Courses

English 9 is an introduction to basic high school language arts skills with a focus on note-taking, reading, research, and formal writing to help students develop initial understanding of both the structure and meaning of a literary work.

Writing Lab is an English 9 support course focusing on four main writing genres: sequential, narrative, persuasive, and expository compare and contrast.

English 10 introduces specific literary genres, expands knowledge of literary terms, and strengthens formal writing. The incorporation of various styles of written expression to develop the understanding that theme is what relates literature to life and that themes are recurring in the literary world.

This course deepens inferencing skills by analyzing textual evidence, enhancing knowledge of literary terms and how those techniques inform a text, ultimately giving students more opportunities to write a literary analysis, arguments, and Modern Language Association (MLA) based research compositions.

English 12 focuses on independence as students evaluate and analyze complex texts, write a variety of multiple-length compositions in MLA format that explore the connections between literature and the contemporary world and study the connotations and denotations of words and their usage in modern language.

ASL 1 is an introductory course that covers basic knowledge about sign communication and deafness through basic fingerspelling, vocabulary, grammar, and with an emphasis on acquisition of comprehension and production skills, knowledge of the Deaf community, and the development of cultural awareness.

COURSE OF RIGOR

This course continues to build on the foundations of ASL with a continued focus on receptive and expressive language with more fingerspelling, vocabulary, and grammar practice, combined with a continued focus on cultural awareness and connections with other disciplines, comparisons with the student’s first language, and potential for involvement in the Deaf community. c

COURSE OF RIGOR

ASL 3 is designed to expand on concepts and understandings of the complexities within the language by reviewing and expanding on vocabulary, grammar, and cultural awareness, with a continued focus on receptive comprehension and more complex expressive language.

This course introduces the Spanish language through the basics of vocabulary, beginning grammar, simple phrases, with a focus on listening comprehension and speaking. Students learn to understand how to greet and take leave of someone, to ask and respond to basic questions, to speak and read within a range of carefully selected topics, and to develop an understanding of Spanish-speaking cultures.

COURSE OF RIGOR

Spanish 2 builds on the foundation of Spanish skills by adding more vocabulary and grammar, increasing practice with more complicated phrases and conversations with a continued focus on listening, and more complex speaking within a range of carefully selected topics that serve to increase understanding of Spanish-speaking cultures.

COURSE OF RIGOR

The final course in a three-course series, Spanish 3 provides further opportunities to increase listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills that expand vocabulary, grammar, and cultural awareness.

This course covers the study of Algebra and data analysis on the coordinate plane including: radical, polynomial and rational expressions; basic functions and their graphs; simple equations; and complex numbers.

Math Lab 1 addresses the needs of students who have traditionally struggled in mathematics by providing the additional time and attention in order to successfully complete Algebra 1.

In Geometry, students study of the fundamentals and properties of coordinate Geometry including: points, lines, angles, planes, and solids, and geometric proofs.

Math Lab 2 addresses the needs of students who have traditionally struggled in mathematics by providing the additional time and attention in order to successfully complete Geometry.

Course of Rigor

This course is an expansion of Algebra through the study of linear algebra, polynomials, and rational and exponential functions.

Course of Rigor

This course builds a foundation for Calculus through advanced algebraic problem solving and a study of Trigonometry, including: rational, trigonometric, and inverse trigonometric functions; basic trigonometric identities and the laws of sines and cosines; sequences and series; vectors; the central limit theorem and confidence intervals.

In Math of Finance, students study real world financial math concepts and their applications concentrating on the mathematics necessary to understand and make informed decisions related to personal finance.

This course is designed to cover high school mathematics standards essential for success in non-STEM post-secondary mathematics courses. Students solidify Algebra courses through project-based learning.

Course of Rigor

This course is a first course in the study of the mathematics of change that deals with the finding and properties of problem solving, reasoning and estimation, functions, derivatives, applications of the derivative, integrals, and application of the integral.

Physical Science is a survey course with one semester of chemistry and one semester of physics, covering more abstract concepts such as the conceptualization of the structure of atoms, motion and forces, and the conservation of energy and matter, the action/reaction principle, and wave behavior through experience in laboratories and field work using the process of inquiry.

Biology is a course designed to investigate living organisms, including their origin, structure, function, growth, reproduction, and distribution including more abstract concepts such as the interdependence of organisms, the relationship of matter, energy, and organization in living systems, the behavior of organisms, and biological evolution.

Extensively performance, lab, and field based, this course includes learning about many components of our environment, human impact on our planet, interpretation of global data sets, and interactive models to focus on scientific literacy and learning the way that scientists think about the world.

1/2 creditThis course investigates the connections among Earth’s systems (the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere) and how they interact through time to produce the Earth’s landscapes, ecology, and resources, and helps students to develop explanations of phenomena fundamental to the sciences of geology and physical geography, including the early history of the Earth, plate tectonics, landform evolution, the Earth’s geologic record, weather and climate, and the history of life on Earth.

1/2 credit

Astronomy provides students with an introduction to the concepts of modern astronomy, the origin and history of the Universe and the formation of the Earth and the solar system by comparing the Earth’s properties with those of the other planets. Students explore how the heavens have influenced human thought and action and touch on the following topics: planets, stars, the Milky Way and other galaxies, black holes to more esoteric questions concerning the origin of the universe and its evolution and fate.

Course of Rigor

Chemistry includes the study and transformation of matter including concepts such as the structure of atoms, structure and properties of matter, characterization of the properties that describe solutions and the nature of acids and bases, and the conservation and interaction of energy and matter.

World History is a survey course of the history of the world beginning with the earliest civilizations and highlighting important developments throughout the world until the early 21st century, including topics related to Early Civilizations and Classical Empires; Growth, Expansion, and the Emergence of the Modern World; Global Interaction and Conflict; and the Contemporary World.

This course is a survey of the history of the United States focusing on the people groups, concepts, and ideas that forged our nation and molded it into what it is today with the main focus on the development of the United States in the 20th and 21st centuries, including topics related to Colonization through the Constitution; New Republic to Reconstruction; Industrialization, Reform, and Imperialism; Establishment as a World Power; and the Modern Era.

Course of Rigor

Constitutional Theory focuses on the philosophical basis for our judicial system and the history of the development of the law through examining major court decisions and the consequences of those decisions for society.

1/2 credit

This course builds citizenship by describing how our government works and how citizens play a vital role in the process, focusing on the foundation, principles and structure of the American system of government, examining the role of political parties, social factors as they relate to the role of the citizen, and analyzing the decision-making process that are a part of the system of American political behavior.

1/2 credit

This course builds citizenship by describing how economics works including topics related to Fundamental Economic Concepts, Microeconomics Concepts, Macroeconomics Concepts, International Economics, and Personal Finance Economics.