Academic Preparation

The State Board of Education has adopted content standards, identifying what students should know and be able to do in six major academic areas. Benchmarks have been set within each of the content standards, specifying what subjects will be covered in state tests at the end of grades 3,5,8,10,12. Students are expected to achieve career-related learning standards, focusing on a broad career area of interest, and participate in career-related learning experiences in schools and the community.

One of our goals is to prepare our students to progress towards meeting content standards. We do that in the following way:

• Our classroom is inclusive
• Students work within social situations rather than alone
• We empower our students to be actively involved in the processes of their own learning
• We provide authentic tasks or real-world issues as the context for learning activities
• We often practice interdisciplinary teaching
• We encourage active learning because it involves the student in active, physical participation as part of the learning process
• Critical thinking skills and effective questioning techniques are emphasized
• Many classroom activities evolve around Gardner's theory of multiple intelligence and learning styles
• Behavior is modeled

SAT Preparation

Sophomores and Juniors may take the PSAT's each school year. Seniors who plan to enroll in a four-year college or university will complete an SAT Preparation program prior to taking the SAT's. Students may be scheduled as often as testing is available.