support their opinions in all modes of communication.

At Hebron, we are fortunate to offer an array of history and social science courses. The foundations of these courses, coupled with the passion of the teachers, are intended to inspire students to learn about the world in which we all live and appreciate the factors which brought us to this point in time.

Our goal in the World Languages department is for students to develop a strong foundation in language while cultivating the skills and inclination to continue to study and apply their learning in daily life. Two consecutive years of study in a language are required for graduation, though additional advancement is highly encouraged.

Students at Hebron have many rich opportunities to actively participate in creative exploration in both the visual and performing arts. As practicing artists, musicians, and actors, the arts faculty bring a high level of experience to studios and classrooms and inspire a culture of risk-taking, excellence and rigor of craft, and the freedom to find individual expressive voice. As part of the Ninth Grade Program, all freshmen will take Freshman Seminar: Creative Expression.

English | ESOL

4 years; students whose first language is other than English must take a non-ESOL English course their senior year. Students will be tested for English proficiency and course placement each year until mainstreamed.

Mathematics

3 years; at least Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II.

Science

2 years of laboratory science including life science (Biology) and physical science (Chemistry or Physics).

History & Social Sciences

2 years; United States History and one other course. Students whose first language is other than English must demonstrate sufficient proficiency before being placed in US History.

World Languages

2 year;  completion of two sequential years’ study of the same language in the Upper School.

Visual and Performing Arts

1 year’s study; ninth-grade students normally take Introduction to Studio Art.

Hebron uses the traditional letter grades of A, B, C, D and F. A and B are Honors grades; C denotes satisfactory work; and D is passing. Failure for the year (which carries no credit) is reported as F for school and transcript purposes.

For the computation of grade-point averages and honor rolls, the grades of A, B, C and D are converted to a 4-point scale where A = 4.0. Pluses and minuses are recorded as +.3 or -.3. Thus, the grade of C+ is 2.3; B- is 2.7.

Hebron ceased computing class rank on July 1, 1995. We report grade distributions to colleges to communicate the relative academic strength of our students.

Students with more than one grade below B- or any grade below a C are not eligible for Honor Roll.

Hebron posts grades and makes available an online report to students and parents seven times each year. Students and parents may access their current reports on myHebron from the school website. Reports are available as follows:

September: Preliminary observations
October: Midterm Report
December: First Trimester Report
February: Midterm Report
March: Second Trimester Report
May: Midterm Report
June: Year Report

The Honor Roll is published at the conclusion of each trimester. Students with an average of 3.7–4.0 are on the Highest Honor Roll. High Honors designation is for students with averages of 3.3–3.69, inclusive. Students whose averages are between 3.0 and 3.29 are designated Honors students. In effect, the Honor Roll designations reflect academic averages of B, B+ and A- or better. In addition, a student who receives more than one grade below B- and/or any grade below C will not qualify for Honor Roll.

Many insurance companies offer a Good Student discount to students who have averages of B or better for the preceding trimester. If you are on the Honor Roll for a trimester, the Studies Office can verify your Good Student Certificate.

Held Monday to Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the library. Students are assigned to SSH by the Director of the Upper School for a marking period based on their academic performance.