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Our academic programs reflect our commitment to delivering a robust, forward-thinking curriculum.
Academics
At Morristown Beard School, our students are empowered to take hold of their educational pathways and explore the multitude of remarkable academic options offered across the curriculum. The Morristown Beard program emphasizes critical thinking, problem solving, independent thought, and intellectual risk-taking. It supports cross-disciplinary inquiry and asks that students approach knowledge holistically, seeing how each subject contributes to a richer understanding of the world.
Most importantly, our academic program gives teachers the chance to innovate continually, experimenting with course design, content, and departmental structure so as to make year-to-year adjustments, responding to the shifting interests and strengths of our students. The goal is always to provide students with an academic experience that is vigorous as well as rigorous, and that is vibrant and meaningful to the 21st century.
When teachers are inspired to innovate, they encourage students to do the same. In the spirit of intellectual risk-taking, our teachers afford students the scope to choose their pathways not only in the classes they choose, but also in the work they produce to meet the requirements for particular classes. We believe that students learn best when they are guided by curiosity and passion and when they are given the chance to learn from failures and to improve upon past attempts.
Middle School Curriculum
Our Middle School curriculum is designed to cultivate a culture of learning while engaging and challenging our students. As a student- and child-centered institution, we value the attributes each child brings to MBS and help each student forge a pathway to academic success and personal enrichment.
Upper School Curriculum
The Upper School curriculum offers a rigorous academic program to challenge every student. We encourage students to take risks, to engage deeply in learning, and to become independent thinkers to prepare young people not only for success in college, but also for lives of meaning and fulfillment.
MBS Centers for Learning
Decades of academic research highlight the importance of both meaningful teacher-student engagement and highly experiential learning in the intellectual growth of young people. Accordingly, Morristown Beard School has thoughtfully created four Centers for Learning to best engender the high-level development of several essential skills in your child.
The Center for
Academic Writing
The Center for Academic Writing (CAW) acts as a support system for students, and, in concert with our philosophy, allows the students, themselves, to take on an important leadership role on campus as writing tutors in the center.
The Center for
Teaching & Learning
The Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL) empowers all students to better understand themselves and their own learning stories while, at the same time, developing students’ self-advocacy and self-efficacy.
The Center for
Quantitative Reasoning
The Center for Quantitative Reasoning (CQR) is a support center providing a place for students to strengthen foundational skills, receive extra help in their classes, and explore interest in mathematics that goes beyond the classroom.
The Center for
Innovation & Design
Opened in 2019, the Center for Innovation & Design (CID) provides more than 8,000 square feet of flexible and innovative space where students design, build, and problem solve as they engage in multidisciplinary projects.
Signature Programs
The Middle and Upper Schools at MBS feature an ever-evolving group of Signature Programs built upon forward-thinking academic research, empowering students to take hold of their educational pathways.
Global Studies
Morristown Beard School offers numerous cultural, curricular, and service trips abroad each year, providing students access to rich academic, diverse, intercultural experiences to learning outside of the classroom.
My Most Fulfilling
Academic Experience
At the beginning of the year I was upset because I was not performing as well as I would have liked. I was receiving grades that I was not used to getting, and I became discouraged. I wanted to perform well in the class and my first quarter grade was not up to my standards. During the second semester, I put even more effort into my work and frequently met with Mr. Lovelock for extra help. In class, I became a more active participant and was constantly engaged. As a result, my grades were higher and I became a much better writer. English had always been a difficult subject for me and essays were not my favorite to write, but after having Mr. Lovelock as a teacher I enjoy writing more and take more pride in my work.
One of my most fulfilling scholarly experiences has definitely been taking experimental biology this past year. The class structure and teacher really benefitted me and not only helped me learn the material on a deeper level, but it gave me the opportunity to love biology just like I did in middle school and previous years. And the reason the class was the most fulfilling is because I feel like I learned through struggling. My grade remained constant throughout the year, but by honing in on the skills and content by studying and performing different labs, I feel like I really retained the information better and got a lot out of the class.
For the first quarter of sophomore year chemistry I received a "B". This grade was bringing down my GPA significantly, so I made it a point to meet with Dr. Hahn pretty frequently. I worked very hard in chemistry for the remainder of the year and realized that it was actually one of my favorite classes. I got an "A" in the class and received the chemistry award. This turn around from being a solid "B" chemistry student to becoming a chemistry award winner made me feel like I was capable of doing anything I put my mind to. The recognition I got for my hard work made me feel accomplished.
I love problem-solving and understanding things instead of just memorizing or solving the same type of problem over and over again. I participated in the Math competition through school, and when I was going through the questions, most of the questions were not just simple math and only computation; you had to think and challenge your thinking to be able to get the answer. I enjoy these types of questions because even though I might fail, it pushed me to think and use my brain.