RIDGEVIEW CLASSICAL SCHOOLS
Profile 2015-2016
Opened in 2001, Ridgeview is a free, public, open enrollment K-12 charter school, with a mission to develop the academic
potential and personal character of each student through academically rigorous, content-rich educational programs.
1800 S Lemay Ave, Fort Collins, CO 80525 · (970) 494-4620 · Fax (970) 494-4625 · CEEB Code 060598
Principal Derek Anderson (danderson@ridgeviewclassical.org) ·
Head of Advising Paula Petterson (ppetterson@ridgeviewclassical.org)
Advisor William Binder (wbinder@ridgeviewclassical.org) · College Advising Assistant Ann Dixon (adixon@ridgeviewclassical.org)
FACULTY
There are currently 53 full- and part-time high school teachers
at Ridgeview. Teachers are hired based on their mastery of
academic disciplines in the liberal arts and sciences; certification
is not required. Over two-thirds of the high school teachers
have a Master’s degree or PhD, and one-third have taught at the
college level.
STUDENTS
High School
184 students
12th grade (Class of 2016)
35
11th grade (Class of 2017)
47
10th grade (Class of 2018)
37
9th grade (Class of 2019)
65
Class of 2016 National Merit Semi-Finalists: 1
Class of 2016 First Generation College Bound: 14%
Class of 2016 Free/Reduced Lunch: 11%
SCHOOL HONORS
2014 ColoradoSchoolGrades #1 Colorado High School
2014 US News & World Report Gold Medal, #5 in Colorado; nationally #58 charter, #195 STEM, #open enrollment.
2001-02 through 2011-12 Colorado John Irwin School of Excellence Award
2010 Top High School in Colorado The only Colorado High School rated “Exceeds” in academic achievement, academic growth,
academic gaps, and post-secondary and workforce readiness.
2008 US News World Report Ranked 15th best high school nationally and 4th best open enrollment charter school.
GRADING
CLASS OF 2016 core course grades:
A 94-100 (4.0)
A- 90-93 (3.7)
B+ 87-89
(3.3)
Clustered distribution of semester grades in Ridgeview's core
B 84-86 (3.0)
B- 80-93 (2.7)
C+ 77-79
(2.3)
academic courses for the Class of 2016 from 2012-2015:
C 74-76 (2.0)
C- 70-73 (1.7)
D+ 67-69
(1.3)
Course
A
B
C
D
F
D 64-66 (1.0)
D- 60-63 (0.7) F below 60 (0.0)
GRADE INFLATION IS DISCOURAGED. IN OUR
15 YEAR HISTORY, NO STUDENT HAS GRADUATED
WITH AN UNWEIGHTED GPA OF 4.0.
WEIGHTING
GPA is based on grades in high school courses taken at
Ridgeview only. In calculating a weighted GPA, a bonus is
added, which shows the fraction of credits earned with C or
better grades in honors level or AP courses. Weighted courses
are shown with a “1” on the transcript. Both adjusted and
unadjusted cumulative GPA are indicated on the transcript.
RANK
Due to the small size of each graduating class, Ridgeview
does not report student rank.
CLASSES OF 2011-2015 cumulative unweighted GPA:
15%
3.75 and above
20%
3.5 to 3.75
36%
3.0 to 3.5
23%
2.5 to 3.0
5%
below 2.5
CLASS OF 2016 cumulative unweighted junior year GPA:
16%
3.75 to 4.0
24%
3.5 to 3.75
35%
3.0 to 3.5
24%
2.5 to 3.0
0%
2.5 and below
Language
72
50
13
—
—
Literature
125
52
16
2
—
Mathematics
93
63
18
4
—
Science
72
53
32
7
—
Social Sciences
79
74
39
9
—
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
F
50%
D
C
40%
B
30%
A
20%
10%
0%
Language
Literature
Mathematics
Science
Social Sciences
ACADEMICS
Within Ridgeview’s culture of classical
academic rigor, students
● are required, as seniors, to compose and
orally defend a 25-page thesis;
● take at least one semester of Latin, often
pursuing Latin through advanced levels;
● receive maximum exposure to, and oral
proficiency in, a modern language through
small immersion classes;
● read complete works of classical literature
closely and thoroughly, writing and
presenting formal analyses across subjects;
● study the history of
Western Civilization
through examination, discussion, and
written analysis of primary sources;
● maintain, cumulatively through all science
courses, a lab notebook containing data,
results, and analysis of lab activities;
● study
mathematics using a classical,
Socratic philosophy, including: an emphasis
on the search for truth and beauty as the
motivation for practicing mathematics; the
primacy of logic, especially deductive
reasoning; the need for historical
perspective; and an examination of famous
unsolved mathematical problems;
● are introduced in a Moral Philosophy course
to traditional visions of virtue, friendship,
duty, work, love, and the good life;
● read a biography of an American founder
each summer and, as juniors, pursue a
unified study of American government,
history, and literature, followed by a senior
year American Capstone Seminar.
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
Ridgeview offers two diplomas—Proficient and Advanced.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT
Ridgeview Classical offers a limited number of AP
courses per year. Those available to the Class of
2016 have been: Art History ('15), Studio Art
('16), Biology ('14-16), Chemistry ('15-16),
Physics C-Mechanics ('15-16), Physics CElectricity and Magetism ('16), Calculus AB
('16), and Statistics ('16). Because of the rigor of
Ridgeview’s core classes, students are encouraged to
take no more than two AP courses yearly. Ridgeview
students often take AP tests in additional subjects,
especially those related to the core courses.
STUDENT LEADERSHIP
CLASS OF 2016 AP EXAM RESULTS
Number of students taking exams: 16
Number of AP exams taken: 48
Scores of 3 and higher: 88%
Scores of 4 and higher: 73%
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS AND CLUBS
CLASS OF 2016 ACT EXAM RESULTS
Number of students taking exams: 34
Middle 50%
Mean
High
Low
RCS
English
32
24
26.7
Mathematics
26
19
23.6
Reading
31
24
27.7
Science
27
21
24.3
Composite
29
23
25.7
ORGANIZATION ACCOLADES (2011-2015)
Proficient
30
Advanced
40
English
40
40
Science
10 credits each in Biology, Physical Science, and elective sciences
(earth, biological, or physical)
30
30
History
45
45
Latin
5
10
Foreign Language
0
20
American Government
5
5
Mathematics
30 credits including Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra II
5
5
Technology
10
10
Health/Physical Education
15
15
5
5
55
45
245
270
Personal Finanace/Microeconomics
Moral Philosophy
Electives
Including 10 credits of Humanities (music, performing arts, visual
arts, foreign language)
TOTAL
COURSES
The majority of core classes (literature, history, science, and mathematics) are
taught at the honors level. Humanities courses employ Socratic
discussion. Most classes meet three days a week for 40 minutes and one day a
week for 85 minutes, totaling five credit hours per semester.
SPORTS
Due to its size, Ridgeview does not offer sports at the high school level.
However, a number of students participate in varsity sports through other area
high schools.
Student Council (StuCo) is the popularly elected form of high school student
government at Ridgeview. There are four representatives from each grade, as
well as a high school President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. StuCo
members are responsible for planning social activities and coordinating charitable
work. In addition, there is a Parliamentarian appointed by the Principal and
faculty advisor.
Student Ambassadors are nominated by faculty and chosen by the Principal and his
designees through a rigorous application and selection process. Ambassadors are
expected to represent the school in various capacities as exemplary models of
character and academics.
Students are heavily involved in the overall functioning of organizations and
clubs. Those offered have included: 100 Mile Club®, 3D Printer, Art, Chess,
Drama, Engineering, Environment, Hoplite Helpers, Juggling, Madrigals, Mock Trial,
Robotics, Science Bowl, Veritas (literary magazine), and Yearbook.
Science Bowl: 2015 (1st Region) 2013 (1st Region) 2012 (1st Region) 2011 (1st
Region)
Chess Club: 2015 (1st State) 2014 (1st State) 2013 (1st State) 2012 (3rd State,
5th Nationals)
Mock Trial: 2013 (1st State) 2012 (2nd State) 2011 (1st State)
All-State Choir Members: 2015 (3) 2014 (3) 2013 (5) 2012 (2) 2011 (4)
All-State Band Members: 2015 (1)
2011-2015 COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE AND MATRICULATION
204 students have graduated, of whom 151 matriculated to a 4-year college or university. Students from Ridgeview’s last
five graduating classes have been accepted to the following 4-year schools (matriculation numbers in parentheses).
Alice Lloyd College
Allegheny College
Amherst College
Arizona Christian U
Arizona State U (1)
Ashland U
Augustana U
Baptist Bible College of PA
Baylor U (1)
Belmont Abbey College (1)
Beloit College (1)
Benedictine (2)
Binghamtom U SUNY (1)
Biola U
Black Hills State U
Boise State U
Boston U (1)
Brigham Young U Idaho
Brigham Young U (2)
Bryn Mawr College
California Lutheran U
California Poly State U-Pomona
California Poly State U-SLO
California State U Los Angeles
Calvin College (1)
Carleton College
Carnegie Mellon U
Case Western Reserve U
Central Texas College (1)
Centre College
Chadron State College
Chapman U
Clark U
Coe College
Colgate U
College of William and Mary
College of Wooster (1)
Colorado Christian U (1)
Colorado College
Colorado Mesa U
Colorado School of Mines (3)
Colorado State U (51)
Colorado State U Pueblo
Concordia U Irvine (1)
Concordia U Wisconsin
Cornell College
Creighton U
Davidson College
Denison U (1)
DePauw U
Dickinson College
Drake U
Earlham College
Elizabethtown College
Elon U
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical UDaytona Beach
Florida State U (1)
Fordham U
Fort Lewis College
Franklin and Marshall College
Full Sail U (1)
George Fox U
Georgia Institute of Tech (2)
Gonzaga U
Goucher College
Grand Canyon U (2)
Grinnell College (1)
Grove City College
Harding U
Hartwick College
Hawaii Pacific U
Hendrix College (1)
Hillsdale College
Holy Cross, College of (1)
Hope College
Illinois Wesleyan U (1)
Indiana U Bloomington
Indiana Wesleyan U
Iowa State U (1)
John Cabot U
Johns Hopkins U
Johnson & Wales U
Juniata College
Kansas State U
Kenyon College
Lafayette College
Lawrence U
Lewis & Clark College (1)
Liberty U
Lindenwood U (1)
Loyola U Chicago
Macalester College
Maranatha Baptist Bible C (1)
Massachusetts Institute of Tech
Master's College and Seminary
Messiah College
Millikan U
Missouri U of Science and Tech
Montana State U Bozeman (1)
Nebraska Christian College
New Mexico State U (1)
Northeastern U
Northern Arizona U
Northland College (1)
Northwest Nazarine U
Northwestern College (1)
Northwestern U
Occidental College
Ohio U
Oklahoma City U
Oklahoma State U (1)
Oregon State U (1)
Pacific Lutheran U
Pacific U
Pennsylvania State U-Altoona
Pennsylvania State U-World
Pensacola Christian College (1)
Point Loma Nazarene U
Polytechnic Institute of NYU
Portland State U
Purdue U
Quest U, Canada (1)
Quinnipiac U
Reed College (1)
Regis U (1)
Rensselaer Polytechnic U
Rhodes College
Rocky Mountain College
Rose-Hulman Inst of Tech (1)
Scripps College
Seattle Pacific U (1)
S Dakota School Mines Tech (3)
Southern Virginia U (1)
Saint Louis U
St John's College Santa Fe
St Olaf College (1)
Stetson U
Stevenson U
Stonehill College
Taylor U
Texas A&M U (1)
Thomas Aquinas College
Trinity College-Dublin
Tulane U
Union College
Union University (1)
US Coast Guard Academy (1)
US Military Academy (1)
U of Aberdeen
U of Alabama
U of Arizona
U of California Berkeley
U of California Irvine
U of California Los Angeles
U of California San Diego
U of Chicago (1)
U of Colorado-Boulder (15)
U of Colorado-Co Springs (3)
U of Colorado-Denver (5)
U of Dallas (1)
U of Denver (3)
U of Edinburgh
U of Idaho
U of Il-Urbana Champaign (1)
U of Iowa
U of Kansas
U of Maine
U of Miami
U of Michigan
U of Minnesota-Twin Cities (1)
U of Missouri-Kansas City
U of Nebraska-Kearney
U of Nebraska-Lincoln (2)
U of Nevada-Las Vegas
U of New Haven
U of N Carolina-Ashville
U of N Carolina-Chapel Hill (1)
U of North Dakota (1)
U of Northern Colorado (9)
U of Northwestern (1)
U of Oklahoma (2)
U of Oregon
U of the Pacific
U of Pittsburgh
U of Portland
U of Puget Sound
U of Rochester (1)
U of South Florida-Tampa
U of Southern California
U of Tampa (1)
U of Texas-Ausin
U of Texas-Dallas (1)
U of Utah (1)
U of Vermont
U of Washington
U of Wyoming (2)
Utah State U
Virginia Tech
Warner Pacific U
Washington & Lee U (1)
Washington College
Washington State U
Wellesley College (1)
Western State College
Western Washington U
Westminster College
Wheaton College
Whitman College
Wilkes U
Willamette U
William Jesssup U
William Jewel College
Ridgeview Classical Schools
Course Descriptions 2012-2016
Courses offered from 2012-2016 are listed below. Graduation
standards require credits in four core disciplines (history,
literature, mathematics, science) as well as credits in a variety of
other disciplines, (e.g., language, moral philosophy,
government). Graduating students must write a lengthy thesis in
the senior literature seminar and defend it orally in front of peers,
teachers, and the principal.
# = courses required for graduation
^ = honors or advanced courses
* = semester courses
Art:
AP ART HISTORY: (‘15) Pre-historic cave painting to current trends
in twenty-first century postmodern art, focusing on major forms of
artistic expression from the past and present and from a variety of
world cultures. Critical analysis of works of art and connections to the
historical and cultural forces that shaped them. Students are required
to take the AP exam.
AP STUDIO ART: ('16) A college level course focused on creative
and systematic investigation of formal and conceptual issues in
Quality, Concentration, and Breadth. Additionally, students will be
challenged to develop their own personal ideas and themes; art
making is an ongoing process that uses informed and critical
decision making to determine outcomes to problems. Emphasis is
placed on the production of a volume of quality pieces of artwork in
a portfolio.
*CERAMICS: Basic forming techniques including hand building,
wheel work and sculpture. Students utilize various decorating
techniques such as slip trailing, sgraffito, inlay, underglaze, overglaze,
stains. Concepts of glaze formulation are covered as well as various
firing methods and safe studio practices.
FRENCH LITERATURE (4th year French): Medieval and 16th
century French poetry, La Fontaine, Les Fables, Molière, Don Juan,
Corneille, Horace. Ronsard, various poems; Molière, L'Avare.
GERMAN I: The basics of German grammar as well as the rich
musical and literary culture, the geography, the ups and downs of
history in Deutschland, the country's timeless contributions to Western
Civilization, and current events. Textbook: Deutsch Heute.
GERMAN II: The basics of German grammar as well as the rich
musical and literary culture, the geography, the ups and downs of
history in Deutschland, the country's timeless contributions to Western
Civilization, and current events. Textbook: Deutsch Heute. Readings:
Grimms Fairy Tales, Mozart's Magic Flute, Kafka, et al.
GERMAN LITERATURE: Review of German grammar. Textbook:
Deutsch Heute. Readings: Hesse, Mann, Webers Freischutz, Beethovens
Fidelio, Bach Cantatas, Magazines, Newspapers. This course can be
taken more than once, and the content changes according to the level
of student ability.
GREEK I: Athenaze Book I.
GREEK II: Athenaze Book II.
GREEK III: Texts from Herodotus, Plato, and Homer.
LATIN I: Wheelock's Latin, chs. 1-20.
LATIN II: Wheelock’s Latin, chs. 21-40.
LATIN III: Cicero's Orations Against Verres and selections from
Ovid's Metamorphoses.
LATIN IV/V/VI: Selected letters of Cicero; selections from Cicero's
De Officiis (On Moral Duties) and De Amicitia (On Friendship);
Catullus' Carmina; selections from Livy's History of Rome; selections
from Ovid's Metamorphoses; Horace's Odes. Supplementary readings
*2D STUDIO ART: Intensive study in drawing and painting, from prominent scholars.
exploring a diverse range of media and techniques, with special topics ^HONORS VERGIL: Vergil's Aeneid and Georgics. This course is
including but not limited to figure, mixed media, narrative art, comparably challenging to AP Latin. Students translate approximately
printmaking, collage, installation, and conceptual art.
2000 lines of Latin and consider contemporary scholarship on Vergil's
*3D STUDIO ART: Focus on 3D artistic media and/or techniques poetry.
in the creation of studio art projects including (but not limited to) SPANISH I: Nuevo Ven (vol. 1), poetry, songs, newspaper articles.
metalwork, sculpture, ceramics, installations, architecture and wearable
SPANISH II: Nuevo Ven (vol. 2), poetry, songs, advanced articles.
art.
SPANISH LITERATURE (3rd year Spanish): Nuevo Ven (vol. 3),
Foreign Language:
literature excerpts.
FRENCH I: Girardet and Pécheur, Campus: méthode de français (vol. 1);
SPANISH LITERATURE (4th year Spanish): Fernando de Rojas,
poems, songs, news articles from Le Monde, etc.
La Celestina; Benito Perez Galdos, Fortuna y Jacinta, Tristana. Readings
FRENCH II: Girardet and Pécheur, Campus: méthode de français (vols. in Spanish history and anthology of literature from Middle Ages to the
1 & 2); poetry, songs, articles from Le Monde, Le Figaro, etc.
20th century and Lorca's theater and poetry.
FRENCH LITERATURE (3rd year French): Campus vol. 2 and 3;
Molière, L'Avare; Voltaire, Candide.
History:
#^AMERICAN HISTORY: Tindall and Shi, America; Richard
Hofstadter, Great Issues in American History (vols. 1-3); The Mayflower
Compact; Cotton, Answers to Queries from English Puritans; documents on
the Great Awakening; Paine, Common Sense; Inglis, The True Interest of
America; The Declaration of Independence and U. S. Constitution;
Hamilton, Report on the Public Credit; Jefferson, On Agriculture;
Washington, Farewell Address; Jay’s Treaty; Monroe, 1823 Message to
Congress (Monroe Doctrine); Calhoun, On Nullification; Stowe, Uncle
Tom’s Cabin, selections; Clay, Calhoun, Webster on the Compromise of
1850; Lincoln and Douglas on popular sovereignty; Lincoln,
Gettysburg Address, Second Inaugural. Progressivism and America's
rise to global power, World Wars I and II, the Depression, and the
Cold War.
#^WESTERN CIVILIZATION I: Ancient Greece: Herodotus, The
History; Plutarch, The Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, lives of
Lycurgus, Solon, Themistocles, Pericles, Alcibiades; Thucydides, The
Peloponnesian War; Aristotle, Politics; Plato, Republic; Thomas Martin,
Ancient Greece. Rome: selections from Livy; Plutarch’s Lives: Marius,
Sulla, Caesar; Sallust, Bellum Catilinae; Augustus, Res Gestae; Paul A.
Zoch, Ancient Rome.
#^WESTERN CIVILIZATION II: Tacitus, Germania; Augustine,
Confessions and City of God (selections on the two cities); The Rule of Saint
Benedict (selections); Einhard, Life of Charlemagne; feudal documents;
documents from the Investiture Conflict; documents from the
Crusades; the Magna Carta (selections) Life of St. Francis (selections).
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica (selections), Petrarch’s letters
(selections); Vergerius, “On Liberal Learning”; introduction to the
Decameron. Art of Donatello, da Vinci, Michelangelo. Machiavelli, The
#^*AMERICAN HISTORY CAPSTONE SEMINAR: America: Prince. Erasmus and Luther on freedom of the will; other Reformation
A Narrative History, 6th edition, George Tindall, David Shi; other text documents.
materials to be provided as necessary. The American Capstone
Seminar serves as the completion of the American History sequence Humanities:
begun in the junior year. The course spans the Twentieth Century, *^ADVANCED MICROECONOMICS: Hal R. Varian, Intermediate
beginning with the United States' arrival as an international power Microeconomics. Topics: markets, budget constraints, preferences,
following the Spanish-American War, and running through the utility, choice, demand, inter-temporal choice, consumer surplus,
emergence of modern America culture as an increasingly technological equilibrium, technology, profit maximization, cost minimization, cost
society, the challenges of world war, secularization, economic collapse, curves, firm supply, industry supply, monopoly, oligopoly, game
another world war, the rise to globalism, and the struggle of the Cold theory, externalities and public goods.
War. Among the central issues to be explored: Has America
exemplified or departed from the principles set down in its Founding #*AMERICAN GOVERNMENT: James Q. Wilson, American
during the 1776-1790 period? Has America's role in world affairs Government. Sources: The U.S. Constitution; Madison, Hamilton, and
altered the meaning of the nation? Has the Twentieth Century proved Jay, The Federalist (selections); selections from Anti-Federalist authors
such as Brutus, Federal Farmer, and Agrippa. Course also addresses
or disproved the idea of American exceptionalism?
landmark Supreme Court decisions (e.g., Dred Scott, McCulloch,
*ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN: Marbury, et al.), and addresses introductory elements of constitutional
Selections from Archaeology Magazine, American Journal of Archaeology, and law.
Archaeology: A Very Brief Introduction. Using lectures, slide-shows, and
readings, this course is a survey of the basic concepts of archaeology #*ECONOMICS AND TECHNOLOGY: ('12) Joel Molkyr, The
and how they are represented by the cultures of the Mediterranean Lever of Riches: Technological Creativity and Ecomonic Progress. Focus on the
world: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Aegean Bronze Age, Greece, Rome, et al. role that technology plays in both economic theory and economic
history, the reason that only a handful of societies have a displayed a
*INTRODUCTION TO ASIAN HISTORY: ('12) P. T. Welty, high level of technological creativity, and deep cross-cultural
The Asians: Their Evolving Heritage (main text); Wm. De Bary, Sources of comparisons between Western Civilization, Islam, India and China.
Traditional India (selections); S. Wolpert, A New
History of India
(selections); J. Gernet, A History of Chinese Civilization (selections); D.J. #*INTRODUCTION TO MICRO/MACRO ECONOMICS:
Lu, Sources of Japanese History.Study of China, India and Japan with Gregor Mankiw, Essentials of Economics. Articles from The Economist and
The Wall Street Journal. (This class fulfills the Economics graduation
emphasis on cultural, religious and political history.
requirement.)
*INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE: ('12)
S.F. Mason, A History of the Sciences (main text); E.B. Bolles, ed., *THUCYDIDES: HISTORY OF THE PELOPONNESIAN
Galileo's Commandment (selections); J. Gribben, Science: A New History WAR: ('16) Landmark Thucydides edited by Robert Strassler.
1543-2001 (selections); M.K. Munitz, ed., Theories of the Universe *THE WORLD TODAY: Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of
(selections); various writings of C. Darwin; A. Einstein, Relativity: The Civilizations; articles from The Economist, Foreign Affairs, and
Special and General Theory (selections).
Scientific American.
#^MODERN EUROPEAN HISTORY: R. R. Palmer, A History of
the Modern World. Sources: Rousseau, Discourse on Inequality and Social
Contract (selections); Sieyès, What is the Third Estate?; Deliberations of
the Estates General; Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen;
selections from Burke and Paine. Marx and Engels, The Communist
Manifesto; Lenin, State and Revolution; Ortega y Gasset, Revolt of the
Masses. Other documents in 19th and 20th century European history on
following topics:
Napoleon, economic and political liberty,
Revolutions of 1848, German unification, imperialism, nationalism,
World War I, World War II, the Cold War in Europe.
One Moral Philosophy course is required for graduation.
#*MORAL PHILOSOPHY I: THE GREAT-SOULED MAN:
Aldous Huxley, Brave New World; C. S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man;
Plato, The Republic, books II & IV; Saint Augustine, Confessions (75 pp.);
Hutcheson on the moral sense (50 pp.). Selections from the following
authors: Aristotle on magnanimity; Ortega y Gasset on the noble life;
Aristotle on the cardinal virtues; Douglass Adair and John Adams on
fame; William Manchester, George Washington, and John Locke on
manners; Cicero and C.S. Lewis on friendship; Genesis, Franklin, and
Michael Novak on work; David Fordyce on marriage and parenting;
Virgil, Dante, and Addison on the after-life; Helmut Thielicke and
Hebert Butterfield on the individual’s duty to fellow man and role in
history.
#*MORAL PHILOSOPHY II: LOVE AND COURTSHIP:
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, The Four Loves by C.S.
Lewis, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen as the major works.
Also included are essays by George Gilder, Leon Kass and Terrence
Moore. Additional essays or journal articles are included as needed
during the semester.
moral character and personal relationships.
*THE POLITICAL NOVEL: Literature and political philosophy
course concentrating on utopian and dystopian literature from Hesiod
to Arthur Koestler. Literary reading includes Hesiod, Genesis, Horace,
Dracontius, Plato, Aristophanes, Iambulus, Lucian, Telecleides,
Thomas More, William Morris, George Orwell, Yevgeny Zamyatin,
and Arthur Koestler. Philosophical reading includes essays from
Aristotle, Machiavelli, Isaiah Berlin, R.G. Collingwood, Gregory
Claeys, Friedrich Nietzsche, and C.S. Lewis.
*RUSSIAN LITERATURE: ('12) Literary and political thought
from the eighteenth through twentieth-first century Russia. Reading
includes a selection of novels, poems, essays, and short stories from
authors such as Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy,
Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Herzen, Bulgakov, and Nabokov.
Mathematics: (in course sequence order)
ALGEBRA I: Paul A. Foerster, Algebra. Topics: linear equations,
slope, intercepts, roots, absolute value equations, piecewise equations,
vertices, quadratic equations, quadratic formula, systems of equations,
systems of inequalities, irrational numbers, imaginary numbers,
#*MORAL PHILOSOPHY III: GOOD LIFE/ARISTOTLE complex numbers, direct and inverse variation, factoring, completing
AND AUSTEN: Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics (selections on virtue, the square, rational equations, trigonometric ratios, Pythagorean
courage, temperance, generosity, magnanimity, prudence, friendship, theorem, fundamental counting principle, permutation, combinations,
probability, compound events,
Pascal's triangle, and binomial
happiness); Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility.
theorem.
Literature:
GEOMETRY: Weeks and Adkins, A Course in Geometry: Plane and
#^AMERICAN LITERATURE: Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Solid; supplemented by readings from Euclid’s Elements. Topics:
Letter; Ralph Waldo Emerson, essays and poems including “Self- geometric proof, triangles, constructions, perpendicular lines and
Reliance”; Herman Melville, Moby Dick; Emily Dickinson, poems; Walt planes, parallel lines, polygons, inequalities, ratio and proportion,
Whitman, Leaves of Grass; Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry congruent and similar figures, areas and volumes, circles, prisms, and
Finn and short stories; twentieth-century short stories and poems, pyramids.
including Willa Cather, Flannery O’Connor, E. A. Poe, Robert Frost.
^ADVANCED GEOMETRY: Selected readings from Archimedes
*THE ART OF RHETORIC: Edward P.J. Corbett and Robert J. and Apollonius, as well as famous and important problems from
Connors, Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student; Students read and Pappus, Pascal, and Euler. Topics: conic sections, introductory
analyze historical speeches of Pericles, Cicero, Shakespeare, Jesus, topology, non-Euclidean geometry, collinearity, concurrence, the Euler
Paul, Jonathan Edwards, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, Abraham characteristic for polyhedra, the Gauss-Bonnet theorem, inversion in a
Lincoln, Stephen Douglas, and Winston Churchill.
circle, Cavalieri's principle, trigonometry, and the connection between
#^BRITISH LITERATURE: Dante, Divine Comedy; Shakespeare, geometric and algebraic representations of the same object.
Merchant of Venice and King Lear; Milton, Paradise Lost and poems; Jane
Austen, Persuasion; Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities; British Romantic ALGEBRA II: Paul A. Foerster, Algebra and Trigonometry. Topics: the
real number system, equations and inequalities, system of linear
poetry.
equations, factoring, algebraic fractions, quadratic equations, irrational
*CS LEWIS: (’14, ’15) We will read and discuss four of Lewis's numbers, radical equations, functions, graphs and variation, exponents
books. Three of them are fictional: The Screwtape Letters, The Great Di- and logarithms, introduction to the trigonometric functions, analytical
vorce, and Till We Have Faces. The fourth, The Four Loves, is philosophi- geometry, equations of the second degree, polynomials, trigonometric
cal. We will read these works slowly and discuss them in some detail.
equations, sequences and series.
#^CLASSICAL LITERATURE: Homer, The Iliad; Sophocles, Oedipus Rex; Euripides, Medea; Plato, The Republic (analogy of the Cave);
Vergil, The Æneid; Horace, select poems; selections from Ovid's Metamorphoses.
^PRE-CALCULUS: Sullivan, Precalculus. Topics: linear equations,
functions, inverse functions, composite functions, graphs of
functions, polynomial and rational functions, exponential and
logarithmic functions, trigonometric functions, analytical trigonometry,
*GREAT WRITERS SERIES: SHAKESPEARE: Students will polar coordinates, vectors, and conic sections.
read three Shakespeare plays, watch various productions, and perform ^CALCULUS I (AP CALCULUS AB as of 2016): Ron Larson,
selections in class. '12: King Lear, The Taming of the Shrew, Richard II. ’14: Bruce H. Edwards. Topics: limits and continuity, derivatives,
Two Gentlemen of Verona, Henry IV pt. 1, King Lear, Much Ado About antiderivatives, definite and indefinite integrals, parametric functions,
Nothing.
the fundamental theorem of calculus, the calculus of exponential and
#^MODERN LITERATURE SEMINAR: Plato, Apology; logarithmic functions, the calculus of growth and decay, the calculus of
Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra; Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment; plane and solid figures, algebraic calculus techniques for the
elementary functions, the calculus of motion. Students are encouraged
Conrad, Heart of Darkness. Senior thesis and oral examination.
to take the AP Calculus AB exam.
*ONE BOOK: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: ('12) Austin, Pride and
Prejudice. In depth reading and discussion emphasizing the portrayal of
^CALCULUS II: Leithold, The Calculus of a Single Variable with
Analytic Geometry; supplemented by readings of Apollonius of Perga,
On Conic Sections. Topics: intensive review of Calculus I, inverse
functions, the calculus of exponential and logarithmic functions,
inverse trigonometric functions, hyperbolic functions, integration by
parts, other techniques of integration, the conic sections and polar
coordinates, indeterminate forms, improper integrals, L’Hopital’s Rule,
Taylor’s Formula, infinite sequences and series, tests for convergence,
power series. Students are encouraged to take the AP Calculus BC
exam.
^ADVANCED STATISTICS (AP STATISTICS as of 2016):
Freeman, The Practice of Statistics, 4 th Edition; Barron, AP Statistics, 7th
Edition. Topics: data description and representation, sample and
experiment design, probability, parameter estimation, hypothesis
testing.
*^NUMBER THEORY: Charles Van Eynden, Elementary Number
Theory. Topics: divisibility, prime numbers, perfect numbers, numerical
functions, linear congruences, finite and infinite continued fractions,
Pythagorean triples, Diophantine equations.
Music:
BAND, CHOIR, ORCHESTRA: Beginning, intermediate, chamber
and concert levels.
JAZZ BAND
*MUSIC HISTORY: BRAHMS. ('12) Designed for the student
interested in continuing music in college. Emphasis on compositional
technique, music theory, and ear-training through study of Brahms'
life and compositions.
#^BIOLOGY: Biology: A Molecular Approach (BSCS); Watson and
Crick, 1953 paper on structure of DNA; selected articles from The New
York Times; selected essays from Science News. Labs: use of compound
microscope; organisms and pH; beaded pinase (simulation); diffusion
and cell size; temperature and rate of photosynthesis; onion cell
osmosis; understanding DNA structure and replication (simulation);
protein synthesis (simulation); onion mitosis; corn dihybrid genetics;
Wisconsin Fast Plant seed germination; flower dissection; using and
formulating dichotomous keys; predator-prey relationship (simulation);
comparative biochemistry (simulation); gene frequencies and natural
selection (simulation).
AP BIOLOGY:Starr and Taggart, Biology: The Unity and
Diversity of Life; Freeman, Biological Science, with Practicing
Biology; Mastering Biology website: Skills in Biology (Biozone);
Dunn, Every Living Thing; selections from The New York Times,
Science News and similar sources. Labs include: microscopy and
the three domains ('13-'15); chi-square analysis of fruit snacks;
natural selection ('13-'15); antibiotics in action ('14-present); grouse:
a species problem (simulation); social behavior in chickens
(simulation); limiting factors in a freshwater biome; microclimates
('13-'14); population sampling size; diffusion and osmosis through
dialysis tubing and various cell types; factors affecting action of the
enzyme catalase; modeling protein structure; mitosis; cancer and the
loss of cell cycle control ('13-'14, '15-present); chemotaxis of C.
elegans ('13-15); factors affecting carbon dioxide production by
seeds; patterns of inheritance in Drosophila ('13-present); bacterial
transformation
('12-13,
'15-present);
introduction
to
BLAST/exploring evolutionary relationships; cavity-causing
bacteria ('15-present). Students are required to take the AP Biology
exam.
*MUSIC HISTORY, THEORY AND COMPOSITION:
MOZART. ('13) Compositional technique, music theory, ear-training. #^CHEMISTRY: #^CHEMISTRY: Davis, Frey, Sarquis, Sarquis;
Emphasis on the life and compositions of Mozart.
Modern Chemistry. Labs: density of pennies; average atomic mass
simulation using pennies; spectral lines of gases; periodic table
Science:
development simulation; molecular models; chemical names and
^ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY: Tortora and Grabowski, Principles formulas; determining the empirical formula of magnesium oxide;
of Anatomy and Physiology, 10th edition; Benson, Gunstream, Talaro and molecular concepts; analysis of a hydrate; Charles’ law and the
Talaro, Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory Textbook, 5th edition. Topics: derivation of absolute zero; Boyle’s law; triple point of carbon
the 11 systems of the human body (skeletal, muscular, nervous, dioxide; vapor pressure of water; heat of solution; freezing point
cardiovascular, lymphatic, digestive, urinary, reproductive, endocrine, depression with antifreeze; properties of acids and bases; acid-base
immune and respiratory). Labs: Use of sheep organs, human bones, indicators; titration to determine percentage of acetic acid in
models and charts as well as cat dissection for gross anatomy vinegar; activity series of elements.
identification, cell and tissue identification, articulations, histology, AP CHEMISTRY: Zumdahl and Zumdahl, Chemistry. Chemical
anatomical terminology, axial and appendicular skeletons, brain concepts, calculations, and laboratory work as outlined by the College
anatomy, cardiovascular system, fetal circulation, fetal development, Board Advanced Placement Chemistry Program. Labs: include
mitosis, osmosis, skeletal muscle physiology, body movements, qualitative analysis of cations and anions, molecular weight of a volatile
reflexes, special senses, hematology, EKG, cardiovascular sounds, liquid, molecular weight by diffusion, thermochemistry, kinetics,
pulse and blood pressure, spirometry, chemistry of hydrolysis and various equilibrium constants, electrochemical series, standardization
urinalysis.
and titration. Students are required to take the AP Chemistry exam.
*^ASTRONOMY: Chaisson and McMillan, Astronomy Today, 6th
Edition. Selections from Ptolemy’s Almegest; Galileo’s Siderius Nuncius;
Copernicus’ De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium; Kepler’s Astronomia
nova; various letters, lectures, and texts of Hubble, Einstein, Sagan,
Hawking, and current and news and research.Includes
discussions/lectures/lab activities, reports/presentations on results
and conclusions from lab activities, tests, field work, and visit to a local
observatory. Topics include solar system evolution; Martian
habitation; celestial navigation and measurement with your fingers;
trans-Neptunian dwarf oblate spheroids (or, what happened to Pluto?);
2012 sunspot activity; black holes and time warps; and stellar
explosions capable of killing satellites that occurred 300 years ago and
are still on a collision course toward Earth.
*^COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY/NEUROSCIENCE: Intro to
the field of cognitive psychology, including core themes and concepts
in cognitive psychology, and how recent developments in neuroscience
have contributed to the field. (non-lab course)
*DIGITAL ENGINEERING: ('12) Analysis and design of digital
circuits. Majority of projects done in binary systems on breadboards.
*^EARTH SCIENCE: GEOLOGY, METEROLOGY, AND
OCEANOGRAPHY. Tarbuck and Lutgens, Earth Science, 10th Edition,
Selections from S. Winchester's Krakatau: The Day the World Exploded:
August 27th, 1883; Sir C. Lyell, Principles of Geology; various articles,
letters, and texts from Aristotle, J. Hutton, A. Wegner, H. Hesse, W.
Alverez, and additional materials from National Weather Service,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and American
Meteorological Society. Topics include rock and mineral formation,
weathering, mass wasting, soil, the effects of running and ground
water; dynamic processes of earth including plate tectonics,
earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, mountain building; short-term
weather analysis; seasonal, decadal, and millennial climate cycles and
anomalies; El Niño/La Niña/ENSO cycles; hurricanes, tropical
storms and the most costly natural disasters in US history; tornadoes,
hail storms, Chinook winds, flash floods; ocean floor, water, life and
dynamic processes; impact of earth’s processes on civilization and
cultures from past volcanic explosions, tsunamis, earthquakes, and
hurricanes.
^PHYSICS: Serway and Faughn, Holt Physics; selections and
problems from Giancoli, Physics: Principles with Applications. Labs:
freezing and melting of water; picket fence free fall, ball toss from
ramp into bucket, motion profile of tossed ball, forces as vectors, static
and kinetic friction, bungee jump acceleration, Boyle’s law, the
pendulum and simple harmonic motion, speed of sound, images and
mirrors, optical properties of convex lenses, measuring the wavelength
of a laser, electrostatics, Ohm’s law, series and parallel circuits, energy
storage in a capacitor, RC circuits, electrical energy and the efficiency
of motors, building a motor.
AP PHYSICS C-Mechanics:
Giancoli, Physics: Principles with
Applications. Labs: free-fall acceleration; motion on an inclined plane;
Atwood's machine; determination of g on an incline; bungee jump
acceleration; linear momentum; energy and collisions using dynamics
carts; find speed of sound using resonance tubes; image and object
distances for lenses and mirrors; find the wavelength of a laser; Ohm's
law; series and parallel circuits; RC circuits; simple DC motor;
efficiency of electric motors. AP experiments require more detailed
*^FORENSIC SCIENCE: Application of the scientific method for quantitative analysis than experiments done in the regular physics class.
legal purposes. Topics: photography, entomology, decay of biological Most experiments utilize a PC-based data collection and analysis
organisms, fingerprints, blood spatter analysis, trace evidence, system equipped with Vernier sensors. Students are required to take
ballistics, anthropology, and DNA analysis.
the AP Physics C exam.
*^GENETICS AND BIOTECHNOLOGY: An exploration of
genetics into the 21st century with a focus on cutting-edge research.
After a brief review of the rules of inheritance, most of the semester is
spent practicing a range of laboratory techniques used in
biotechnology, including DNA extraction, DNA fingerprinting,
polymerase chain reaction, molecular cloning, DNA sequencing,
genetically modified organisms, phylogenetic analysis, gene therapy,
and many more. The successful student will acquire skills in both the
practical arena of hands-on laboratory work and in the less tangible
arena involved in mentally visualizing the submicroscopic world and
digesting up-to-the-minute scientific literature.
AP PHYSICS C-Electricity and Magnetism: (’15) Walker,
Haliday and Resnick, Fundamentals of Physics, 10th edition. Course
content as outlined by the College Board for AP Physics. Labs:
experiments related to electrostatics, Coulomb’s law, electric
potential and electric field mapping, capacitance, resistance, series
and parallel circuits, internal resistance of a battery, magnetic fields,
Faraday’s law, inductors, RLC circuits. Experiments typically utilize
a PC based data collection and analysis system equipped with
Vernier sensors. AP experiments require more detailed quantitative
analysis than experiments done in the regular physics class. Students
are required to take the AP Physics C Electricity and Magnetism
*INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING: Topics: Technical exam.
writing and reading, applied mathematics, ethics, design workflow, *^PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION: Introduction to the topic of
technical orthographic and isometric hand drawing, basic 3D design psychology of religion, emphasizing an empirical, scientific approach;
using SketchUp, 3D printing. Team Projects: technical drawing, core themes and concepts in the psychology of religion; and recent
applied mathematics, automation and systems engineering.
developments in neuroscience. Topics covered: religion and
INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL AND EARTH SCIENCES development; religion and biology; cognitive science of religion;
(IPES): Hewitt and Hewitt, Conceptual Physical Science: Explorations. religion and brain; neuroscientific study of religious experience. (nonLabs: Soda Pop Science; heat flow; detecting nuclear radiation with lab course).
dry ice; exploring molecular models; using maps and seismic data for *^SCIENCE OF EMOTION: Introduction to the scientific study
plotting earthquake epicenters; simulating plate tectonics; effects of of emotion, exploring how that topic has been treated from a variety
porosity and permeability of various materials on water flow; various of perspectives and disciplines: Psychology, Neuroscience, Philosophy.
experiments involving atmospheric pressure and cloud formation; tests Topics include theories and approaches to the study of emotion, basic
of mineral physical properties including the scratch test and measuring neuroscientific principles, and recent human brain imaging techniques.
specific gravity; simulation of the rock cycle with crayons; and building (non-lab course).
a scale model of the solar system with clay.
Technology:
*^INTRODUCTION
TO
STATISTICS
FOR
THE
BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES: ('15) This course will provide and KEYBOARDING
introduction to applied descriptive and inferential statistics, WINDOWS AND OFFICE: Topics include basic computer
emphasizing examples relevant to the behavioral sciences. The software and tasks: organizing, storing and retrieving files; common
student will learn how to conduct statistical analyses (non-lab Linux accessories; web search engines; writing HTML for simple web
course).
pages; using OpenOffice for word processing, spreadsheet
programming and charts, and slide presentations; and how command
line interfaces can be powerful tools for automating tasks.
COMPUTER FLUENCY I: Topics include computer networking;
the Internet; creating web pages with HTML; how information is
transformed to be represented and manipulated on digital computers;
how computer performance has and continues to improve; problem
solving techniques; augmenting web pages with Javascript
programming; and searching for and evaluating web information.
COMPUTER FLUENCY II (also known as Computers and
Society):
Topics include computer databases (and SQL
programming) for individuals and for large organizations; how
information is gathered, stored, and manipulated; web commerce;
computer security; intellectual freedom; intellectual property issues of
computing, technology and society; and artificial intelligence
programming.
COMPUTER PROGRAMMING: Topics include important models
and concepts which enable people to understand algorithmic thinking
in general and the field of computer science in particular; using a
problem-solving approach, writing many programs in the Python
programming language, both graphical and text-based; basic program
design; software engineering; computer architecture; operating
systems; networks; and the possibilities and limitations of computing
in general.
Summer Study Trips:
THE ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF ANCIENT ROME:
('12, '14) Eight-day tour of sites both in Rome and around the Bay of
Naples. Including the Roman Forum, Colosseum, Capitoline and
Palatine Hills, Pantheon, Galleria Borghese, St. Peter's Basilica, and
Vatican Museums, Mt. Vesuvius, Pompeii, Lake Avernus, Cumae,
Capri, and the Amalfi Coast. Students were each assigned a 'supersite'
on which they reported in situ, as well as a site in the ancient city of
Pompeii. Throughout the trip, connections were made whenever
possible to students' classical education at Ridgeview, and relevant
literature was read on site, ranging from Vergil and Horace to Goethe
and Byron. Participants afterward presented a colloquium to the
school in which they described the aspect of this odyssey that left the
most lasting impression on them.