Academic Program

With an emphasis on rigorous college-preparatory academics, high expectations, and individualized support, CCSC students are excellent problem solvers, strong communicators, and critical and reflective thinkers who engage in meaningful work inside the school as well as within the larger community through internships and community-based projects.  

As a small school where all students are known, our academic program is highly individualized such that every student is challenged in areas where they shine and receives targeted support in areas where they need additional guidance and instruction. All teachers hold weekly office hours and students can also take advantage of CCSC @Night and our Writing Center. Our robust Student Support Department works collaboratively with students, families, teachers, and specialists to ensure that students at CCSC have access to all of the support they may need in order to belong, grow and achieve at CCSC.

Every student at CCSC has the opportunity to engage in honors coursework in every class in every grade. We do not have an honors “track” -- all students can earn honors in every class. Additionally, all students take a math placement exam before beginning classes, which allows them to be placed in the class that will challenge them regardless of their grade level (for example, a 7th grade student may place out of our middle school math classes and into algebra 1 or geometry).

In high school, every student can take Advanced Placement (AP) classes and, in their junior and senior years, can participate in dual enrollment courses by taking classes at local colleges and earning both high school and college credit for their work. CCSC juniors and seniors can also take language exams to earn the Massachusetts Seal of Biliteracy. Over 90% of CCSC graduates earn admission to 4-year college and universities and CCSC students are awarded millions of dollars in merit-based scholarships and grants every year. 

Classes

Middle School

High School

For course overviews for each class, please click here.

X-Block

X-block classes meet once a week for both middle and high school students and operate similarly to electives. Students have the opportunity at the beginning of each semester to select the X-block that they are most interested in and then get to spend that semester -- or year depending on the X-block -- exploring that topic in greater detail. X-block offerings change over time so that they are reflective of the passions, enthusiam, and interests of our students. 

Middle school X-block classes may include topics like: Model UN, Chorus, Computer Science, Theatre, Art, and Book Club.

High school X-block classes may include topics like: Psychology, Theatre, Sports Management & Journalism, Dungeons & Dragons, Economics, Art, Running a Business (School Store), Gaming, and Girls Group. 

Roundtables

Roundtables are end-of-year portfolio presentations where all students in grades 6-11 describe, explain, and analyze projects they completed in class that year, share reflections on their learning, and respond to questions from their family, CCSC adults, and guests from the local community. Preparing for these presentations means students are reflecting on the quality and the content of their work throughout the year, while also building confidence in their public speaking skills. 

Recent Roundtable projects include:

  • Designing a video game using math transformations
  • Presenting original poetry
  • Drawing a comic strip that explains the reasons we have seasons
  • Calculating the environmental impact of different dream vacations
  • Discussing the role of restorative justice in post-apartheid South Africa
  • Using data to make policy recommendations to combat income inequality in the U.S.

Senior Internship Program

Every spring, all CCSC seniors complete a 100-hour internship that provides them with the opportunity to learn from a professional mentor and get real-world experience in a field/industry they are considering pursuing. Internships reflect the diverse interests of our students. This past spring, for example, on any given week you could find a CCSC senior: 

  • Refueling a jet plane
  • In the surgical unit, NICU, or radiation/oncology center
  • Working on costumes for an upcoming Boston theatre production
  • Building a pharmaceutical drug launch database 
  • Researching Inka khipus (Andean knotted cord recording devices)
  • At Boston or Cambridge City Hall 
  • Reviewing submissions at an indie literary magazine 

Our internship program is a graduation requirement: all students must complete at least 100 hours of work at their internship site and share their reflections about their experiences and internship work at our annual Senior Internship Exhibition Night at the end of May. More information about our Senior Internship Program is available here.