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Driven by Ideas

The instruction and curriculum at MBS continuously evolve as part of our unending commitment to delivering robust, forward-thinking academics.

Explore the Pillars of a Morristown-Beard school Education:

Academic Rigor and Innovation

How Innovation Fuels Our Approach

Although we are well into the 21st century, educators continue to grapple with the challenges required to bring school practices into line with what contemporary research on learning has shown to be the best way to educate 21st-century students.

As the definition of academic rigor has changed, the instruction and curriculum of Morristown-Beard School have evolved, too, as part of our unending commitment to deliver the most robust, forward-thinking academic program to our students. Quite simply, innovation will always serve as the foundation of our efforts at MBS to develop and cultivate the right definition of academic rigor.

John Mascaro, Dean of Faculty, on Education in the 21st Century

Driven by Ideas

Today, we know without question that your student doesn’t need courses that are driven and defined by information, as was routine in past generations of school pedagogy. Today’s courses need to be driven by ideas and by conceptual patterns. We can no longer be satisfied if our students absorb data, facts and information and recycle those back to us in the form of objective tests; instead of courses that focus on the power of memorization, we need courses that stimulate the power of imagination, courses that excite curiosity, courses that ask your daughter or son to create new knowledge, not merely transmit old knowledge.

Our Vision

The Morristown-Beard School academic program is built upon our vision of 21st Century academic rigor, which includes:

  • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

  • Collaboration and Leadership

  • Agility and Adaptability

  • Initiative and Entrepreneurialism

  • Effective Oral and Written Communication

  • Accessing and Analyzing Information

  • Curiosity and Imagination

Our Curriculum

Our innovative curriculum emphasizes critical thinking, problem solving, independent thought, and intellectual risk taking. It supports cross-disciplinary connections and a holistic view of knowledge. It encourages integration of habits of intentional speaking and writing so that students may develop and articulate their ideas.

The curriculum is process-oriented, and teachers’ assessment of student work reflects the means by which a student creates and learns in addition to final product. The curriculum at Morristown-Beard School esteems the qualitative as well as quantitative dimensions of learning and supports students' making connections to other areas of intellectual thought and the larger world.

Meet Our Engaged Students

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The best way to learn more about Academic Rigor at MBS is to spend time on our campus. Please visit us soon!

Signature Programs

At MBS, your child is empowered to take hold of their educational pathways and explore the multitude of remarkable academic options offered across the curriculum.

The Middle and Upper Schools at MBS feature an ever-evolving group of Signature Programs built upon forward-thinking academic research. As educators, we know that your child will benefit most from innovative classes that provide academic rigor and the opportunity for meaningful intellectual challenge. The majority of these courses feature small class sizes, allowing for true student-teacher engagement, and many utilize collaborative, team-based assignments and assessments. Explore our featured programs below or view all of our Signature Programs for both Middle and Upper School.

Signature Programs

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Earned Honors Model

Upper School has created a model in many classes whereby students are given the opportunity to earn honors on the basis of the work they produce.

Read More about Earned Honors Model
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Financial Literacy

Each Middle School class suspends its normal activities for a portion of the year to offer your child a mini-semester (a “mini-mester”) on financial literacy.

Read More about Financial Literacy
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Writing Across the Curriculum

In this Upper School program, students are given frequent opportunities to write and think more critically and creatively and engage more deeply in their learning.

Read More about Writing Across the Curriculum

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 three Centers for Learning to best engender the high-level development of several essential skills in your child.

Center for Academic Writing

The Center for Academic Writing helps your child embrace the writing process, learning to appreciate writing as a tool for inquiry while experimenting to find her or his voice on the page.

Center for Teaching & Learning

Throughout their school experience, MBS students receive support and instruction from the Center for Teaching & Learning.

Center for Innovation & Design

Slated to open in 2019, the Center for Innovation & Design will be a cutting edge academic environment designed to encourage and enable your child to expand their minds and break through traditional ways of thinking and understanding the world.

Explore the Pillars of an MBS Education

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