Academics

Global Studies

We embrace the opportunity to shape the next generation of global citizens. Our global studies efforts aim to engage students in learning opportunities that help them understand our collective past so they in turn can impact positively our collective future. Our 6th grade Utopia Project represents perfectly the spirit of our global studies program. A project inspired by John Hunter’s World Peace Games, our Utopia Project permeates the entire 6th grade year and challenges students to create their own utopic communities together in small groups. Along the way student teams are presented with a variety of challenges to overcome. Through natural disasters, refugee crises, ethnic unrest, economic downturns, and more, our student-ambassadors utilize the lessons learned from our history to overcome obstacles and create from scratch their own ideal worlds.

In the spirit of our Utopia Project, we challenge students to confront essential questions about humanity, our history, and our global community’s future. How have humans defined themselves and made meaning of the world? How are we connected to and different from those who have come before us? What does humanity have in common? Who are we as a nation, and what are our values and traditions? How have we found unity in the midst of our diversity? What are our responsibilities to ourselves and to society at large? These are only a few of the big questions our young scholars wrestle with together as part of our global studies efforts.