The Upper School curriculum is designed to provide students with a solid college-preparatory foundation of skills and knowledge in the core disciplines and to empower students to avail themselves of opportunities, abundant in grades eleven and twelve, to explore deeply and intensely areas of intellectual curiosity. At its heart, the curriculum demands students to engage individually and collaboratively in real-world problem solving and projects that are intrinsically intellectually challenging. It not only prepares them for college, but for the global world in which they will be leaders and active, informed citizens. Upon completing the curriculum, students will have developed the translatable skills to act with confidence and competence in a variety of intellectual, social, cultural, and moral contexts.

The curriculum is organized by sequential requirements within each discipline and, once the prerequisites have been completed, complemented by a dynamic system of electives so that students have the freedom, flexibility, and opportunity to tailor their program to their individual talents, interests, and passions. Most full-credit courses in the 9th, 10th, and 11th grades are two-term courses; several 12th grade courses are one-term electives. Students can further expand their curricular options by creating an independent study, guided by a faculty advisor.

Our Trimester Schedule

BCDS runs on a three-term schedule. Students in the Upper School generally take four courses per term, each course meeting two out of three terms. Each course meets 60 minutes three times a week and once a week for 130 minutes. Students take four or five "major" classes per term. Because of the schedule rotation, students are able to complete seven full academic courses per year.

We believe that a day with fewer transitions and more time to concentrate on fewer subjects and ideas leads to more engaged students and more in-depth learning.