Curriculum

SCIENCE CURRICULUM ESSENTIALS
A. COLLEGE and CAREER PLANNING
  • Cumberland Valley offers a wide variety of coursework that MAY or MAY NOT be relevant to each student’s post-secondary path; care must be taken to ensure a well-rounded experience. Students should begin to think about potential career clusters as early as middle school and begin to schedule the appropriate coursework in 9th grade. Students who have not identified specific fields of interest are usually best served by completing the Science Core sequence in order to ensure that they acquire diverse understandings and skill sets.
B. THE SCIENCE CORE
  • The Science Core offerings have been sequenced with respect to their cognitive demands and notable prerequisites, as well as the need to create a well-rounded curriculum experience. Since the fields of science overlap considerably, experts in one field must maintain a working understanding of the other disciplines. Regardless of college or career aspirations, in order to be a responsible citizen and steward of the environment, each Cumberland Valley High School student in the class of 2025 and beyond must experience each of the major scientific discipline (Environmental Science, Biology, Chemistry...and hopefully physics)
  • Science courses differ from one another not only in their subject matter, but also in the cognitive rigor involved, and are therefore typically sequenced to set up not only a foundation of knowledge to build upon, but also to progress according to a child’s cognitive development, especially as it relates to confidence in mathematical situations.
  • It is also important to note that the Pennsylvania Department of Education requires that students demonstrate their proficiency on a Biology Keystone Exam, which is administered during the spring of the year in which Biology is taken. Proficiency on this exam is a graduation requirement, and consequently students should ensure that they are well-prepared to undertake their Biology course; for many students, this will mean taking the course during 10th grade, and after a year of high school level coursework in Earth & Environmental science.

C. ELECTIVE COURSEWORK


  • Electives are intended to enhance, rather than replace the Science Core sequence courses. Electives pathways have been identified and diagrammed in conjunction with the Science Core in order to provide students the opportunity to prepare for advanced study in a field, or simply to try something new. Care has been given to provide students with opportunities to experience specialized electives at appropriate times throughout their Core sequence; interested students should review the Elective Pathways below to plan for additions both in and out of the Science Department.
D. INDEPENDENT STUDY
  • Students who are interested in pursuing a career in science should enhance their classroom experiences by completing science fair projects each year. Additional opportunities and competitions for students are noted on Science Competitions page of the website.
  • Internships and summer opportunities may also be available within a specific field of interest.



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