What we teach, or don’t teach, provides today’s students with an educational foundation that they will draw upon for years to come. The Chesapeake Watershed Semester is a powerful opportunity to expand our educational paradigm and offer students a 21st Century learning experience that empowers them with real-world knowledge, critical thinking capacities, and leadership skills.
Fully Accredited
The Chesapeake Watershed Semester is a fully-accredited program and students receive formal transcripts from The Gunston School, our parent institution. Our administrative team works with each sending school to ensure that the student’s transcript reflects the credits and courses students have completed and aligns with their sending school’s graduation requirements.
Continuity of Academic Program
CWS Administrators work with students and sending schools in advance of a student matriculating to ensure a smooth transition between institutions. CWS courses can be treated as semester-length electives. Most 11th grade students leave or reenter 11th grade English classes seamlessly. Students interested in AP classes can choose to participate in AP Environmental Science and AP Comparative Government.
Transferring Credits
CWS core classes (Science, Literature, Government) meet 4 times a week in variable-length blocks (40-120min) for a total of 260 instructional minutes a week. College preparatory classes (math and world languages) meet daily for 40 minutes. Leadership and Capstone Action Project classes meet on alternating days for a total of 100 minutes of contact time.
CWS Credits:
½ Honors English
½ Honors Lab science Environmental or Earth Science
½ Honors Government or general history
½ Honors Math (if enrolled)
½ Honors World Languages (if enrolled)
½ Capstone Action Project (Service Learning and/or community service hours)
½ Leadership (elective humanities credit)