Academics
Academic Program

Our Academic Program

It’s not our learning experience. It’s yours.


Our academic program, known as the Mod System, offers breadth, depth, and intensity you won’t find at any other high school. Within its 6x6 framework (six terms of six weeks each) — and with the guidance of faculty, advisors, and college counselors — you’ll choose from over 250 classes to craft a highly personalized schedule that prepares you for the rigor of college study, allows you to dive into current areas of interest, and invites you to explore new fields of study.

The CSW academic experience expands and deepens as you progress through the grade levels. Within the 18 main blocks of a single year’s schedule, earlier grades focus on building core competencies and foundational skills while still leaving room for choice and exploration. Scheduling possibilities expand in the upper grades, when opportunities for elective courses increase, and you can more deeply delve into areas of interest, sharpen your focus in chosen subjects, and continue to try out new things.

Tenets of Progressive Education at CSW


Progressive education was introduced in the late 19th century as a response to the standardization of traditional education. Today, in a world where creative thinking is a critical success factor in so many aspects of life and work, its principles are more relevant than ever.  
Our faculty have identified the following four tenets of progressive education at CSW:
 
  • Student-oriented: Students who influence their learning by making choices about what and how they learn deepen their interest in the knowledge, skills, and concepts being taught.
  • Active: Students who engage through actions with the intent of learning develop transferable learning habits.
  • Justice-minded: Students who learn in an environment designed to be equitable and inclusive extend their understanding beyond their biases and assumptions.
  • Challenging: Students who embrace learning at the edge of their understanding and ability develop the resilience for challenging growth.

"I make my own unique schedule."

"The mod system has allowed me to try classes that no other school offers. Because I make my own unique schedule, I have the motivation to invest my time and effort into learning. It gives me the opportunity to explore a singular topic in depth, and the classes themselves go far beyond the classroom and into the real world."
 
— Malik, Randolph, MA

Academic Office

List of 3 members.

  • Diana Baruni 

    Academic Dean
    781-642-8626
    Trinity College - B.A.
    Middlebury College - M.A.
    Year Appointed: 2010

  • Deb McCullough 

    Assistant Academic Dean
    781-642-8667
    Bradford College - B.A
    Lesley University - M.Ed
    Year Appointed: 2015

  • Jordana Ross 

    Assistant Registrar, Administrative Assistant, International Student Coordinator
    781-642-8625
    Bard College - B.A.
    Year Appointed: 2010
The Cambridge School of Weston is a progressive high school for day and boarding students in grades 9–12 and PG. CSW's mission is to provide a progressive education that emphasizes deep learning, meaningful relationships, and a dynamic program that inspires students to discover who they are and what their contribution is to their school, their community and the world.