Teachers are working on constructing a new program for seniors next year that would change the way that seniors look at school.
“It is a unique year-long, inter-disciplinary course”, said English Teacher Vicki Cary.
The Senior Academy is an opportunity for seniors to gain three high school credits simultaniously. To make this course work efficiently, three teachers are involved. Ms. Cary, along with Social Studies teacher Brigitta Bergquist and Business teacher Rebecca Karna are the teachers involved in the Senior Academy.
The classes that are being taught in this course are CIS Writing/ College- Prep Writing, College and Career Prep and Communications Technology, and Economics and Cultural Studies. Students will have to meet certain requirements in order to get into the Senior Academy.
The requirements are students have to be in the top fourty percent of their graduating class for every class except CIS Writing. Students have to be in the top twenty percent of their graduating class. Students who make the requirement for CIS Writing will receive four college credits through the University of Minnesota.
Just like any other classes, students take have different units. The Senior Academy also has different units that are going to be covered.
The units are Educational and Career Exploration, Cultural Perspectives, Data Interpretation and Analysis, Evaluation and Reflection and Service Learning.
Students will be required to participate in a Service Learning course. In which students will be doing internships and volunteer work. At the end of the year, students will be doing a capstone that demonstrates what they have learned through the year and their capstones will be presented to the public.
To make the course work for schedules, the academy will be offered first and second block first and second quarter. It will also be offered first block for third quarter and fourth block for fourth quarter.
The main concept of this course is allowing students to connect their education to their lives and the communities in which they live in.
