At Highland School – a PK-12 independent school in Warrenton, Virginia – the sudden pivot to distance learning in March was virtually seamless. Highland's faculty leaders and students credit the school's longtime commitment to innovative teachers. The latter provides students age-appropriate technology tools, individualized opportunities to use them, and – most important – a STEM curriculum that invites every student to gain confidence in the academic subjects from which technology is developed.

Highland's success at distance learning was no surprise to those who lead the school's exceptional STEM curriculum. They have long known that for students to be successful in ANY field in today's tech-heavy culture, comfort with STEM subjects is critical.

"In the STEM fields, it all comes down to confidence. When our students leave us, the single most important thing is that they are not afraid to take a college math class. We want them to have the competence and confidence to succeed at the next level." So says Dave Robertson, Mathematics Department Chair at Highland.

Highland Science Department Chair Elizabeth Kennedy agreed. "If you show students you believe in them and are confident in them, they can and will do the work."

Roughly half of every graduating class at Highland School will have taken an AP Science class, and more than 30% will have completed an AP Math course. Highland's Robotics Team competes in the internationally-renowned FIRST organization. And the school's prestigious Engineering Certificate is available to those who desire the challenge of college-level project work during their high school years.

Supporting all this is a robust STEM curriculum in the Lower and Middle Schools that uses Project Approach to build synergy among all subjects, tying together liberal arts education with STEM learning. Topping it off are opportunities to join FIRST Lego League teams at every grade level.

Math Department Chair Robertson clarifies Highland's STEM education isn't all about the AP classes and advanced robotics work. "We want to challenge all students at a level that is inspiring but not defeating. We want to meet you at your skill level and build from there. So, the ability to offer a diverse array of classes is key." For that reason, the math department offers both AP Statistics and high school-level stats. The science department is scaffolded to offer college-prep bio, honors bio, and AP Bio, while also offering electives including Marine Bio and Human Bio. Similar multi-level offerings exist in Chemistry and Physics.

Addison Norden, '18, of Warrenton, reflected on this approach. "I loved my 'difficult' classes, like AP Calc, AP Physics, and AP Bio, but my favorite classes were my electives." When pressed to identify her favorite, she chose Human Bio. "It was applicable to what I wanted to do in life, and it was so clear why what we were learning was important. While I was in high school, I was running rescue with [the local fire department]. It helped me a lot with being a better EMT and eventually getting through paramedic school. Now, I've been promoted to EMS Sergeant of my department while majoring in biochemistry at the University of Mary Washington. In the evenings, I run rescue, and during the day, I get to assist a professor with research on the temporal analysis of apoptosis in Jurkat T Lymphocytes."

For Science Chair Kennedy, STEM is all about teaching students to think. "We're moving from a content-based approach to a skills-based approach. So, a lot of our lecture or presentation is designed to support a lab experiment that students might do. The labs are the meat of the class, and, ideally, they should be student-designed inquiries. You know, I could tell students what the acceleration due to gravity is, but I would rather they discover it for themselves. Two students might take radically different approaches to the same conclusion, and that's what real scientists do."

Thomas Boudreaux, '15, of Fairfax echoed Kennedy's sentiment. Boudreaux majored in Computational Physics at High Point University, with a concentration in Stellar Astrophysics. He published multiple papers, presented at international conferences, and spent time working at both the Harvard Center for Astrophysics and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. "The most important takeaway from [Highland's STEM program], in my mind," Boudreaux said, "is not the material; rather, it is the sense that the set of things that we understand is so much smaller than the set of things we do not. And, it is the wonder and excitement that comes along with this realization." He said, "Maybe it's obvious, but going into college with this attitude already ingrained allowed me to jump into active research. Even now, if research is going slowly or I am frustrated, I think about the wonder of science and where the frontiers are, and it brings me out of my funk."

Robertson sees a similar idea in Highland's approach to mathematics. "Math is all about logic and problem-solving. I want to give you a problem, limit your tools to a manageable place, and then see how you get from A to B. Our students should be flexible in their approach to a problem. I want to know why students are doing something a particular way, and I want to know that their way is mathematically valid. Still, within those constraints, students should be able to use a variety of approaches."

"I loved mathematics at Highland," said Ann Collins, '15, of Fairfax. "I took everything I could, all the way through AP Stats and AP Calc BC. I especially loved working with derivatives and integrals, finding new ways to create deeper relationships between functions." Collins went on to describe how this flexible approach to problem-solving has helped her beyond Highland. "I majored in Mechanical Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology. As part of my degree, I completed multiple design projects and challenges, culminating in the NASA RASC-AL Moon to Mars Challenge for my senior capstone. We designed, built, and operated a system that drilled through layers of overburden down to an ice bed, while simultaneously gathering data regarding a layer's thickness and hardness using a load cell. Then, we had to place an extractor with a heated tip into the shaft, melting the ice and extracting water that could become potable or chemically altered into rocket fuel. You can imagine how often we had to iterate!"

Building on Collins' comments about group-work, Robertson and Kennedy discussed how much STEM-related work is done in teams. As Kennedy put it, "you can't just generate and gather data. You have to interpret it. You have to interpret it in a social setting, with colleagues and teammates, and other interested parties. This whole time, you have to be ready for the data to mean something else."

Schedule a tour today at www.highlandschool.org/ready or Donna Tomlinson at dtomlinson@highlandschool.org

Highland School's mission is to prepare students to thrive, lead, and serve in a diverse and dynamic world. They develop essential skills and character by challenging them with a demanding academic and co-curricular program. Contact Donna Tomlinson, dtomlinson@highlandschool.org, for more information.