In addition to providing a rigorous, college preparatory academic program that fulfills requirements of both sending schools and undergraduate institutions, SEGL offers an innovative pedagogical model that inspires students to value and cultivate lives of ethical inquiry, nurtures the leadership capacity in each student, and challenges students with hands-on, real-world opportunities to change our globe. We look forward to welcoming you to DC!

Each student takes Ethics and Leadership, Introduction to Arabic and Chinese, and English; depending on a student's home school requirements, she or he may also take United States History and/or AP Comparative Government, and one of several language, science, and math electives. Special tutoring is available (for an additional fee) for courses not normally included in the SEGL curriculum. Students who choose to take AP and/or SAT II examinations that correspond to SEGL course offerings will be well prepared for those tests, and all courses allow students to reintegrate smoothly into honors classrooms at their home schools.

Please click here to download brief biographies of our faculty members.

Highlights of our academic program include:

Ethics and Leadership

The Ethics and Leadership course is at the heart of SEGL’s mission. It is the lens through which students view their academic courses, their social life, their collaborations with area institutions and leaders, and their future.

Goals: The course has two principal goals: To introduce students to ethical, critical thinking, using current national and international events and issues as case studies; and to develop students’ leadership skills, including public speaking, debate, constructive activism, and understanding of group dynamics. The course does not attempt to advocate a particular set of values (in fact, it encourages students to develop their own ethical Credo) but does reflect the school’s belief that thinking seriously about issues of right and wrong is imperative.

Details: The course frames the week with two 120 minute sessions on Monday morning and Friday evening. In addition, a full day of Ethics and Leadership on Wednesday allows students to make information-gathering site visits, to collaborate with local leaders and institutions, to work with the local community on service initiatives, and to pursue their Capstone Projects. In the past, site visits have included Congressional offices, the Pentagon, the World Bank, the State Department, leading think tanks, university campuses, embassies, and other critical DC institutions. All students attend each section, though frequently students work in small groups. Students receive formal comments and grades on their work twice a semester along with those for other courses.

Introduction to Arabic and Chinese

Recent global events and trends leave little room for doubt that China and the Arab world will present important opportunities and challenges for tomorrow’s leaders. Learning both to communicate and to understand the value systems of these cultures is essential. Recognizing this, SEGL requires a weekly class in Chinese and Arabic language and culture.

Goals: The goals of the Arabic and Chinese course are to give students a practical introduction to Chinese and Arabic language and culture, and to spark their interest in future study at the postsecondary level.

Details: The Arabic and Chinese course meets once a week. All students attend each weekly session, though often they are broken into smaller groups. Experts in Chinese teach the first half of the course; experts in Arabic teach the second half. Roughly half of the class meetings focus on practical language basics, and half of the class meetings focus on applying those skills to current events and cultural norms. Ethical questions about cultural relativism, American “exceptionalism,” empathy, and capitalism are woven into class discussions.

Capstone Projects

The three Capstone Projects represent the culminating work of the semester, and provide a bridge between a student’s work at the school and at home.

Collaborative Capstone: The Collaborative Capstone brings together the research, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills learned from interdisciplinary case studies presented in the Ethics and Leadership course. During the third month of the term, the student body selects one urgent international challenge, investigates that challenge, and drafts a collaborative written document that proposes a practical solution to the selected challenge. Each academic course spends time connecting its subject matter to the research process, while the Ethics and Leadership course will provide a forum for discussion and consensus on the document’s recommendations.

The Collaborative Capstone will be published and shared with leading academic institutions, media sources, and political officials; students will lobby these leaders (engaging academics in debate, soliciting media coverage, and lobbying political players) to implement their recommendations in the weeks following the document’s publication.

Credo Capstone: The Credo capstone brings together the ethical reasoning and public speaking skills students learn over the course of the term. The challenge of the Credo project is to answer the following two questions: 1) Given all that you have learned as a result of this semester, where do you stand on the questions of ethics and leadership that are most important to you? and 2) Given your answer to the above, how are you going to live your life?

Each student presents her or his Credo to the entire school community at the end of the semester.

Community Capstone: The Community Capstone brings together a student’s academic studies and developing leadership capabilities. It also represents the first major opportunity to fulfill the second part of a student’s Credo (that is, “How am I going to live my life, given my ethical and leadership views?”) Chosen with the help of a student’s advisor, peers, and teachers, the Community Capstone allows a student to identify and confront a challenge in the local, national, or global community. In order to do this, a student might choose service, activism, or social entrepreneurship; no matter the path, the Community Capstone ensures that students will reach out to real people affected by the issues about which the student feels passionately. Work on this Capstone (including business plan development and grantwriting training) will begin while enrolled at SEGL, but is designed to continue when the student returns home. SEGL's partner in this endeavor is Ashoka, the largest organization of social entrepreneurs in the world.

Traditional Course Offerings

In addition to the classes described above, each student takes a full load of honors-level junior year courses. In particular, the SEGL offers English, U.S. History (AP and non-AP level), AP Comparative Government and Politics, Physics and Chemistry (both science courses count as "lab" sciences and have an international focus), advanced/intermediate Spanish, advanced/intermediate French, and several sections of mathematics. Each course meets for 55 minutes four times weekly.

English

English class readings will balance American and international writers (with some attention to the 11th grade literature “canon”), and emphasize diversity of experience and background. Written assignments will range from ongoing journal entries to formal expository and persuasive writing. Though the course will not teach specifically to the AP English Language exam, a student taking first semester English at SEGL will be prepared to enter the second semester of AP English at her or his sending school and/or to take the AP exam. The course will provide outstanding preparation for the most demanding undergraduate programs, and align closely with the academic requirements at SEGL’s sending schools. Sample coursework: SEGL English students might read Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”; the ensuring class discussion might tackle the protagonist’s complex ethical dilemma, the psychology of colonialism, and how Orwell uses the narrative to advance a political point. Later, students might compare the essay with a journal entry written by an American soldier with a positive view of the Iraq War, and write “Shooting an Elephant”-style essays from their own experiences and political viewpoints.

U.S. History

U.S History at SEGL will follow the standard historical sequence, with special attention given to the ethical dilemmas of American leaders, the causes and impact of U.S. foreign policy decisions, and the philosophical and Constitutional foundations of American democracy. The course must also provide outstanding preparation for the most demanding undergraduate programs, and closely align with the academic requirements at SEGL’s sending schools. Although the course does not teach specifically to the AP exam, significant time will be given to the AP curriculum and evaluative methods, and students who so choose will be prepared for that test. A student taking first semester U.S. History at SEGL will be prepared to enter the second semester (standard or AP level) at her or his sending school. Sample coursework: First semester SEGL U.S. History students might conduct a mock Constitutional Convention in which they role-play various framers; they might then evaluate how modern Supreme Court justices ought to interpret the Constitution. Second semester students might participate in a mock trial of Harry Truman in which varying U.S. and Japanese perspective are given on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; they might then write a short essay outlining under what circumstances they believe the U.S. would be justified in using nuclear weapons in the future.

AP Comparative Government and Politics

AP Comparative Government and Politics is a semester-long course that will closely follow the College Board's curriculum, and prepare students directly to take the AP exam. Students will closely study six countries and their political structure: China, Great Britain, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, and Russia. Most students who will not take a standard language course, or who will not take a science class, will enroll in AP Comparative Government and Politics. Students who enroll in the spring will take the AP exam in May while in DC.

U.S. Government and Politics

This one-semester course is based on the Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics curriculum, and introduces students to a wide range of topics on the theory and practice of American democracy. After reviewing constitutional principles such as federalism and the separation of powers, the class covers specific units on civil rights, civil liberties, Congress, the presidency, and the federal courts. Studies of political behavior, including voting, campaigns, elections, political parties and interest groups, are the main focus of the second quarter. Students read a college-level textbook and take a series of released Advanced Placement exams. Whenever possible, students will meet with leaders and other active participants in the political life of Washington, D.C. Students who take this course will, with extra study, be prepared to take the subject Advanced Placement exam.

Physics

This non-calculus based physics course is designed to complement students’ introductory physics experience at their individual sending schools. In keeping with SEGL’s mission, this course will also expose students to the ways in which scientific knowledge is used by the many organizations in Washington, DC. In the fall semester students will engage in a laboratory-based study of the principles of classical mechanics including motion, force, work, and energy. In the spring semester this course will focus on electricity, magnetism, waves, and optics. While this physics course does not require calculus, students should be prepared to apply their algebraic problem-solving skills. This course is not specifically designed to prepare students for the AP Physics exam or the SAT II Physics subject test, though students who do well and who seek help outside of class will be prepared for these exams. Sample coursework: SEGL Physics students might visit NASA to learn how Physics is used to point satellites at Amazon rainforest locations to study climate change.

Chemistry

The semester-long laboratory course in chemistry is designed to either prepare students to re-enter the introductory chemistry course at their sending school (fall semester) or facilitate the completion of an introductory chemistry experience (spring semester). This inquiry-based course places an emphasis on developing students’ qualitative and quantitative analysis skills while introducing them to basic principles of chemistry. This course will expose students to the many “real-world” applications of chemistry through SEGL’s partnerships with the Washington, DC community. This course is not specifically designed to prepare students for the AP Chemistry exam or the SAT II Chemistry subject test, though students who do well and who seek help outside of class will be prepared for these exams. Sample coursework: Chemistry students might complete a unit in which they determine their own definition of "clean water" using samples from the Potomac River and sites in developing countries. They might then meet with officials at key DC institutions, such as the EPA or USAID, to discuss their findings.

French and Spanish

SEGL offers advanced and intermediate French and Spanish, as well as a required introductory Arabic and Chinese Language and Culture course. The French and Spanish courses will provide traditional language basics, with special emphasis on cultural understanding (government structures, ethical norms, etc., rather than food, holidays, etc) and diplomacy. They must also provide outstanding preparation for the most demanding undergraduate programs (with appropriate attention given to standardized exams), and align with the academic requirements at SEGL’s sending schools. A student taking first semester advanced French at SEGL will be prepared to enter the second semester of the course (standard or AP level) at her or his sending school.

Other languages

SEGL is committed to allowing students to study any language they choose while in DC. Those who wish to take other languages may arrange to do so for an additional fee.

Mathematics

SEGL offers three levels of Math: Algebra II/Trigonometry, Precalculus, and AB Calculus. The courses will provide outstanding preparation for the most demanding undergraduate programs (with appropriate attention given to standardized exams), and closely align with the academic requirements at SEGL’s sending schools. A student taking first semester mathematics at SEGL will be prepared to enter the second semester of the appropriate course at her or his sending school. Sample coursework: SEGL Math students might work through Bentham’s utilitarian calculus for determining the ethical value of an action, and then discuss the merits of measuring such things. They might collaborate with humanitarian nonprofits to design actual civil engineering projects that require the use of trigonometry and calculus. Or they might spend time analyzing how different political groups use statistics to make different points about immigration reform, and then develop their own recommendations given their research.