Academics
Curriculum
Edmund Burke School offers a rigorous, college preparatory program, with ample space for exploration.
Designed for ongoing inquiry, our program enables students to pursue their passions and explore brand-new fields. Experiential learning, hands-on projects, and progressive pedagogy are hallmarks of the Burke experience.
Designed for ongoing inquiry, our program enables students to pursue their passions and explore brand-new fields. Experiential learning, hands-on projects, and progressive pedagogy are hallmarks of the Burke experience.
List of 8 items.
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1:1 iPad Program
Read MoreSeeking to integrate technology into classrooms and improve teaching and learning equitably, Burke launched the mission-driven 1:1 iPad program in 2012.The goal is to equip every student with appropriate technology for learning and ensure that access to technology is equitable. Providing all students with the same device allows the faculty and the Academic Tech Team to manage the devices, including the apps installed on them. Burke also trains and supports teachers in taking advantage of the iPads' strengths: creativity, mobility, and interactivity.
Note: high school students may bring their iPads home, while middle school iPads remain on campus. -
Civic Engagement
Every year, Burke students experience an integrated civics, equity, and leadership curriculum, grounded in social justice pedagogy. Learn more. -
Computer Science Program
Explore Burke CS - Mastery Learning ProgramStudents in the program progress through three levels of proficiency in five domains adapted from the Computer Science Teachers Association. The domains are:
1. Ethics of Computing: how Computing affects individuals, communities, and the world; the social implications and issues of equality, justice, and access.
2. Algorithms and Programming: creating instructions, sequences, procedures, loops, modules, variables, and controls to power computing devices.
3. Data and Analysis: effectively collecting, organizing, storing, analyzing, and utilizing data.
4. Networks and the Internet: communications, connectivity, and security between devices.
5. Computing Systems: physical components (hardware) and instructions (software) that power them.
> Browse elective courses and sample student projects. -
Field Trips
Located one block from the Metro and within walking distance to Rock Creek Park, the Smithsonian National Zoo, and numerous embassies, Burke is an optimal starting place for exploration. All students have a double period from 11:10 AM to 12:40 PM (followed by lunch), enabling faculty to include travel into their curriculum.
Just a few examples include:- 12th grade Art History visits a different museum or gallery each month, from the National Gallery to Dumbarton Oaks to the Phillips Collection.
- 11th grade US History connects curriculum to exhibits at the Capital Jewish Museum, Japanese American Memorial, National Museum of African American History & Culture, National Museum of the American Indian, and the Portrait Gallery.
- 9th grade Earth Systems Science spends nearly every double period in Rock Creek Park, including conducting a biodiversity index.
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Independent Study
In the High School, the Independent Study option enables students to pursue interests and explore personal passions, with support from a faculty member. Students frequently pursue independent studies in computer science, as well as specific areas of interest in the humanities, sciences, and arts.
The Independent Study in PE (ISPE) option allows students to earn credit for sports pursued outside of school. Learn more. -
Learning Support
Our Learning Support Department assists students in meeting the demands of Burke's challenging academic program. Full-time learning specialists provide support with organization, note and test-taking strategy, and self-advocacy. Learn more. -
Senior Projects
The Senior Project gives 12th grade students an opportunity to pursue interests and passions beyond the classroom and allows them to contribute to local communities and workplaces.
Learn more:
> https://www.burkeschool.org/academics/curriculum/senior-projects -
Teaching Assistants
High School students who are capable of independent work in a subject can also serve as Teaching Assistants at Burke: assisting the teacher, working with students during in-class exercises, or teaching short lessons. Other responsibilities might include peer tutoring or helping to organize field trips.
2023-24
2024-25 (in progress)
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Class & Club Spotlight - December 2024 - Part 2
Read MoreNow in its 9th season, Evolutionary Ideas is a culminating project for 11th and 12th graders in the Social Psychology elective. Working in small groups, students research a large-scale topic and distill their work into a 15-minute episode. This year, they debuted their episodes with classes in the Middle School and then led a short discussion or activity on the topic, extending their learning across divisions.🔊 Listen to Episode 1: "Regret" by Max F. C. '25, Nora S. '25, and Camilla T. '25. -
Class & Club Spotlight - December 2024
From DNA to PCRRead More
To wrap up the fall trimester, Advanced Research in Molecular Biology students hosted a poster presentation for peers and parents. While investigating the distribution of Wolbachia (common bacterium) in insect populations, students learned molecular biology techniques, including DNA extraction, gel electrophoresis, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and DNA sequencing. Pictured, center: research by Sam H. '25, Paul G. '25, and Sydney W. '25. -
Space Farming Report
7th grade Life Science has been studying the effects of cosmic radiation on plant seeds.Read More -
Class & Club Spotlight - October 2024
Class on ConservationRead MoreClaire Helmke, a wildlife biologist with nonprofit conservation group Quail Forever, visited the 9th and 10th grade Environmental Science classes last week to share her experience in wildlife research and habitat restoration. Students then crafted research questions based on their study spots in Rock Creek Park, which the classes will work towards answering in the coming months. -
At the Molecular Level
Morgan (HS Science) reports, "Students in Advanced Research in Molecular Biology are off to an excellent start on their research journey."Read More -
Burke On The Road - October 2024
Read MoreExperiential learning abounds this fall. On a given day, you might spot numerous classes leaving campus during the double period for exploration and research. For example: -
Class & Club Spotlight - September 2024
Squash & StretchRead More
First among the twelve basic principles of animation, "squash and stretch" gives objects flexibility and weight when in motion. In Kay's Animation 11/12 course, students have been exploring this principle in the context of computer animation. Throughout the trimester, they will build on previous digital media skills to create 2-dimensional animations and motion graphics in Procreate and Adobe Animate. -
Let's Explore - Part 1
In progressive schools, we expect learning to be hands-on, active, and experiential. Thanks to our Metro-accessible location, DC's vast cultural and historical resources can support just such learning.Read More -
Class Spotlight - Part 9 - Middle & High School
Global DimensionsRead More
In Earth Systems Science and Advanced ESS, students built two and three-dimensional models that defined the main spheres of the earth (atmosphere, hydrospheres, biosphere, and geosphere) and how these major subsystems connect. Their creative approaches now adorn every surface in the ESS lab, including an "Edible Earth" model, a spinning globe, a multi-player board game, and a graphic book (pictured). -
Senior Academic Recognition - Class of 2024
On Tuesday, May 28, the Class of 2024 and members of the faculty gathered in the theatre to recognize students who achieved academic distinction in one or more departments. Awards are based on consistently high performance and advanced coursework in the subject.Read More
(*) department-selected student speaker for the ceremony -
Senior Projects Commencee
Read MoreOn Friday, May 10, the Class of 2024 marked their final day of high school classes with an enthusiastic (and touching) countdown in the Atrium. For the following two weeks, students can pursue an independent project, work with a professional in the field, or connect with an organization. -
Leaning Tower of Pasta
Kelly F.'s 12th grade Physics class concluded their year with the Pasta Bridge Competition, wherein students engineer a dry noodle and hot glue structure that can have a maximum weight of 907 g (2.0lb) and will hold a minimum load of 9.07 kg (20 lbs). Each bridge is tested to complete failure, adding 5 and 10-pounds weights every 10 seconds.Read More -
Class Spotlight - Part 8 - Middle & High School
Amid the spring weather, 7th grade enjoyed an outdoor school day at Rock Creek Park on April 16. For Life Science class, they collected data about microplastics in our local waterways; Amy C. adds, "I am sad to report that we did find some, but it was a small amount." After lunch, Kay walked down from campus for a watercolors lesson, followed by frisbee instruction from Alan.Read More -
New Avenues to Explore
Read MoreEarlier this week, the 2024-25 course requests process launched. As students explore with their advisors, they will have some brand-new options to consider: -
Class & Club Spotlight - Part 7 - High School
Burning Strings ReturnsRead More
Following a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Burning Strings returned to assembly in March. A tradition begun in 2003, Burning Strings united 15 faculty, staff, an alumnus, and students for a set of Irish music on or near St. Patrick's Day – including violins, violas, guitars , clarinet, recorder, melodica, and percussion. -
Art on the Horizon
As the spring approaches, the walls and display cases around campus grow fuller and more vibrant. Be sure to peruse work from Héctor's Drawing & Painting 9/10 elective, displayed along the 2nd and 3rd floor stairwell in Hobbes.Read More -
Joining the Party
Read MoreDo you have a sneaking suspicion that someone is watching? Has adulation of the 10th grade English teachers reached disconcerting levels? And why are sophomores suddenly referring to everyone as "comrade?" -
Scrutinizing Bacteria
Morgan's Medical Microbiology elective delves into the immune system, structure of viruses, viral replication and transmission, and epidemiology. To close out the winter trimester, small groups studied a group of pathogenic bacteria with similar transmission patterns, with each group member specializing in a specific bacterium.Read More -
Newsroom Legend Bob Woodward at Burke
On February 20, Burke welcomed renowned investigative journalist Bob Woodward for a conversation on media and journalism. With Carl Bernstein, Woodward conducted the initial reporting on the Watergate scandal, which ultimately led to President Nixon's resignation in 1974. He has worked for the Washington Post for more than 50 years, where he currently holds an associate editor title and has contributed to two Pulitzer Prizes.Read More -
Report from the Court: DC Court of Appeals
On February 6, 11th and 12th graders in Ginger's Constitutional Law class observed oral arguments in a 6th amendment case before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Judge Catharine F. Easterly P'24 and her law clerks met with the class before proceedings to share their journeys to the DCCA and explain the nature of the case.Read More
According to Judge Easterly, "the legal questions on appeal are constitutional (6th Amendment right to confrontation) and evidentiary (hearsay): they revolve around whether the complainant's call to 911 reporting the crime could be admitted into evidence at trial when she didn't appear as a witness." Students found the oral argument fascinating: is a 911 call by a now-deceased individual "admissible" as evidence? What is an "excited utterance?" Was this an "ongoing emergency?" A judgment in Austin v. U.S. is expected sometime in summer 2024.
Co-ed, progressive, college prep school in Washington, DC featuring a challenging curriculum in an inclusive environment for grades 6-12.
4101 Connecticut Ave NW Washington, DC 20008 | Phone: 202-362-8882 | Fax: 202-362-1914