At TREE, we meet all A-G UC requirements, are accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), as well approved by the NCAA. To our academic instruction and programs, we also provide classes in Life Skills to develop our students’ Social and Emotional learning, as well as courses in Meditation and Yoga. We also offer a wide array of Elective Classes and support individual student interests with yearly Passion Projects they themselves select, design and complete. Our Community Service requirement provides students with opportunities to learn about how they can be of service to others, as well as developing their awareness for the challengers human beings face every day.
Our approach, in essence, is to provide every student at TREE with enthusiastic encouragement, support and guidance in discovering who they are and what they love. In doing so, we seek to prepare every student at TREE for not only academic achievement and success, but to also live lives filled with meaning and purpose through self-knowledge and an empathetic awareness for the needs of others.
Our senior year at TREE we call the Senior Seminar. The essence of the seminar approach is to harness the student’s knowledge, collected in the previous years of study, and apply them to today’s world to explore both the challenges and opportunities. Additionally, we offer courses in Psychology, Sociology, Environmental Studies and Economics to further develop our students’ awareness of their world, and how they can effect positive change in the world.
HIGH SCHOOL
HIGH SCHOOL
CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
University of California Requirements listed at bottom of page,
as well as a link to view all UC Approved TREE Academy courses.
9th Grade Biology
Students in high school develop an understanding of key concepts that will help them make sense of Biology. The ideas are built upon students’ scientific understanding of disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts from earlier grades. There are four Life Science disciplinary core ideas in high school: 1) Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes, 2) Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics, 3) Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits, and 4) Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity. The performance expectations for high school Biology blend core ideas with scientific and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts to support students in developing usable knowledge that can be applied across the science disciplines. We focus on the development of critical thinking skills, interactive engagement and active participation of laboratory investigations.
9th Grade World Literature
9th Grade Human Geography
Human Geography is a study that examines the settings in which people live their lives as part of a continual process of struggle and transformation. The central focus is the analysis of the relationship between society, place, and space. This year-long course gives students the opportunity to study humanity’s historic and contemporary relationship with the physical world and natural resources, along with human innovations in culture, governance, agriculture, and industry. The breadth of topics covered in Human Geography expose students to engaging topics and complex questions regarding how humans live, build, farm, govern, communicate, worship, migrate, fight, innovate, design, and compromise across the diverse regions of the Earth’s surface. Historical information and background knowledge serves to support the analysis of the impacts of phenomena such as globalization, colonialism, human-environment relationships on places, regions, and cultural landscapes.
9th Grade Algebra 1
Algebra I is split into two main parts: lines and curves. The first half of the class will focus on learning all about lines. Students will learn about how to graph a line, how to write an equation for a line, the slope of a line, how lines are used to model real life situations, and how to solve systems that have multiple lines. The second half of the class is about curves or also called nonlinear equations. Students will learn about exponentials and quadratics. They will learn how to graph and write equations for curves and how to solve nonlinear equations. This class is intended to explore the world of algebra through engaging activities and math discussions. Students will learn to think critically, come up with creative solutions to problems using previously learned tools, and focus on detail and precision.
9th Grade Spanish: Beginners
In our classroom, we will do a variety of activities and exercises including talking in Spanish, practicing pronunciation and grammar, and interacting in Spanish in pairs and small groups. Much of the class is conducted in Spanish in order to offer as much exposure to the language as possible, but English is used when necessary to offer clarity and efficiency. In this course, we deal with all basic language skills: aural comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. Grammar is studied not so that a student can recite grammar rules, but so that students gain an understanding of how language works; you must speak in order to learn to speak. Some students may feel inhibited by the idea of making mistakes in front of others but we will work together to make the atmosphere as tension-free as possible. Students will have the opportunity to learn about cultural aspects from various countries around the Spanish-speaking world. Students should expect to participate daily in class activities and be prepared to move, act silly, and have fun exploring another language and culture.
9th Grade Spanish I
9th Grade Spanish II
9th Grade Study Skills
9th Grade Learning Lab
9th Grade Inner Peace (Meditation)
Based on the forthcoming book by Venerable Burin, the inner peace curriculum explores how we can bring more equilibrium, calmness and mental focus to our everyday lives through the art and techniques of meditation based on age or principles.
9th Grade Life Skills
The Life Skills course is designed to assist students in growing and deepening their capacity to build relationships and community. An integral part of this process is to further curiosity and challenge the assumptions we hold about ourselves and others, in order to become better able to understand and value differing perspectives.
OUR 9TH GRADE CURRICULUM
10th Grade Chemistry
10th Grade Literature
10th Grade Modern World History
In designing the curriculum for this course, we have aligned the California State Content Standards for 10th Grade History with the Common Core State Standards for History and Social Studies to ensure that students with a range of interests and learning styles get the most from this class. The entirety of World History cannot be taught in a single year. Historians make entire careers out of studying a single region over a narrow period of time, and even then must choose which sources to study in depth, and which to gloss over. For this class, we will focus primarily on events from the 16th century to the present. As a class, students will examine the process of globalization and how it has precipitated political, environmental, economic and socio-cultural in various regions throughout the world. As students become more familiar with the phenomena being studied, each will pursue (alone or in small groups) more directed inquiry into the concepts and narratives that they find most compelling. By the end of the year, each student will be able to trace one or more present-day challenges or pressing concerns to its historical roots, and present a clear argument about the significance of this connection.
10th Grade Geometry
This course is designed to emphasize the study of the properties and applications of common geometric figures in two and three dimensions. It includes the study of transformations and right triangle trigonometry. Inductive and deductive thinking skills are used in problem solving situations, and applications to the real world are stressed. It also emphasizes writing proofs to solve (prove) properties of geometric figures. Toward the end of the year we will spend some time focused on SAT/ACT geometry. Students who complete Geometry should take Algebra II next.
10th Grade Spanish: Beginners
In our classroom, we will do a variety of activities and exercises including talking in Spanish, practicing pronunciation and grammar, and interacting in Spanish in pairs and small groups. Much of the class is conducted in Spanish in order to offer as much exposure to the language as possible, but English is used when necessary to offer clarity and efficiency. In this course, we deal with all basic language skills: aural comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. Grammar is studied not so that a student can recite grammar rules, but so that students gain an understanding of how language works; you must speak in order to learn to speak. Some students may feel inhibited by the idea of making mistakes in front of others but we will work together to make the atmosphere as tension-free as possible. Students will have the opportunity to learn about cultural aspects from various countries around the Spanish-speaking world. Students should expect to participate daily in class activities and be prepared to move, act silly, and have fun exploring another language and culture.
10th Grade Spanish I
10th Grade Spanish II
10th Grade Study Skills
10th Grade Learning Lab
10th Grade Inner Peace (Meditation)
Based on the forthcoming book by Venerable Burin, the inner peace curriculum explores how we can bring more equilibrium, calmness and mental focus to our everyday lives through the art and techniques of meditation based on age or principles.
10th Grade Life Skills
The Life Skills course is designed to assist students in growing and deepening their capacity to build relationships and community. An integral part of this process is to further curiosity and challenge the assumptions we hold about ourselves and others, in order to become better able to understand and value differing perspectives.
OUR 10TH GRADE CURRICULUM
11th Grade Physics
11th Grade American Literature
11th Grade U.S. History
This course will focus on the history of the United States from the late 19th century to the present day. Students will use the content as a way to develop historical thinking skills: analyzing primary and secondary sources, making historical comparisons, chronological reasoning, and argumentation. The class will explore United States history from a variety of perspectives, challenging students to consider how different experiences can give rise to different historical narratives. Each unit will examine events, ideas, developments and individuals through different historical themes, including: society and culture, ecology and environment, gender, race, class migration, technological change and political power. The goal of the course will be to help students trace the present realities of the United States to their historical roots, and evaluate their role in the ongoing development of this nation.
11th Grade Algebra 2
Algebra II extends the exploration of nonlinear equations (curves) which started in Algebra I with a particular emphasis on quadratic functions. Students will learn how to graph quadratics functions, how to solve quadratic equations, and how to factor. Graphing and solving of equations will also be extended to different types of nonlinear equations besides quadratics like exponentials, logarithms, radicals, and rationals. Students will begin to understand the importance of finding zeros of polynomials and the importance of trigonometry in preparation for Precalculus. This class is intended to explore the world of algebra through engaging activities and math discussions. Students will learn to think critically, come up with creative solutions to problems using previously learned tools, and focus on detail and precision.
11th Grade Spanish: Beginners
11th Grade Spanish I
11th Grade Spanish II
11th Grade Study Skills
11th Grade Learning Lab
11th Grade Inner Peace (Meditation)
Based on the forthcoming book by Venerable Burin, the inner peace curriculum explores how we can bring more equilibrium, calmness and mental focus to our everyday lives through the art and techniques of meditation based on age or principles.
11th Grade Life Skills
The Life Skills course is designed to assist students in growing and deepening their capacity to build relationships and community. An integral part of this process is to further curiosity and challenge the assumptions we hold about ourselves and others, in order to become better able to understand and value differing perspectives.
OUR 11TH GRADE CURRICULUM
11th Grade Physics
11th Grade American Literature
11th Grade U.S. History
This course will focus on the history of the United States from the late 19th century to the present day. Students will use the content as a way to develop historical thinking skills: analyzing primary and secondary sources, making historical comparisons, chronological reasoning, and argumentation. The class will explore United States history from a variety of perspectives, challenging students to consider how different experiences can give rise to different historical narratives. Each unit will examine events, ideas, developments and individuals through different historical themes, including: society and culture, ecology and environment, gender, race, class migration, technological change and political power. The goal of the course will be to help students trace the present realities of the United States to their historical roots, and evaluate their role in the ongoing development of this nation.
11th Grade Algebra 2
Algebra II extends the exploration of nonlinear equations (curves) which started in Algebra I with a particular emphasis on quadratic functions. Students will learn how to graph quadratics functions, how to solve quadratic equations, and how to factor. Graphing and solving of equations will also be extended to different types of nonlinear equations besides quadratics like exponentials, logarithms, radicals, and rationals. Students will begin to understand the importance of finding zeros of polynomials and the importance of trigonometry in preparation for Precalculus. This class is intended to explore the world of algebra through engaging activities and math discussions. Students will learn to think critically, come up with creative solutions to problems using previously learned tools, and focus on detail and precision.
11th Grade Spanish: Beginners
11th Grade Spanish I
11th Grade Spanish II
11th Grade Study Skills
11th Grade Learning Lab
11th Grade Inner Peace (Meditation)
Based on the forthcoming book by Venerable Burin, the inner peace curriculum explores how we can bring more equilibrium, calmness and mental focus to our everyday lives through the art and techniques of meditation based on age or principles.
11th Grade Life Skills
The Life Skills course is designed to assist students in growing and deepening their capacity to build relationships and community. An integral part of this process is to further curiosity and challenge the assumptions we hold about ourselves and others, in order to become better able to understand and value differing perspectives.
OUR 12TH GRADE CURRICULUM
The Senior Seminar
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA REQUIREMENTS
1. Complete 15 A-G courses (11 of them by end of junior year)
You need to complete a minimum of 15 college-preparatory courses (A-G courses) with a letter grade of C or better.
For courses completed during the 2020 winter, spring or summer terms, UC will also accept a grade of pass/credit.
You must complete at least 11 of these courses prior to the beginning of your last year of high school.
The 15 courses are:
a. History: 2 years
b. English: 4 years
c. Mathematics: 3 years
d. Science: 2 years
e. Language other than English *or equivalent to the 2nd level of high school instruction: 2 years
f. Visual and performing Arts: 1 year
g. College-prep elective (chosen from the subjects listed above or another course approved by the university): 1 year
2. Earn a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better (3.4 if you're a nonresident) in these courses with no grade lower than a C.
Option to submit SAT/ACT test scores
Freshman applicants for fall 2021-2022 have the option to submit SAT/ACT scores with their application. Applicants will not be penalized in the admission review process if they don't submit SAT/ACT scores.
California students
If you're a state resident who has met the minimum requirements and aren't admitted to any UC campus to which you apply, you'll be offered a spot at another campus if space is available, provided:
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You rank in the top 9 percent of California high school students, according to our admissions index,
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You rank in the top 9 percent of your graduating class at a participating high school. We refer to this as "Eligible in the Local Context" (ELC).