If you can dream it…
Build Your Own Path.
’Blazers personalize their learning well past core + required subjects, starting in 9th grade. They take on externships, internships, independent research + experiences in the wider community, and they build a record of how they think and what they do.
What if? Why not?
Two questions shape how every ’Blazer learns in Upper School.
What if?
’Blazers notice something: a problem in their town, an idea they keep coming back to, a field they want to understand. They put it into words as their own What If, and that question becomes the center of their learning.
Why not?
’Blazers act on their questions. They test ideas in class, shadow professionals on externships, take on internships + build again with what they learn. Every attempt moves the idea forward.
If you can dream it, you can question it, test it + build it.
How will you show up?
’Blazers pay attention: to themselves, to the world around them, to their classes + to the people beside them. That attention shapes how they answer the questions colleges + employers ask.
- To yourself
- To the world around you
- To your classes
- To the people around you
Written reflections, research notes + a personal mission that shows how their thinking changed over four years.
Externships + internships across 11th and 12th grade, independent research + experiences in the community, documented in their Discovery Portfolio.
A clear sense of self, built in the Self-Discovery Seminar and in regular conversations with their Futures Advisor.
A record of real contribution: mentoring 9th graders, leading student clinics + serving partners beyond campus.
Four years, one direction at a time.
In 9th + 10th grade, ’Blazers build their Foundations. In 11th + 12th grade, they step into their Futures. Each year, they decide with their Futures Advisor what to explore next. Select a grade.
9th Grade
Foundations · Now’Blazers start to map who they are + what they want to explore.
What do you want to explore? Which opportunities do you want to take on? What does that look like at Woodlawn?
- ’Blazers begin the Self-Discovery Seminar.
- ’Blazers draft a personal mission, using Woodlawn’s mission as the foundation.
- ’Blazers meet regularly with their Futures Advisor.
- ’Blazers can begin a deep dive into a topic of their choosing.
10th Grade
Foundations · Now’Blazers go deeper into specialized classes + into knowing themselves.
What have you learned about yourself? Where do you want to go deeper next year?
- ’Blazers move into more specialized classes tied to their interests.
- The Self-Discovery Seminar continues, with a focus on getting to know yourself.
- ’Blazers keep building an ongoing alliance with their Futures Advisor.
- ’Blazers revise their personal mission with a year of experience behind it.
11th Grade
Futures · Next’Blazers take their learning into the field.
Who is already doing the work you care about? What do you want to ask them?
- ’Blazers begin externships: short, focused experiences shadowing professionals in fields they want to explore.
- ’Blazers complete their first internship, contributing to real work over a sustained placement.
- ’Blazers take on independent research.
- ’Blazers build out their Discovery Portfolio.
- ’Blazers begin shaping the big question they will pursue in 12th grade.
12th Grade
Futures · Next’Blazers lead, teach + pursue their own big question.
What is your What If? What will you contribute to the community you join next?
- ’Blazers complete a second internship + additional externships.
- ’Blazers develop their own What If: one big question, pursued with purpose.
- ’Blazers serve as teaching assistants + lead student clinics.
- ’Blazers check in with 9th graders, building community connections across grades.
- Dual enrollment classes Option in development
- Co-ops + trimester-long internship options Option in development
Who are you? Who do you want to be?
Woodlawn’s mission is the starting point. Each ’Blazer writes a personal mission of their own and revisits it through all four years of Upper School. Write a first draft in three short lines, then see the paths it could open. It takes about three minutes.
Four questions each ’Blazer revisits
- How does my mission align with life at Woodlawn?
Classes, clubs, athletics, service + the people I work beside.
- How does it align with my next step after graduation?
The setting where I will keep learning + contributing.
- Can it align with my college options?
Programs, communities + places that match what I care about.
- Can it align with my career choices?
The kinds of work, teams + problems I want to take on.
If you can dream it…
Seven paths. Every one built by you.
Each ’Blazer discovers a path through four years of classes, externships, internships + work with their Futures Advisor. Paths can shift as interests grow. Hover to see where each one can lead.
STEM
Sciences, math, engineering + design.
Lab + clinic externships, engineering internships, field research with community scientists
Liberal Arts
Literature, history, philosophy + languages.
Externships with writers + attorneys, internships with museums, libraries + publications
Global Community
Cultures, world languages + social sciences.
Internships with global + social justice nonprofits, travel with a purpose
Business + Entrepreneurship
Economics, finance + design thinking.
Externships across company teams, internships + co-ops with local businesses + startups
Fine + Performing Arts
Studio art, design, music + performance.
Externships with working artists, internships with studios, theaters + galleries
RenaissanceCreate Your Own Path
Disciplines combined into a path of your own design.
Externships in two fields, an internship where those interests meet
CatalystChangemakers + Stewards of the World
Service, sustainability + civic action.
Internships with conservation, civic + public health organizations
What are you interested in?
For ’Blazers still deciding what they want to build. Answer four quick questions, see which paths match what you already do, then turn your answers into a first mission.
Your matches appear here as you answer.
Your path starts here.
Answer all four to see your top two paths.
Build it. Break it. Build again.
’Blazers test ideas, learn from every attempt + try again with sharper questions.
Your curiosities, curated.
’Blazers collect their discovery directions in one place: a locker for their work, a portfolio, a video hub + a space for self-reflection they can share with the world. It travels with them as an addition to the transcript.
Locker
Everything in progress, in one place.
- Research notesSources, interviews + questions to chase.
- Internship logWhat you did, learned + want to try next.
- SketchbookIdeas in progress, on paper or on screen.
- Seminar journalReflections from the Self-Discovery Seminar.
- Data setNumbers you collected + what they show.
- DraftsEvery version, saved before the final one.
Portfolio
Finished work, curated by the student.
- Grade 9 deep diveA topic of your choosing, explored in depth.
- Internship projectWhat you built or improved on the job.
- Independent researchYour question, your method, your findings.
- ExhibitWork you put in front of an audience.
- Big questionYour What If, pursued with purpose.
- Teaching assistantshipHelping teach a class you already know well.
Video Hub
Presentations, performances + interviews, recorded as you go.
- Grade 9 + 10 Seminar talkYour mission, presented to your seminar.
- Grade 11 Mentor interviewYou interview someone doing the work you care about.
- Any grade PerformanceConcerts, plays + showcases you’re part of.
Reflections
A running record of how their thinking grows.
Sample: I want to understand why some neighborhoods flood after every storm.
Sample: My mission now includes the families who live with the flooding, not just the water.
Sample: Engineers here spend more time listening to residents than I expected.
Sample: What if our town designed its drainage with students at the table?
These paths are inspired by…
A few guiding ideas shape every Upper School path.
- To ask real questions + follow them.
- To learn by doing, then reflect on it.
- To know yourself well enough to choose.
- To work beside people doing the work.
- To contribute something of value to every community.
- To care for the planet + the people on it.
We know what you are capable of.
We know the brilliant ideas you hold, the ones you have shared and the ones still taking shape.
We hold space for every one of them: the bright ones, the bold ones + the ones that need a second draft.
Here, you test them, build them + put them to work in the world.
We are the school for changemakers.
Access to who they want to be.
College acceptance is one milestone. Woodlawn measures success by what each ’Blazer knows about themselves, their passions + the possibilities ahead.
Demystify what comes next
’Blazers learn how life after high school works, step by step, starting in 9th grade with regular Futures Advisor conversations.
Foster curiosity
’Blazers explore the full range of possibilities, testing interests through real experiences in and beyond Woodlawn.
Choose with confidence
’Blazers decide what is right for them, equipped with self-knowledge, experience + guidance from people who know them well.
Working for the good.
’Blazers focus their energy on work that is good for them, for the people around them + for the communities they join next. That focus shapes how they choose courses, internships, colleges + careers.
- Open to every student
- Scalable
- Flexible
Our philosophy.
Curiosity + Effort
We believe learning thrives in an environment where students develop critical thinking skills, pursue their curiosities with passion, and embrace the power of sustained effort.
Growth + Voice
We empower our students’ personal growth by nurturing their creative spirit, developing their leadership capabilities, and celebrating their unique identities and voices.
Social Responsibility
We cultivate social responsibility by guiding students to seek out diverse perspectives, forge authentic connections, and build a community grounded in compassion and mutual respect.
Sustainability
Our commitment to environmental sustainability runs deep, through both curriculum and culture, inspiring students to become thoughtful stewards of our planet and its precious resources.
Together, these foundational values create an educational experience that prepares students not just for academic success, but for lives of purpose, impact, and meaningful contribution to our ever changing world.
Now + Next.
Sit in on Upper School classes, meet a Futures Advisor + hear from ’Blazers about the paths they are building. Every ’Blazer graduates ready to think critically, lead confidently, and make a real impact.