AP Courses

DURATION: Year Course
A-G DESIGNATION: G
GRADES: 10, 11, 12
PREREQUISITE: English 9

AP Seminar, the first course in the AP Capstone experience, is a foundational course that engages students in cross-curricular conversations that explore the complexities of academic and real-world topics and issues by analyzing divergent perspectives.  Using an inquiry framework, students practice reading and analyzing articles, research studies, and foundational, literary, and philosophical texts; listening to and viewing speeches, broadcasts, and personal accounts; and experiencing artistic works and performances.  Students learn to synthesize information from multiple sources, develop their own perspectives in written essays, and design and deliver oral and visual presentations, both individually and as part of a team.  Ultimately, the course aims to equip students with the power to analyze and evaluate information with accuracy and precision in order to craft and communicate evidence-based arguments. In AP Seminar, students investigate real-world issues from multiple perspectives, gathering and analyzing information from various sources in order to develop credible and valid evidence-based arguments. In AP Research, students cultivate the skills and disciplinary necessary to conduct independent research in order to produce and defend a scholarly academic thesis. The AP Capstone program aims to empower students by

• engaging them with rigorous college-level curricula focused on the skills necessary for successful college completion;
• extending their abilities to synthesize information from multiple perspectives
• and apply skills in new situations and cross-curricular contexts
• enabling them to collect and analyze information with accuracy and precision,
• cultivating their abilities to craft communicate and defend evidence-based arguments; and
• providing opportunities for them to practice disciplined and scholarly research skills while exploring relevant topics that appeal to their interest and curiosity.

AP Capstone is an innovative diploma program from the College Board that equips students with the independent research, collaborative teamwork, and communication skills that are increasingly valued by colleges. AP Capstone is built on the foundation of two AP® courses — AP Seminar and AP Research — and is designed to complement and enhance the in-depth, discipline-specific study experienced in other AP courses.

DURATION: Year Course
A-G DESIGNATION: G
GRADES: 11-12
PREREQUISITE: AP Seminar

AP Research, the second course in the AP Capstone experience, allows students to deeply explore an academic topic, problem, issue, or idea of individual interest.  Students design, plan, and implement a yearlong investigation to address a research question.  Through this inquiry, they further the skills they acquired in the AP Seminar course by learning research methodology, employing ethical research practices, and accessing, analyzing, and synthesizing information.  Students reflect on their skill development, document their process, and curate the artifacts of their scholarly work through a process and reflection portfolio.  The course culminates in an academic paper of approximately 4,000-5,000 words (accompanied by a performance, exhibit, or product where applicable) and a presentation with an oral defense.

AP Capstone is an innovative diploma program from the College Board that equips students with the independent research, collaborative teamwork, and communication skills that are increasingly valued by colleges. AP Capstone is built on the foundation of two AP® courses — AP Seminar and AP Research — and is designed to complement and enhance the in-depth, discipline-specific study experienced in other AP courses.

DURATION: Year Course
A-G DESIGNATION: B
GRADES: 11
PREREQUISITE: None

The AP English Language and Composition course aligns to an introductory college-level rhetoric and writing curriculum, which requires students to develop evidence-based analytic and argumentative essays that proceed through several stages or drafts. Students evaluate, synthesize, and cite research to support their arguments. Throughout the course, students develop a personal style by making appropriate grammatical choices. Additionally, students read and analyze the rhetorical elements and their effects in non-fiction texts, including graphic images as forms of text, from many disciplines and historical periods.

DURATION: Year Course
A-G DESIGNATION: B
GRADES: 12
PREREQUISITE: None

The AP English Literature and Composition course aligns to an introductory college-level literary analysis course. The course engages students in the close reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature to deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure. As they read, students consider a work’s structure, style, and themes, as well as its use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone. Writing assignments include expository, analytical, and argumentative essays that require students to analyze and interpret literary works.

DURATION: Year Course
A-G DESIGNATION: C
GRADES: 11, 12
PREREQUISITE: See Mathematics Sequence III

Knowledge of calculus provides a transition to theoretical analysis of relationships inherent in engineering, science, medical, and business applications. This is an advanced placement course, equivalent to the first semester at the college level. This course will include derivatives and applications, definite integrals and applications, and minimum and maximum values of functions.

DURATION: Year Course
A-G DESIGNATION:  A
GRADES: 11
PREREQUISITE: World History or World History Advanced

The Advanced Placement Program (AP) course and examination in United States History are intended for qualified students who wish to complete studies in secondary school equivalent to college introductory courses in U.S. History. This course covers the period of Exploration through present day and is designed to provide students with the analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in U.S. history. The course prepares the students for intermediate and advanced college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those made by full-year introductory college courses. Students should learn to assess historical materials – their relevance to a given interpretive problem, their reliability, and their importance – and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. This course will develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in essay format. A summer assignment is assigned and required prior to fall matriculation.

DURATION: Year Course
A-G DESIGNATION: A
GRADES: 12
PREREQUISITE: None

This course is one year and currently fulfills the requirements for American Government and Economics.  Students will become knowledgeable about the political structure and function of the government, the U.S. political process, issues confronting Americans, and the responsibilities of being active participants in a democratic republic.  The course follows the description set forth by the College Board. Students will complete a summer assignment and a Fall semester project.  Students are strongly encouraged to take the AP Government examination in May.

DURATION: Year Course
A-G DESIGNATION: A
GRADES: 9 -12
PREREQUISITE: None

AP Human Geography introduces students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of Earth’s surface.  Students employ spatial concepts and landscapes analysis to examine human social organization and its environmental consequences.  They also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their science and practice.  This course offers a comprehensive view of geography through a course that challenges students to use maps and think about spatial data, understand and interpret the implications of associations among phenomena in places, recognize and interpret at different scales the relationships between patterns and processes, define regions and evaluate the regionalization process, and characterize and analyze changing interconnections between places.  This course will be a jumpstart for our incoming 9th grade students to begin to explore the opportunities available to them through AP courses, commonly relegated only to upper class students.

DURATION: Year Course
A-G DESIGNATION: E
GRADES: 10, 11, 12
PREREQUISITE: Grade of “C” or better in Spanish 3 or instructor approval.

This is a yearlong advanced course in speaking, understanding, reading, and writing Spanish. In this class students will improve the accuracy and fluency of their communication in Spanish. They will refine their ability to communicate in present, past, and future tense about their appearance, personality, family, teachers, friends, daily schedule, activities, likes and dislikes. They will improve their ability to express with fluency and accuracy opinions, various degrees of certainty, probability and doubt, and they will strengthen their ability to persuade and command others. They will learn to organize their thoughts and express their opinions in extended critical essays. This course will prepare students to take the AP exam for advance placement in college.

DURATION: Year Course
A-G DESIGNATION: E
GRADES: 10, 11, 12
PREREQUISITE: Oral and written fluency in Spanish or a grade of “C” or better in Spanish Language AP or in Spanish Language for Native Speakers or instructor approval.

In this year long class, fluent or near fluent Spanish speaking students will learn to interpret and comment in Spanish on representative works of literature written in Spanish. Poems, stories, essays, plays, and novels representing various literary periods will be studied. Students will learn to organize their reactions to literary works in extended critical essays.  This course will prepare students to take the Spanish Literature AP exam for advanced placement in college.  It may be taken either before or after Spanish Language for Native Speakers or Spanish Language AP for Native Speakers.