Upper School
Too many upper school students today feel overlooked and invisible in large, standardized programs. Not here. At Cascades Academy you are known. Here you matter. Here you are an integral part of a palpably connected community. Here you get to shape what school is and what it means to you.
We believe in the power of a small upper school experience. Intimate learning environments can have big impacts when the multi-dimensional relationships forged between students and with faculty run throughout every dimension of our program.
Small school. Big impact.
Teaching for Purpose
We believe that high school education should not only prepare students for the years after school, but encourage a meaningful life today through engaging, empowering, and relevant programming. We're proud that our graduates report feeling prepared for life after high school, but we're even prouder that our students report feeling inspired and engaged throughout their years at Cascades Academy.
Preparation is important, and engaged learning is paramount.
Because our goal is for our students to be engaged in their learning, the school’s college preparatory curriculum balances relevant classroom work with meaningful experiences outside of the classroom including professional internships, service learning, fine arts classes, exciting travel, and outdoor education. This dynamic learning environment fosters lifelong learners, critical, independent thinkers, and socially conscious individuals.
Our intimate learning environment cultivates an unparalleled sense of community. With class sizes of 10-20 students, teachers identify how to help each individual student reach their unique potential. And, students develop supportive, meaningful relationships with each other. This kind of caring, collaborative community is an important part of who we are, and we invite you to come and experience it for yourself!
Competency-Based Learning & The Mastery Transcript
A foundational piece of our program is challenging academic content in core areas such as humanities, math, and science. We are an early member of the Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC), a growing network of public and private schools committed to competency-based learning. Together, we're reimagining how students learn in high school and how we communicate their abilities to colleges and universities. Instead of traditional grade reporting, we're empowering our students to tell their own stories, chart their own paths, and embrace the challenges that come with learning in and out of the classroom.
College & Future Counseling
Cascades Academy’s College & Future Counseling program is a highly personalized and comprehensive support system guiding high school students from initial college exploration through to final applications and decision-making. It begins early with Self 101 freshman year, followed by individual and group sessions focused on college research, career interests, and SAT/ACT preparation. Students also travel together for college tours to get a firsthand look at prospective schools.
Seniors benefit from weekly meetings and ongoing application guidance, with dedicated workshops for essay writing, application strategies, and financial aid resources such as FAFSA and the CSS Profile. Cascades Academy also hosts college admissions representatives and organizes and participates in college fairs, providing students with direct access to institutions. Throughout, families are kept engaged with regular meetings and resources, ensuring a well-rounded and proactive approach to each student’s plans for life after graduation.
Experiential Learning
At Cascades Academy, experiential learning is so much more than trips - it’s intentionally infused into the delivery of our core academic courses. Our faculty understand that learning by doing is a transformational pedagogical practice that is fundamentally more informative and instructive. What’s more, experiential learning delivers unique academic depth, the type of challenge that is not born from a superficial volume but instead arises from depth and meaning.
In addition to classroom-based experiential learning, the Upper School program includes multiple stand-alone programs that further advance the experiential nature of the students’ experience. Some are part of our weekly rhythm, others occur periodically throughout the year.
A Day in the Life of a Cascades Academy Upper Schooler
Sample 9th Grade Schedule
| Time | course |
|---|---|
| 8:30-10:00am | Interdisciplinary Humanities |
| 10:15-11:00am | Physics |
| 11:00-11:45am | Grade Level Impact Program |
| 11:45am-12:15pm |
Lunch |
| 12:15-1:05pm | Math |
| 1:05-1:55pm | Study Hall/ Faculty Office Hours |
| 1:55-2:45pm | Spanish |
| 2:45-3:45pm | Elective/Fine Arts |
Advisory Program
More than just great teachers, students need adults they trust to guide and support them on their academic journey. While our small size and connected community provides this regularly, the advisory program is designed to ensure that each student has a designated adult who considers herself responsible for a holistic sense of a student’s life at school. Advisory meets twice a week in the Upper School. During one block, students follow a research-based, social-emotional curriculum that tackles subjects such as: neuro-plasticity, healthy relationships, decision making, growth mindset, and more. In the other, advisors check in individually on each student’s academic standing and targets areas for support as needed.
