Upper DivisionReadingEnglishMathScienceSocial StudiesArtsPE / HealthForeign LanguageTechnologyAdvisory
Upper Division
Students in Chelsea School’s Upper Division (Grades 9-12) are provided with an academically rigorous course of study that meets the graduation requirements of all Maryland and Washington, DC jurisdictions. Publicly-funded students at Chelsea School work toward a diploma from their home high school, meeting the requirements of their funding jurisdiction for credits, specific courses, state-mandated testing, and service learning hours.
Reading Department
Literacy remediation is at the core of Chelsea School’s program model and it is the first consideration when creating a student’s schedule.
Chelsea School employs reading specialists and teachers who are trained in the Orton-Gillingham approach to literacy remediation, a “direct, explicit, multisensory, structured sequential, diagnostic, and prescriptive” program for students with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities. Besides Orton-Gillingham specialization, our reading teachers also have training in a diverse range of methodologies, including Slingerland, Wilson, Linguistic Remedies, and Visualizing and Verbalizing.
Our three-tiered reading program is based on the acquisition of the basic skills of sound-symbol recognition and decoding, fluency, and comprehension.
Students can move in between tiers based on their skill acquisition, and sometimes groups are formed that combine the skills of two tier areas. Students are scheduled in these tutorials based on their current skill deficits, learning style, diagnostic data, and other individualized factors. Students attend their Reading Lab classes for 45 minutes each day Monday thru Thursday and for 30 minutes on Fridays.
Reading Labs do not follow a state curriculum, but are rather based on the Orton-Gillingham sequence of skill acquisition and the goals and objectives of each student’s IEP. Reading teachers collaborate with their fellow teachers, providing literacy data, leading professional development, and consulting on best practice for instructional methods.
English Department
English classes are based on the Common Core State Standards and each student’s IEP goals in the areas of Written Mechanics and Expression. English teachers are responsible for implementing, assessing, and reporting on IEP progress in writing.
Chelsea School utilizes the Process Writing Approach, which emphasizes the process of writing over the final product, breaking it into the steps of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. The use of graphic organizers, semantic maps, outlines, visual organizers, self‐guided checklists, and assistive technology (speech‐to-text, text‐to‐speech, word‐processing, etc.) is embedded in all English classes.
Instruction is spiraled to include foundational and grade‐level skills. Teachers integrate remedial grammar and mechanics into daily writing activities.
Students in English are also given instruction in the comprehension and analysis of literary texts. Students study short stories, novels, plays, and poems taken from the Common Core curriculum. Students learn to identify text structures, literary devices, and elements of narrative writing.
The goal of Chelsea School’s English Department is to prepare students for success in college English and Composition classes. To this end, great emphasis is placed on the structure of academic texts, thesis-based argumentation, research, citation, and formatting and editing for publication.
Math Department
Math classes are based on the Common Core State Standards and each student’s IEP goals in the areas of Math Problem Solving and Calculation. Math teachers are responsible for implementing, assessing, and reporting on IEP progress in writing. The sequence of math courses has changed recently to introduce ninth graders to Geometry while offering Algebra I and II in a two-year sequence.
Math instruction at Chelsea School is centered on an approach that includes: direct instruction tailored to grade-level standards, a variety of engaging tools, one-on-one support as needed throughout each lesson, a safe, encouraging environment where students are free to ask questions, make mistakes, and celebrate their progress, explicit, systematic instruction, and the use of visual representations (models, diagrams, and manipulatives) to make math meaningful.
Math Courses Offered
Algebra I and II
Geometry
Probability and Statistics
Pre-Calculus
Personal Finance
Math Tutorial
In all Upper Division math classes, instruction is spiraled to allow for the teaching of grade-level curricular content at the same time as foundational skills. Students are provided with a number of multisensory models to help them better understand mathematical concepts.
Science Department
Instruction in science classes is based on the Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards. Students are challenged to use the Scientific Method through the process inquiry to gain a better understanding of scientific concepts and phenomena.
Publicly-funded students are required to take the state-mandated End of Course (EOC) assessment upon completion of Biology in the 10th grade. This assessment counts for 20% of the student’s final grade in the class.
Science Courses Offered
Earth and Space Science
Biology
Anatomy and Physiology
Environmental Science
Chemistry
Science classes directly support the implementation of study skills and executive functioning goals from students’ IEPs. Students are taught using a variety of modalities as they explore scientific topics through inquiry, research, and project-based learning.
Social Studies Department
Instruction in social studies classes is based on the Common Core State Standards. In Social Studies, students are challenged to think critically about historical events and apply them to their understanding of the world today.
Social Studies classes directly support the implementation of study skills and executive functioning goals from students’ IEPs as well as writing composition goals. Students are taught using a variety of modalities as they explore historical topics through inquiry, research, and project-based learning.
Publicly-funded students are required to take the state-mandated End of Course (EOC) assessment upon completion of National, State, and Local Government in the 10th grade. This assessment counts for 20% of the student’s final grade in the class.
Social Studies Courses Offered
United States History
National, State, and Local Government
DC History
World History I and II
Fine Arts
Chelsea School offers a number of Fine Arts courses that allow students to explore artistic mediums in the physical and digital arts.
Fine Art Courses Offered
Introduction to Art
Drawing and Painting
Ceramics
Digital Photography
Physical Education and Health
Chelsea School offers Physical Education, Personal Fitness, and Health Classes to help students learn how to live healthy, safe, and active lives.
Foreign Language
Currently, our foreign language option is Spanish I and II. For students with language-based learning disabilities, learning a second language is often very difficult. Our Spanish classes are designed to provide multiple modalities to gain an understanding of the language and culture of Spanish-speaking countries.
Technology Classes
Chelsea School offers Foundations of Technology, a graduation requirement for Maryland students.
Chromebook Program
Chelsea School has a 1:1 Chromebook program that allows all students to access instructional materials through Google Classroom and other educational platforms used at the school.
Students use Google Read and Write to access speech-to-text and text-to-speech functions for reading and writing in their content classes.
Advisory Program
The Advisory System enables staff to establish and maintain a positive relationship between the school and home concerning the student’s academic and social growth.
Each student is assigned an advisor who may remain with the student for more than one year. The advisor assists the student in planning and modifying the schedule of classes and with individual, school-related concerns. The advisor is the student’s primary contact person in school, and the advisor maintains regular contact with the parents to report on school progress and update school news.
Advisor Responsibilities: The following are expectations of staff for the advisory system to be efficient and effective.
- Establish positive relations with all advisees
- Provide guidance and leadership for advisees
- Support students in the development of study skills
- Support students with secondary transitions & activities
- Support participation in school wide literacy program
- Teach meta-cognitive awareness (strengths, weaknesses/learning style)
- Teach time-management skills
- Ensure that advisees are aware of their accommodations and that they are able to utilize them effectively
- Support their advisees in monitoring grades in PowerSchool and following up with teachers in areas of academic challenges
- Support/reinforce attendance policy
- Provide procedures and routines, reinforce student expectations and discipline policies
- Assist and guide faculty in the best implementation of educational services for the advisee
- Maintain consistent communication with advisee and home (contact home with positive information as well as concerns, at least twice a month)
- Coordinate with Dean of Students to contact parents/guardians when advisee receives a discipline referral
- Notify family once the advisee reaches 4 arrival tardies and/or 3 unexcused absences to school in a quarter (not due to school bus transportation) via email, cc’ing the IEP Coordinator, Dean of students and Director of Education
