Classic in its structure, broad and illuminating, the Waterford curriculum is rooted in the traditions of liberal arts learning. Students are immersed in the great works, thoughts and philosophies of the ages. English, history and the humanities, math and science, fine arts and athletics form the core. A host of contributing courses build on this framework proven by centuries of classical education. The work is demanding, campus-wide. From Lower through Middle and Upper Schools, students are exposed to primary sources that prompt constant writing, reflecting, analyzing, and discussing in class. The subjects are connected in a vertical curriculum that creates a rhythm, a sequencing, that amplifies from one year to the next.
The Waterford curriculum is organized by departments, each one helping shape the depth of study within the broad academic structure. The disciplines are firmly focused. History for the sake of history. English for the beauty of writing, the clarity of thought and image, the reflection of time and place. Art, music, science, math, languages, computers, athletics. All stand side-by-side in contributing to the fullness of the curriculum, the depth of the academic experience. Yet all cross reference and emerge on common ground in the classroom.
Take history for example. Waterford students study ancient Greece and Egypt in Class III. In Class VIII they read Homer's Odyssey, Sophocles and Plato. They have Latin in Classes IV and V. In Class IX they study Islam, African tribal cultures, China and Japan. In Classes X-XII the focus is European and American history. Or Fine Arts. In addition to prose and poetry, courses like chorus, strings and brass, watercolor, pottery, photography and computer graphics, art foundations, dance and drama sit at the center of a student's day, adding the richness of art and music. In science, the laws of physics are illustrated by building bridges and dynamic dampers, joining in the annual egg drop from the roof of the East Gym or playing soccer on the field. Bug collections prominently displayed in the science lab honor the belief that the prize can be caught as well as won. Waterford understands that not all learning is based in books, though books are carried about as extensions of each arm. Little hands take up violin in Class IV and keep playing. Hence, the Waterford Strings in Upper School is an ensemble abundant in experience. More than a part of the culture at Waterford, the fine arts are substantive in every student's course work. They bring balance, precision, expression. And heart. Connected and cohesive, the Waterford curriculum is designed to cascade forward, to envelope the student for many years. The flow of learning is not bounded by stops and starts of the academic calendar. Fall term follows the pattern put down in the spring and the optional Summer Term extends opportunities to enrich and enlarge. In the classroom, students are exposed to the richness of the past, its many lessons and legacies. From this vantage they begin to see their future more clearly. It is within this curriculum that they are taught to concentrate on purpose, to question and analyze, to resolve for themselves, to experiment with theory and ideas. It is at Waterford they learn how to learn. | 
