At Walker’s, students learn the fundamental principles of science and the essential skills required to investigate the foundational disciplines of physics, chemistry, and biology.
In addition, students are able to go beyond the basic science requirements and explore individual interests through numerous science electives. With this strong foundation, students engage in inquiry-based discovery, research-guided coursework, and student-driven exploration of topics that are engaging and relevant to their lives.
As science educators, we prepare students to think critically and to recognize bias as they explore scientific questions through student-designed lab experiments. The rich experience of hands-on labs supports individual creativity and curiosity, and allows students to engage in argument-driven inquiry, analyze data, and finally draw conclusions based on observation and experimentation.
Students also gain valuable writing and presentation skills and become effective communicators as they present their findings. With the skills and content that they develop, students emerge as lifelong learners and innovators who have the confidence to tackle unfamiliar problems and the courage to be resilient as they work to design solutions to these problems. We strive to inspire future scientists as well as citizen scientists and enlightened future voters, mindful of the scientific issues that are locally and globally relevant.
Each student is required to complete three years of science; Physics during 9th grade, Chemistry during 10th grade, and Biology during 11th or 12th grade. The concept of “physics first” provides students with a strong scientific foundation on which Chemistry, Biology, and all science electives are built. Most students at The Ethel Walker School go beyond the graduation requirement and take science courses all four years, and many students take multiple science electives during the 11th and 12th grades.
