Academics

Upper School

Intellectual Challenge and Curiosity

At the heart of Poly’s Upper School are ambitious students who are committed to intellectual, athletic, and co-curricular pursuits, service to others, and most importantly, building an authentic and supportive community. Nurtured by dedicated faculty and staff, Poly students thrive within a multi-faceted curriculum that promotes academic excellence, self-discovery, global citizenship, and leadership.

Exceptional foundational coursework, including Honors and Advanced Placement courses, allows Upper School students to explore each academic discipline and develop their potential in expected and unexpected ways. 

Upper School By the Numbers

  • Our community includes approximately 375 students 
  • Full-time classroom teachers 50 
  • Average students per class: 14

Welcome to the Upper School

Here at the Upper School, we pride ourselves on academic excellence, personal responsibility, and service to others. You will see these values in action as you walk around our beautiful campus, and from these values emanate the kindness of the people that will welcome you to find your Poly. It is this kindness that makes new members want to stay and it makes those that stay feel like they are home. From here, we seek to give all students the preparation they need to build their unique version of a life of purpose.
 
A typical day in the Upper School starts with dedicated time set aside so they can visit with teachers to have questions answered, check in about their well-being, and to create space for guidance and mentorship from our talented and dedicated faculty. This is also a time where students can make progress on individual projects—whether it be a research paper they are seeking to publish in the Concord Review or a computer science team project. From here, students will go on to a range of engaging and academically rigorous courses each sized to ensure individualized attention and growth. A sample of our courses taught with innovative student-centered philosophies include Advanced Placement Biology; the City of Angels interdisciplinary course that combines literature, history, and environmental science; Studio Art Fundamentals; Statistics in Action that uses math to investigate issues of equity and social justice; Jazz Band; as well as language classes in Mandarin, Latin, Spanish, and French. During community time, students meet with their advisory groups designed to give every student a touchpoint with a faculty member or they might engage in clubs organized around affinity groups, community service, academic interests like engineering, or hobbies like knitting. Lunch will be spent with friends on their class patio or having casual conversations with their teachers. When afternoon classes conclude, our students can choose from a host of extracurricular activities from soccer and cross country to fencing, as well as practice for theater or dance. An evening at Poly might include a chance to hear from and hold a small group discussion with a visiting scholar organized by our Global Initiatives Program.  
 
In short, all throughout the day, our students are surrounded by people who are invested in their success, they are encouraged to uphold our Poly values of integrity, inclusion, kindness, and generosity. We all work hard to help our students to locate and achieve excellence in their chosen paths.
 
While this cannot capture all that Poly’s Upper School has to offer, I hope that it gives you a glimpse of what our students experience every day. If you join the Poly community, I believe you will be taking the first step toward being prepared to meet the complexities of our changing world with confidence and good character.
 
Sincerely,
José Melgoza
Upper School Director

Upper School News

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