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Flintridge Prep Curriculum

Flintridge Prep has 8 departments with faculty spanning middle school and high school. Whether testing their assumptions using the scientific method or analyzing each other’s work in a visual or performing arts class, students engage with a curriculum that is designed to spark curiosity, delight, and creativity. 

Middle School (7th and 8th Grades)

These are the years for exploration and discovery, and our middle school courses offer a taste of as many academic and arts disciplines as possible. Our 7th grade English program allows students to take two separate courses each day, English 7th Grade and Writing 7th Grade, which together develop verbal fluency, enthusiasm for written expression, and analytical reading techniques. Middle school fine arts courses take students on a tour through a range of visual and performing arts fundamentals. Study of French, Latin, Mandarin, or Spanish begins in 8th grade. Students engage in deep thinking and active change with our interdisciplinary STEAM and Service Fair, for which 7th graders create design thinking projects and 8th graders design Community Impact Projects. Physical Education classes nurture physical and emotional growth, promoting the holistic development of each student’s abilities. As Prep students head for high school, they bring a newly acquired sense of what, how and why they love to learn. 

High School (9th-12th Grades)

Prep’s high school curriculum focuses on building skills and ideas that lead to insight. Ninth grade helps students think within and between disciplines by conducting inquiry labs, brainstorming for analytical and creative writing pieces, expanding comprehension of a language, exploring world history, and enjoying the first of two or more yearlong arts electives. 

Sophomore year represents a cognitive leap in all directions, an exciting time for students as they grasp biology and world history, interpret a piece of literature in new ways, and consider math as abstraction and philosophy. During junior year, students apply such newfound intellectual independence to topics such as atomic theory and the sweep of U.S. history, engaging in exhilarating conversations with their teachers and classmates. Senior year is a time when students truly craft their own schedule, often taking two English, history, math or science classes to follow their passions. 

As they continue through high school, students increasingly work independently and in groups on complex projects, culminating with a large majority of the senior class participating in formal spring presentations for the school community. Many members of the senior class elect to undertake an Independent Study; these ambitious academic projects are designed and carried out by the student under the direction of a faculty adviser, spanning disciplines in the humanities, arts, and natural and social sciences. Seniors also can participate in a yearlong psychology and statistics collaboration, conducting a literature review and analyzing experimental data.  

Identity is a college-style class for all second-semester seniors that focuses on the core issues of identity in the 21st century. Led by a faculty team, the course emphasizes collaboration and connection, empowering students to have agency over their own learning as they discover a deeper understanding of both individual and group identity in recent history and today. The course culminates in an individualized research project and presentation. 

A combination of required and elective courses ensures that our students gain all the skills and knowledge they'll need to thrive after graduation, while allowing them the flexibility to focus deeply on areas of interest with the guidance of expert faculty. The curricular and the extracurricular inform each other, encouraging students to find their passions inside and outside of the classroom.