Woolman Semester
Encyclopedia
The Woolman Semester is a semester school
Semester school
Semester school is a term used to describe a school that complements a student’s secondary education by providing them with the opportunity to step out of their regular school for half an academic year and step into a uniquely different educational setting while continuing their required academic...

 focused on the intersections of peace, social justice, and sustainability. Students come from all over the country to attend Woolman for a single semester during their high school junior, senior, or gap year
Gap year
An expression or phrase that is associated with taking time out to travel in between life stages. It is also known as sabbatical, time off and time out that refers to a period of time in which students disengage from curricular education and undertake non curricular activities, such as travel or...

. Students spend a semester deeply immersed in contemporary topics and exploring issues first hand.

The core classes of the program are Global Issues, Peace Studies, Environmental Science, and Non-violent Communication. Woolman is the only Quaker (Friends) semester school in the country, and in accordance with the philosophy of Quaker Education the Woolman Semester curriculum centers around collaboration, activism, and open inquiry into local and global issues.

General information

The campus is nestled in the Sierra foothills on 230 acres of field and forest. The nearest towns are Grass Valley
Grass Valley, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Grass Valley had a population of 12,860. The population density was 2,711.3 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Grass Valley was 11,493 White, 46 African American, 208 Native American, 188 Asian, 9 Pacific Islander, 419 from other...

 and Nevada City, California
Nevada City, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Nevada City had a population of 3,068. The population density was 1,399.7 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Nevada City was 2,837 White, 26 African American, 28 Native American, 46 Asian, 0 Pacific Islander, 40 from other races,...

.

The Woolman Semester began in spring of 2004, after a two year restructuring period. Previously, the campus had been home to the John Woolman School, a four year high school that served the community from 1963-2001.

The mission of the school is to weave together peace, sustainability, and social action into an intensely rigorous academic experience.

Academics

Woolman Semester enriches a typical high school curriculum with college-level, seminar-style course work and experiential opportunities that promote life-long learning, personal growth and intellectual commitment.

The core classes of the program: Environmental Science, Global Issues, and Peace Studies yield Environmental Science credit, Economics and Government credit, and English credit. Beginning in Fall 2011 courses in Mathematics and Spanish will be included in the curriculum. Woolman is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

Students and staff spend much of the day in small, rigorous academic classes, with substantial time devoted to the hands-on work of the community: the garden and orchard, the kitchen, and the forest.
Teaching and learning is part of a collaborative community process that includes classroom work, independent projects, and off-campus trips.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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