Bay School 2025-26 Curriculum Guide

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THE BAY SCHOOL

+academics curriculum 2025–2026

OUR MISSION

At The Bay School, we balance challenging academics and innovative thinking with a mindful approach to learning and life. Our goal is to see students unlock their individual and collective potential so they begin to realize their roles in a dynamic world.

Bay’s program develops students into sophisticated, ethical thinkers. Our teaching continually encourages students to go further, always asking, How? Why? Is there a better way? The schedule—with long blocks during semesters and threeweek Immersive terms—reflects the value we place on digging into complex ideas, engaging in deep discussions, and collaborating on a path forward. Everything we do reflects our mission to provide a rigorous academic experience with “a mindful approach to learning and life.”

Our alumni have gone on to create their own interdisciplinary majors in college, pursue PhDs and Fulbright scholarships, and start companies. From a strong foundation, you can take big leaps.

So let’s get started.

Your Path

At Bay you get to carve an academic path that speaks to your interests—the ones you have now and the ones you’ll discover along the way.

Academic progression at Bay is focused on building the skills and analytical abilities that allow you to take control of your learning and develop the confidence to challenge yourself. Your 9th and 10th grade schedules contain core academic courses and electives. In 11th and 12th grades, you get to focus on the subjects that fire up your interest, building your schedule from a wide choice of specialized courses in every subject area.

You can explore exciting course offerings like the post-Calculus pairing of Linear Algebra and Quantum Mechanics humanities courses like Banned Books and U.S Foreign Policy. Our courses are challenging but at Bay, academic rigor isn’t about relentless pressure— it’s about purposeful design.

We’re excited to offer pathways through our academic program that inspire your intellectual curiosity and push you to explore your potential. This guide will help you imagine what your own path at Bay could look like. After the course listings, you’ll find information about Bay’s approach to teaching and learning.

The Bay School Year

The school year at Bay is divided into four terms: fall semester, winter Immersive, spring semester, and spring Immersive. During semesters, you’ll take five classes. During Immersives, you’ll take one class for three weeks.

Daily Schedule: Semesters

Our day begins at 8:30 a.m. We have Morning Meeting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays—it’s as important as class time. Advisory groups meet on Tuesdays or Thursdays, and tutorial and after-school activities take place three days a week. Sports teams practice or play five days a week throughout the school year.

Bay’s schedule offers the gift of balanced time. Longer class blocks during semesters give teachers flexibility to create varied class structures, with time for both discussion and collaborative project work. “Flex” blocks and tutorial give students time during the school day to do homework and meet with teachers.

Daily Schedule: Bay Immersives

We switch it all up for Immersives. The official school day runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., but many classes are held off-campus or do extended field study. Some courses—like Water in the American West—include travel within the United States.

Bay Immersives

This program is the only one its kind in California, and one of just a handful in the United States. Immersives are experiential courses designed to take advantage of the unique three-week format. You spend each day with your classmates, learning intently and then planning and creating your final project.

Some courses are interdisciplinary, like Museum Studies, and some are focused on one topic, like Biotechnology. On the last day of each Immersive term, you present your final project. The weeks are intense, and you’ll come away seeing that school can be exhilarating. Here’s what can happen in those three weeks:

In Assembling San Francisco, you’ll spend most days out in the field, from the City to Point Reyes, studying the unique geological features that have created the Bay Area.

In Civil Rights in the American South, you’ll journey through some of the significant places in the American Civil Rights Movement, learning about the people and events of those locations.

And the possibilities go on. Different from the experiential terms offered at some schools, Immersives are UC-approved academic courses that are required for graduation.

Honors Courses

Whether you’re learning to derive and proof your own equations in Physics 2 or collaborating on a project about Confucianism in Comparative Philosophy, you’ll get next-level challenge in Bay’s honors courses.

Honors courses let students who are academically ready for college-level work drill down into subjects of interest. You’ll see the wide range of options in the course list on the following page. To take these courses, Bay students must get approval from their current teachers and their advisor, as these classes are designed to challenge students to push themselves in new intellectual directions.

Honors classes are developed by expert Bay faculty and reflect our commitment to depth over breadth. The Advanced Placement model, with its emphasis on memorization, does not provide the depth and interdisciplinary perspective that distinguish a Bay education. For this reason, we do not offer AP courses.

“Bay’s variety of courses really let you explore your interests in depth. My honors science classes and the Wilderness First Responders Immersive allowed me to understand more about the STEM fields, and assured me of what I wanted to study in college.”

2025-2026 COURSE OFFERINGS

FALL SEMESTER: AUGUST 18–NOVEMBER 20, 2025

SPRING SEMESTER: JANUARY 12–MAY 5, 2025

= interdisciplinary

ARTS

The Creative Process (9th grade requirement)

Design 1A-1B

Drama 1A-1B

Drawing 1A-1B

Jazz 1A-1B

Music Production 1A-1B

Painting 1A-1B

Photography 1A-1B

Video Production 1A-1B

Vocal Music 1A-1B

Advanced Design

Advanced Drama: Directing and Script Analysis

Advanced Drawing and Painting Studio

Advanced Projects in Digital Arts

Advanced Vocal Music

Artist as Activist

Jazz 2

Yearbook

HUMANITIES CORE

Humanities 1A-1B (9th grade)

Humanities 2A-2B (10th grade)

Civics (10th grade)

American Studies (11th grade)

ENGLISH

American Rage

Asian American Literature

Banned Books

Breaking the Singular Story

British Literature

The Craft of Writing

Essay and Memoir

Indigenous American Literature

The Good Life

= honors

MATH

Math 1A-1B

Math 2A-2B

Math 3A-3B

Analysis of Functions

Calculus

Computer Science 1 & 2

Group Theory

Linear Algebra

Statistics

Topology

Using Data Science to Explore Social Issues

RELIGION/PHILOSOPHY

Comparative Philosophy

Comparative Religion

Ethics and Ethical Decision Making

The Good Life

SCIENCE

Conceptual Physics 1A-1B

Biology 1A-1B

Chemistry 1A-1B

Astronomical Research Seminar

Biological Psychology

Biology 2

Chemistry 2

Earthquakes and Volcanoes

Evolutionary Biology

Human Genetics and Disease

Human Physiology

Power Generation: Transitioning from Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energy

Physics 2

Quantum Mechanics

Sustainability and Earth Systems

SENIOR PROJECTS

There is a makers’ section for those doing product design or engineering projects. Juniors may opt to start SPs in their spring semester with teacher permission.

SOCIAL STUDIES

African Studies

Artist as Activist

Ethical Economics

Ethnic Studies: Race, Class, and Gender

Human Geography

Queer History

U.S. Foreign Policy

WORLD LANGUAGES

Mandarin 1–4

Mandarin 5

Advanced Topics in Mandarin Spanish 1–4

Advanced Topics in Spanish: Literature and Culture

Spanish for Spanish Speakers 1–2

Spanish for Spanish Speakers 3

9TH GRADE

Assembling San Francisco: Geology of the Greater Bay Region

Bird Nerds: Flight and Field Ornithology

How Can We All Get Along?

Infinite Geometries: The Art of Islam

The Mathematics of Digital Animation

10TH GRADE REQUIREMENT

Humanities 2: Students take a course for English credit focused on the skill of public speaking. Options include:

• Fiction on the Page and Stage

• Rhetoric and Debate

• Shakespeare Unbound

• Spoken Word Poetry

11TH AND 12TH GRADE BY SUBJECT

ARTS

Modern American Family Museum Studies

Technical Theater

ENGLISH

Essential Questions Through Film

Futures Past and Present

Modern American Family

Stories of San Francisco

RELIGION/PHILOSOPHY

Buddhism

SCIENCE

Applied Chemistry: Better Cooking Through Chemistry

Astronomy: Observatory

Construction Techniques

Cybersecurity and Ethical Hacking

Marine Biology

Wilderness First Responder

SOCIAL STUDIES

Museum Studies

Poverty and Justice

SPRING IMMERSIVES: MAY

9TH GRADE REQUIREMENT

Humanities 1: Students take a course for English credit that builds skills in research, empathy, and examining Bay Area dynamics around identity. Options will include

• Secrets of the City: Exploring San Francisco’s Hidden Histories

• Sights, Sounds, and Flavors: Exploring the Soul of the San Francisco Bay Area

• Summer of Love: The Rebels, Dreamers & Change-Makers of 1967

10TH AND 11TH GRADE BY SUBJECT

ARTS

Filmmaking

The Art and Science of Bicycle Fabrication

ENGLISH

Civil Rights in the American South

The Writer’s Life: A Creative Exploration

SCIENCE

Atmospheric Science and Engineering: Launching Near-Space Weather Balloons

Biotechnology (11th grade only)

California Geology: A Field Experience Fire Ecology

The Geologic, Environmental, and Human History of the California Gold Rush Water in the American West: The Eastern Sierra Nevada

SOCIAL STUDIES

Bay Area Culture: The Evolution of Food Civil Rights in the American South

The Geologic, Environmental, and Human History of the California Gold Rush Water in the American West: The Eastern Sierra Nevada

WORLD LANGUAGES

Spanish Language & Community Engagement, History, and Culture in Guatemala

CO-CURRICULAR REQUIREMENTS

10th Grade—1 semester of Choices (health, wellness and relationships)

College counseling: 2 semesters (spring of 11th grade–fall of 12th grade)

The Project Arc

We believe in the importance of sustained project work: It gives students consistent practice in long-term project management, ideation, iteration, and learning how to change course when needed. We intentionally build these skills in our four-year curriculum arc. Students become resilient in responding to setbacks and gain the knowledge that there is usually more than one way to solve a problem.

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

Required for all 9th graders, this course creates a reliable foundation for problem solving. Using design-thinking principles, you’ll learn the processes of identifying and researching problems, coming up with solutions, and testing and refining them.

CAPSTONE: Will you make an app to help other new students find their way around campus? Reinterpret a classical piano composition? Try to reinvent the wheel? These are real projects that Bay 9th graders have completed in The Creative Process.

CIVICS

All 10th graders take a semester of Civics, in which you learn about the structure of government on the local, state, and national level. Digging into current events and the history of many controversial topics, you explore the role of government in our lives. Media literacy and

evaluation of information sources are key components of the course, as you are challenged to think of ways you can become an informed civic actor within society.

CAPSTONE: Working in teams, you’ll spend much of the semester creating a podcast— complete with expert guests—on one of the topics covered during the course.

BIOLOGY

Biology is taken in 11th grade, and in spring semester you’ll come to the science milestone in the project arc, when you demonstrate your accumulated knowledge from physics (9th grade), chemistry (10th grade), and biology.

CAPSTONE: You’ll select a topic related to climate change’s impact on living systems, design the project, conduct research, and develop a comprehensive lab- or researchbased report. A few recent examples:

• Why Fog Is Vital for the Redwoods of Northern California

• The Olympics and Their Carbon Footprint

• Mangroves and Their Role in Countering Climate Change

• Alternatives to Palm Oil in Consumer Products from Lipstick to Nutella

SENIOR PROJECTS

Now let’s put it all together. Over the course of two semesters, you will: propose a project with defined goals, work with a community mentor, and execute the final product. You will encounter obstacles, twists and turns, and probably some failure. But you’ll analyze problems along the way, change methods or even the goal, and keep going.

A (very) short list of recent senior projects:

• A system for prison inmates to play chess by mail with members of a San Francisco chess club

• An improved cargo system for bike commuters

• A working prototype of a handheld light that does not require batteries

• A solar-powered battery for small boats

Bay Essentials

The Bay School stands out for its emphasis on real-world skills paired with rigorous intellectual inquiry. In a world where “content” is at our fingertips, our students develop the tools to navigate a dynamic world, particularly focusing on research, credibility of sources, informed debate, and articulating ideas.

The coursework and structure for every Bay class is designed to help impart six crucial transferable skills: communication, collaboration, academic skills and responsibility, critical thinking, creative thinking and risk-taking, and ownership of learning. In addition, we have three learning areas in which all Bay students focus:

ETHNIC STUDIES

We believe every Bay graduate should have the skills and experience of learning about and discussing complex topics around identity, race, and ethnicity. Rather than prescribing a single course all students must take, we offer a menu for students to choose from; the options include semester courses, like Asian American Literature and African Studies, as well as Immersives like Civil Rights in the American South and The Geologic, Environmental, and Human History of the California Gold Rush.

PUBLIC SPEAKING

In their December Immersive, sophomores take a course focused on developing their public speaking and/or performance skills. Students have choices in how they practice this skill, with offerings like Spoken Word Poetry and Negotiation, Legislation, and Debate

From presentations to Socratic seminars to exhibitions, the emphasis on clear and confident communication is woven into our academic program.

PHILOSOPHY OR RELIGION

All Bay students take at least one elective course (semester or Immersive) that interrogates complex ideas that help us understand our broader communities, whether local, national, or international. Students can choose from offerings like Ethics, Existentialism, Comparative Religion, and Religion in U.S. Politics. Each of these courses explores the relationship between the self and society with a goal of deepening our understanding of others.

Future Forward

Why do more than 180 colleges and universities visit Bay every year?

Because they know our graduates to be inventive, thoughtful, and exceedingly well-prepared.

Our experienced, dedicated college counselors guide every student in finding the path that is right for them, and our graduates go forward with courage and confidence.

College Matriculations 2021–2025

Agnes Scott College

American University

Amherst College

Arizona State University

Babson College

Bard College

Barnard College

Bates College

Bennington College

Boston College

Boston University

Bowdoin College

Brown University

Bryn Mawr College

Bucknell University

California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

California State University, Channel Islands

Cal State Long Beach

Cal State Sacramento

Carleton College

Carnegie Mellon University

Case Western Reserve University

Chapman University

City College of San Francisco

Claremont McKenna College

Clark University

Colby College

Colgate University

College of Marin

Colorado College

Colorado State University (Fort Collins)

Columbia University

Connecticut College

Contra Costa College

Cornell University

Cornish College of the Arts

Dartmouth College

Davidson College

Denison University

Drexel University

Duke University

Eckerd College

Elon University

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach)

Emerson College

Emory University

Fordham University

George Mason University

George Washington University

Goldsmiths, University of London

Gonzaga University

Grinnell College

Harvey Mudd College

Haverford College

Hobart and William

Smith Colleges

Howard University

Illinois Wesleyan University

Indiana University (Bloomington)

Johns Hopkins University

Kenyon College

Lawrence University

Lehigh University

Lewis & Clark College

Loyola Marymount University

Loyola University Chicago

Macalester College

McGill University

Middlebury College

Montana State University

New York University

Northeastern University

Northwestern University

Oberlin College

Occidental College

Ohio Wesleyan University

Olin College of Engineering

Oregon Institute of Technology

Oregon State University

Pacific Northwest College of Art at Willamette University

Parsons School of Design at The New School

Penn State University (University Park)

Pepperdine University

Pitzer College

Pomona College

Portland State University

Pratt Institute

Princeton University

Purdue University (Main Campus)

Reed College

Rhode Island School of Design

Rochester Institute of Technology

Saint Joseph’s University

Saint Mary’s College of California

San Diego State University

San Francisco State University

Santa Clara University

Sarah Lawrence College

Savannah College of Art and Design

School of Visual Arts

Scripps College

Smith College

Southern Methodist University

St. Olaf College

Stanford University

Syracuse University

Texas Christian University

The American University of Paris

The Boston Conservatory at Berklee

The New School

The Ohio State University

The University of Edinburgh

The University of Tampa

The University of Texas at Austin

Trinity College

Trinity College Dublin

Tufts University

Tulane University of Louisiana

University of British Columbia, Vancouver

University of California

Berkeley

UC Davis

UC Irvine

UC Los Angeles

UC Merced

UC Riverside

UC San Diego

UC Santa Barbara

UC Santa Cruz

University of Chicago

University of Colorado Boulder

University of Denver

University of Georgia

University of Glasgow

University of Hawaii at Manoa

University of Maryland (College Park)

University of Miami

University of Michigan

University of New South Wales

University of North Dakota

University of Notre Dame

University of Oregon

University of Pennsylvania

University of Puget Sound

University of Richmond

University of Rochester

University of San Diego

University of San Francisco

University of Southern California

University of St Andrews

University of Toronto

University of Utah

University of Vermont

University of Virginia

University of Washington (Seattle)

University of Wisconsin (Madison)

Vanderbilt University

Vassar College

Villanova University

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Wake Forest University

Waseda University

Washington University in St. Louis

Wellesley College

Wesleyan University

Western Washington University

Whitman College

Willamette University

William & Mary

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Yale University

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