Part-Time High School Enrollment

ENGLISH

9 – Pre AP English 1

Pre-AP English 1 is a course for ninth graders that combines literature, composition, and presentation skills. In literature, students focus on important works by modern American and global authors. We aim to include diverse cultures through the authors and through literary fiction and nonfiction genres in our curriculum. Pre-AP English 1 teaches students to read, interpret, and write about literature and composition. While analyzing and writing about literary texts is the main goal, there is also an emphasis on understanding cultural and historical texts. More specifically, the course centers on textual analysis, preparing students for close, critical reading and analytical writing. It trains students to notice small details in a text, helping them develop a deeper understanding of the overall message. It also helps students learn to create complex sentences, which builds a foundation for more sophisticated, longer analyses, while encouraging active engagement with texts, writing, language focus, research, and participation in conversations. Readings might include challenging classics such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Why We Can’t Wait” or Sophocles’ “Antigone.” Excerpts from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” will also be examined. Students will be encouraged to prepare and present research individually, showcasing their oral communication skills. Team-building exercises, as well as reading and writing exercises, will help boost their confidence in various speaking, reading, and writing situations. Ninth graders will receive explicit, research-based instruction that is systematic in approach. Pre-AP English 1 introduces students to key communication elements, including vocal production and listening skills. Students will learn to write argumentative essays and cite their sources correctly.

10 – Pre-AP English 2

In Pre AP English 2, students engage with a wide range of literature, including novels, short stories, plays, and poetry. Readings include works by William Shakespeare, John Steinbeck, Gabriel García Márquez, Julio Cortázar, Ursula K. Le Guin, Shirley Jackson, and Gwendolyn Brooks, among others. Through close reading and analysis, students will explore literary and poetic devices while refining their writing skills. Assignments include analytical essays, personal narratives, and creative writing pieces. Grammar and vocabulary instruction are incorporated throughout the course to support student growth in both written and spoken expression.

11 – AP Language & Composition

The AP Language and Composition course offers students opportunities to enhance their skills in reading a variety of print and visual, literary texts, responding critically to what they read, analyzing the rhetorical strategies that authors employ to develop their claims and themes, and evaluating texts based on their persuasiveness, significance, and historical insights. AP English Language and Composition aligns with an introductory, college-level rhetoric and writing curriculum. The course emphasizes developing and revising evidence-based analytical and argumentative writing and the rhetorical analysis of nonfiction texts. It also helps students improve their ability to write more effectively for various purposes and audiences, particularly in contextualizing, explaining, analyzing, and persuading through their written essays. Ultimately, the course deepens students’ understanding of themselves and their culture by providing opportunities to read, discuss, and respond in various ways to diverse print and visual texts on relevant topics such as education, American politics, the international environment, popular culture, the media’s influence on society, American diversity and values, and major institutions in American life, including but not limited to religion and government.

12 – AP Literature

AP English Literature and Composition is an advanced course focused on the critical study of fiction, drama, and poetry written in or translated into English. Students will analyze literary works by a diverse array of authors from Mary Shelley (Frankenstein) to Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner), exploring how literature reflects and critiques social structures, historical contexts, and human experiences. Through close reading and thoughtful analysis, students will examine authorial choices and literary techniques that shape meaning and impact. The course prepares students for the AP English Literature exam, which they may choose to take at the end of the year.

SOCIAL STUDIES

9/10 –AP World History: Modern

AP World History: Modern is an introductory college-level modern world history course. Students cultivate their understanding of world history from c. 1200 CE to the present by analyzing historical sources and learning to make connections and craft historical arguments as they explore concepts such as humans and the environment, cultural developments and interactions, governance, economic systems, social interactions and organization, and technology and innovation.1

1https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-world-history

*This class will alternate each year with AP Human Geography

11/12 – AP US History

AP U.S. History is an introductory college-level U.S. history course. Students cultivate their understanding of U.S. history from c. 1491 CE to the present through analyzing historical sources and learning to make connections and craft historical arguments as they explore concepts like American and national identity; work, exchange, and technology; geography and the environment; migration and settlement; politics and power; America in the world; American and regional culture; and social structures.

11/12 – AP Comparative Government and Politics

In the AP Comparative Government and Politics course, you’ll examine the political systems and government structures of China, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Throughout the course, you’ll learn how different governments address similar challenges and develop a clear understanding of the comparative method through the analysis of data and text-based sources, making thoughtful comparisons, and constructing evidence-based arguments. Additionally, you’ll connect political theories to real-world situations by comparing various political systems, institutions, processes, policies, and behaviors, identifying trends and patterns in data, and developing well-supported claims or theses in your essays.

1/12 – AP African American Studies

The AP African American Studies course is interdisciplinary and examines the diversity of African American experiences through direct interactions with various sources. Students enrolled in this AP class will explore key topics ranging from early African kingdoms to today’s ongoing challenges and achievements. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of AP African American Studies, students in the course will develop skills across multiple disciplines, focusing on historical, literary, visual, and data analysis skills. This course emphasizes the study of the diversity of Black communities in the United States within the broader context of Africa and the African diaspora.

11/12 – AP Government & Politics (S2)

In the AP U.S. Government and Politics course, you’ll delve into the dynamics among the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court, and explore how various political ideologies influence American politics. You’ll apply political theories to real-life scenarios, assess the impact of landmark Supreme Court decisions, and analyze data to uncover patterns and trends. Additionally, you’ll examine both written and visual sources, ultimately crafting well-supported essays that present a clear thesis.

SCIENCE

9 – Biology

Biology is a basic survey course designed for 9th graders to get an overview of many disparate biology topics. We start with ecology and evolutionary biology concepts, then spend time on biochemistry and the structure of the cell. We also cover basic functions of DNA and RNA, how cells divide and reproduce, heredity and genetics, and a summary of human organ systems and development. The study of life is huge and complex, and we try to hit the highlights with a focus on preparation for more advanced study in college.

10 – Chemistry

Our chemistry curriculum closely mirrors a streamlined version of a one-semester college chemistry course. Students will learn how to write, name, and discuss various chemicals, how to work with solutions and gases, and how energy is transferred, with an emphasis on the mathematical relationships that describe various processes. Students will also learn to work with chemical equations to represent reactions, and about acids, bases, and equilibrium. We finish the year with an introduction to organic chemistry, and, time permitting, either electrochemistry or nuclear chemistry.

11/12 – AP Biology

This is an advanced survey course on biology with an emphasis on preparing for the College Board’s AP Biology exam. This will largely mirror the topics discussed in our standard biology class, but with each topic presented in more depth. Units range from the study of biochemical pathways to ecosystem interactions.

11/12 – AP Physics 1

Physics is a discipline that seeks to describe and predict the behavior of the universe in mathematical terms. The course culminates with an optional AP test, which allows students to apply the credits earned toward their undergraduate degree. The core concepts covered include kinematics, forces, work & energy, momentum, rotational dynamics, harmonic oscillators, and fluids. Overall, students will gain a deeper understanding of how the universe functions at a fundamental level, as well as the mathematical tools used to describe it. Satisfactory completion of Algebra 1 is a prerequisite for enrollment in this course.

11/12 – AP Psychology

Why do humans do what we do and think what we think? What is mental illness – how is it diagnosed and treated? What role do situational factors play in shaping individual behavior? Psychology helps answer these questions. Psychology is the systematic, scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Over the year, students will be exposed to major thinkers, famous experimental studies, key concepts, and methods in psychology. This class is designed to simulate the experience of taking an introductory-level course in psychology in a college setting and will culminate in the opportunity to take the Advanced Placement exam for psychology.