UPPER SCHOOL

Grades 9-12

In Laurel’s Upper School, girls come into their intellectual power and move towards solidifying their passions and goals.

We know that girls learn best when their learning experiences are experiential, interdisciplinary and community-based and when their course work allows them to pursue interests and complete meaningful work. Whether a girl has a passion for STEM Research, thrives on lively discussions of the themes in British literature or loves the challenge of multivariable calculus, our Upper School course progression is designed to allow a girl to pursue an individualized path tailored to her intellectual passions.

We understand, guided by Laurel’s Center for Research on Girls, that this quest to define personal ambitions can be difficult. Laurel faculty and advisors are guides and mentors as girls find their voices and build their code of ethics, their leadership skills, resilience and compassion all while navigating the rigors of a demanding curriculum.

UPPER SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS

UPPER SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS

ONE SCHOOLHOUSE

Laurel School is a founding member of the Online School for Girls, now known as One Schoolhouse. One Schoolhouse is a consortium of over 250 national and international schools that share a commitment to online education as a means to expand programs and offerings for students and faculty alike. The school’s guiding principles are: connection, collaboration, creativity and application.

PROTÉGÉ INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Laurel School’s Protégé Internship Program seeks to create opportunity between professionals and potential apprentices, between teachers and learners, between organizations in Greater Cleveland and Laurel School. Protégé matches a student’s unique talents and passions with an opportunity in the professional world. Protégé offers an individual path for a student to explore her interests. These real-world experiences are recognized on the Laurel transcript.

PASSPORT

In order to grow global citizens, Laurel’s Global Education Program supports cultural competence through trips, exchanges, and curriculum. Educated global citizens bring a broader perspective to their studies and learn to interact with their peers in a global arena. Laurel typically offers several Passport trips per year that take place during school breaks or the summer months. Passport trip destinations have included national destinations like New Orleans, Louisiana and Ely, Minnesota, and global destinations like France, Northern Spain, Italy, Ireland, Turkey, Greece, South Africa, China, and Australia.

CAPSTONE SCHOLARS EXPERIENCE

Laurel’s Capstone Scholars Program provides enterprising and motivated students with opportunities to tackle real-world challenges and to create real-world solutions. Capstone cultivates purpose, innovation, and leadership by providing Scholars with the time and resources they need to engage in active learning through inquiry, research, and networking. Topics span the disciplines, including civic engagement, entrepreneurship, global studies, and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics). During a two-year process, Capstone Scholars explore subjects through guided research, intellectual discourse, relevant internships and purposeful off-campus activities. Using expert guidance from teachers, local and national mentors, and support from peers, each Scholar pursues a Research Focus based on her individual interests. In cultivating a sense of purpose, meaningful relationships and leadership skills, Capstone prepares each girl to fulfill her promise and to better the world.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SEMESTER

Imagine spending a semester alongside passionate changemakers, learning from experts in the field, and contributing to meaningful positive change in the greater Cleveland area and beyond. The Environmental Justice Semester at Laurel is a 13-week immersive semester open to Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Grade girls—both current Laurel students and girls from area high schools—on the 150-acre Laurel School Butler Campus in Russell Township, Ohio. Butler offers a natural space with terrestrial, aquatic, and agricultural ecosystems for changemakers to devise solutions for the ecological and social challenges facing urban Cleveland.

FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES

Facing History and Ourselves (FHAO) is an international organization whose mission is to engage students in an examination of identity and history in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry. In 2014, Laurel joined the Facing History Innovative Schools Network which now includes over 140 schools. With its tagline “People Make Choices; Choices Make History,” FHAO emphasizes vocabulary that encourages personal responsibility and empathy, qualities that align with Laurel’s mission and values. Each FHAO unit begins with an understanding of identity: Who am I and how will who I am affect the actions I take or choose not to take?

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Entrepreneurship means fostering in girls a spirit of possibility coupled with business savvy. Laurel’s Upper School encourages girls to find their passions and fulfill their promise by fostering an entrepreneurial mindset. Through our Entrepreneurial Program and our partnership with the Veale Youth Entrepreneurship Forum, Laurel girls have the opportunity to develop and present original business ideas or use social entrepreneurship to solve problems in the community. In some cases, girls have seen their ideas come to fruition through winning school-sponsored and local competitions. Whether pitching a new business idea to C-level executives from the Cleveland Cavaliers; joining the Student Investment Committee, which manages a $15,000 investment fund; or running One Coffee Circle, Laurel’s student-run coffee roasting business; Laurel girls are problem solvers—often collaborating to bring ambitious, real-world businesses to life.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Implicit in our mission statement is the requirement that each student actively engages with the community outside of Laurel by completing a minimum of 50 hours of service before her Senior year as a requirement for graduation; however, most girls exceed the 50 hours. Our hope is that each girl will leave Laurel with a better understanding of what it means to be involved in one’s community and a strong desire to better the world through a continued commitment to using one’s time and talent on behalf of others.

LEADERSHIP

Building confidence is the mainstay of a Laurel education. Our alumnae go on to stand out at highly-selective colleges, run businesses and better the world, in part because of the leadership opportunities they were afforded during their time at Laurel. Whether elected to a position of leadership in Student Government, establishing a club or school organization, managing a stage production or shepherding her basketball team to victory, there are endless ways for a Laurel girl to lead in the school community and to find her voice.

COMMUNAL SPACES FOR LEARNING

At Laurel, we believe learning is a lifelong process. That’s why we offer resources to our students and faculty to develop evidencebased skills to grow as learners, teachers, and productive community members. The Crile Library Hub houses workshops, peer tutors, Capstone programming, and more; while the Ruhlman Resource Center for Culture and Community provides programming and training on restorative practices, inclusivity, justice, and equity, and critical opportunities for civil discourse so each Laurel community member can fulfill her promise to better the world.