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Academics

College Prep with Heart

Learning at Huntington-Surrey means more than checking off boxes on a list or spending all year preparing for one high-stakes standardized test after another.

 

Here, we transmit the spirit of the liberal arts to our students: understanding of our worldwide academic and artistic heritage, free inquiry into the world around us, and – above all – an expansive, knowledge-seeking attitude informed by deep intellectual curiosity and a love of learning for its own sake. Huntington-Surrey students are bright, unique thinkers – they don’t fit easily into the boxes prescribed by mainstream, factory-model education.

 

At Huntington-Surrey, being prepared for college means more than just studying for the SAT (although we do ensure that our students are equipped to excel when they take standardized entrance exams). Critical thinking, an attitude of exploration, and the ability to always go deeper and seek out interdisciplinary connections serve our graduates across the many fields they end up choosing. These are skills and habits of mind that don’t stop being useful after graduation. Huntington-Surrey graduates carry these tools with them for the rest of their lives – wherever those lead.

 

That’s why Huntington-Surrey alumni have gone on to collegiate and postgraduate study of everything from Asian philosophy to medicine, finding success as composers and filmmakers as well as economists and mathematicians.

 

What’s our secret? It’s simple: College Prep with Heart encapsulates our entire philosophy. Our teaching is rigorous and our standards are high – because our students are college-bound, we refuse to do them the disservice of graduating them unprepared. However, at the same time, we know that a sink-or-swim attitude is a good way to see students sink. Our strong college-prep curriculum comes with heart: a warm, affirming community of support. Huntington-Surrey community members look after each other. No one falls through the cracks here: we see it as our job to make sure that every single student gets the support they need to benefit fully from our top-notch academic program.

Library Bookshelves
Curriculum

Our complement of core academic courses and electives satisfies the Texas Education Agency’s high school graduation requirements. We also offer high-level Honors coursework. Although we do not currently offer AP-designated classes, our Honors courses include a comparable level of rigor, and we are glad to work with students to help find ways for them to take AP or CLEP exams. We also help students take advantage of dual-credit early college classes in partnership with ACC. Contact us to learn more about our advanced-coursework options.

 

In addition to standard core classes and electives, Huntington-Surrey offers a special class type: Individual Literature.​​

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Core Class Sequence

 

  • Ninth grade

    • Language: Latin, German, Spanish, or Sanskrit (ASL available by special arrangement)

    • Math: Algebra I or Geometry

    • Science: Biology

    • Social Studies: World Geography

    • English: Composition I and Individual Literature

 

  • Tenth Grade

    • Language: Latin, German, Spanish, or Sanskrit (ASL available by special arrangement)

    • Math: Geometry or Algebra II

    • Science: Chemistry

    • Social Studies: World History

    • English: Composition II and Individual Literature

 

  • Eleventh Grade

    • Language: Latin, German, Spanish, or Sanskrit (ASL available by special arrangement)

    • Math: Algebra II or Precalculus

    • Science: Physics

    • Social Studies: US History

    • English: Composition III and Individual Literature

 

  • Twelfth Grade

    • Language: Latin, German, Spanish, or Sanskrit (ASL available by special arrangement)

    • Math: Precalculus or Calculus

    • Science: Ecology, Senior Science Capstone, or Advanced Physics

    • Social Studies: US Government and Economics

    • English: Composition IV and Individual Literature

 

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Individual Literature

 

Individual Literature is a unique class. It both represents and embodies Huntington-Surrey’s entire set of values and philosophy of learning: the student and the teacher explore a great book together, without predetermined conclusions or a preset destination. Instead, they go deep – each week, the student journals about their reading assignment. Then, they meet with their teacher, engaging in a student-driven Socratic discussion. There are no lectures, no textbooks, and no multiple-choice Scantron tests. There’s only the book – there’s only the conversation. The student’s initiative shapes not only their in-class discussions and weekly journal entries, but also (within broad curricular guidelines, and in partnership with their teacher) the entire Individual Literature curriculum. No two students take exactly the same class, because the class itself is inseparable from the individual student taking it.

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Electives

 

Huntington-Surrey students help decide which electives the school offers: each spring, they fill out elective request forms, and we tailor the next year’s course offerings to the passions and interests expressed by our students. In addition, we offer certain electives regularly every year, alongside those offered periodically in response to student interest.

 

  • Regular Electives:

 

  • Periodical Electives:

    • Psychology

    • Philosophy

    • Astronomy

    • Theatre

    • Playwriting

    • Improv Comedy

    • Fabric Arts

    • Technology

    • Photography

    • Carpentry

    • Many more, depending on what our students ask for!

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  • Custom Individual Electives:

    • One of the many benefits afforded by Huntington-Surrey's intentionally small size is our ability to arrange ​special 1:1 for-credit elective options!

    • Contact us to discuss your options! Some of the custom electives we're equipped to offer include the following:

      • Music History​

      • Opera Appreciation

      • Comparative Religion

      • LGBTQ+ Studies

      • Activism and Social Movements

      • Political Science​

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Teenage Students Raising Hands
Schedule

Core academic classes, including languages, meet Monday through Thursday, 8:15 a.m. – 3:55 p.m. On Friday, school starts later: electives meet from 8:50 a.m. – 12:10 p.m. 

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Bell Schedule

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Monday - Thursday:

  • Period 1: 8:15 a.m. - 9:10 a.m.

  • Period 2: 9:15 a.m. - 10:05 a.m.

    • Morning Break: 10:05 a.m. - 10:20 a.m.

  • Period 3: 10:20 a.m. - 11:10 a.m.

  • Period 4: 11:15 a.m. - 12:05 p.m.

    • Lunch (Period 5): 12:10 p.m. - 1 p.m.​

  • Period 6: 1:05 p.m. - 1:55 p.m.​

    • Afternoon Break: 1:55 p.m. - 2:10 p.m.​

  • Period 7: 2:10 p.m. - 3 p.m.​

  • Period 8: 3:05 p.m. - 3:55 p.m.

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Friday:

  • Period A: 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

    • Break: 10:30 a.m. - 10:40 a.m.​

  • Period B: 10:40 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.​​

 

School-wide holidays include one week in November for Thanksgiving, two weeks in December and January for Winter Break, and two weeks in March for a double-length Spring Break, plus a small number of other holidays throughout the year.

 

Classes for part-time, homeschool, and a la carte students meet by special arrangement and are not required to follow the standard weekly schedule. Similarly, sessions with the tutor are also scheduled individually to maximize your convenience.

Schedule

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©2020 by Huntington-Surrey School

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