Science
Sciences at Vermont Commons School can be best summed up by three adjectives: fundamental, interdisciplinary and interactive.
The students' education will be fundamental in the sense that they will learn the important questions in each field and how to use the tools and methods to address those questions. Students will build a base of knowledge that is vital to process information and communicate results. They will complete a minimum of an AP-level course study in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Environmental Science.
Science is interdisciplinary in the sense that information and skills that are common among disciplines will be learned together. Starting on the first day at VCS, students will be working all fields of science. They will begin with the basics of all scientific disciplines, tied together in terms of Ecology. During the last years in the Science program, students will be working at an advanced level in all science topics.
Science is interactive by providing every student with the daily opportunity be an active participant in his or her education. Students learn the fundamental skills in class then choose specific ways in which to examine topics in detail, apply new skills and present their research in class.
All science courses have a laboratory component, which takes place in a modern science laboratory on campus and at a variety of ecologically significant locations in the community.
The mission of the VCS science program is to provide all VCS students with an appreciation of and a curiosity for the natural world around us, as well as to provide the necessary basic knowledge and abilities to examine our ecosystem in a rigorous manner using all methods of scientific inquiry. The main goal of the Science program at VCS is to produce Naturalists. VCS students will be able to fully utilize modern scientific methodologies and technologies to address important ecological questions. The ability to recognize and develop important questions is the function of the ‘Naturalist’ aspect of the researcher. A Naturalist is a scientist who understands the environment and one’s place within that system. A Naturalist well trained in the Scientific Method will be able to identify the truly important keystone questions within a particular system, answer them thoughtfully, and then act upon the new knowledge.