DCC Honors Program What are they and should my child be enrolled in them?

Multiple Considerations Discovery Canyon Campus offers a high quality education for all students. ALL classes meet or exceed district and state standards. Students do NOT need to take all honors level classes offered. Follow a strength or passion area.

What is an Honors Level Class? Honors classes are qualitatively different in approach in order to meet the needs of the highly capable student; however, all DCC classes regularly seek to provide challenge and rigor to students. Examples

Non-Honors v. Honors Students compare and contrast characters from a piece of literature Students complete scientific experiments related to concepts being taught Pace is a bit slower Requires typical high school amount of time management Students read multiple works from the same author and compare and contrast the author’s themes brought forth by the characters. Students design and implement scientific experiments to demonstrate understanding of concepts being taught Pace moves more quickly Requires high level of time management

HONORS CLASSES AVAILABLE TO 9th GRADE Honors Freshman Literature & Composition Honors Civics and Law (1 semester) Honors Economics (1 semester) Honors Geometry Honors Algebra 2 Honors Functions, Statistics, and Trigonometry (H FST) IB Pre-Calculus Honors Biology ”Project Lead the Way” Engineering; Biomedical Sciences

PLTW Engineering Honors Intro to Engineering Design Honors Principles of Engineering Honors Civil Engineering and Architecture Honors Digital Electronics Honors Engineering Design/Development Biomedical Science Honors Principles of Biomedical Science Honors Human Body Systems Honors Medical Interventions

Honors Classes FAQ’s

Who should consider Honors courses? TAG students Students whose ability level requires significant acceleration of the standard curriculum. Highly Motivated Learners Students who can work at a high level of competence, responsibility, and accept a highly rigorous challenge.

Successful Honors Student

Successful Honors Student?

How Many Honors Classes Should a Student Take? This is an individual decision. Consider: Ability Study Habits Work Ethic Extra-curricular commitments Post-secondary Goals Interest in Diploma Programme

Reasons to RE-Consider… My best friend is taking an honors class. My Mom wants me to. I want to boost my GPA. I want to get in to a good college. I heard that teacher is really good.

Honors Program Expectation If a student enrolled in an honors level class earns lower than a C for the first semester, he or she will be moved into a non-honors level section of that same course.

What are the advantages of taking Honors classes? Students will be appropriately challenged academically Highly capable, highly motivated students will be in classes with other students who are at similar levels of talent, achievement, and motivation. Students will be well prepared to enroll in Advanced Placement and/or Diploma Programme courses in their junior and senior years. Students will receive weighted grades in Honors classes, AP classes, and DP classes.

How does my child enroll in an Honors class? Download the DCC Honors Program Expectation and Application (“signature page”) from the DCC Honors Program Webpage Download the subject specific Teacher Recommendation form from the same website Have a conversation with your teacher about your placement and complete the checklist ATTACH the signature page to all of your Teacher Recommendations Submit to Ms. Huch in Campus Services by March 1st!

What is the purpose of the Teacher Recommendation? Goal is BEST PLACEMENT for students. Facilitates conversations Provides a body of evidence from current and past academic achievement and performance

The Basics--AP Advanced Placement Program (AP) courses are college-level courses offered in high school. AP courses reflect what is taught in introductory college courses. At the end of course, students take AP Exams—standardized exams that measure how well students have mastered college- level course work. Students who do well on AP Exams can earn credit and/or placement into advanced courses in college.

AP Courses offered at DCC AP Calculus AB AP Calculus BC AP Statistics AP English Language & Comp AP English Literature & Comp AP Chemistry AP Physics C AP Biology AP French AP Spanish AP US History AP Psychology AP Computer Science

The Basics--DP The IB Diploma Programme (DP) is a rigorous college prep curriculum offered in high school. DP courses not only contain college level content, but the focus is on critical and analytical thinking skills, as well as application of skills and knowledge acquired. Throughout the course, AND at the end of course, students take DP Assessments and Exams. The combination of these assessments and exams determine the final score in each IB course. The assessments will be “why” and “how” focused. Students who do well on DP Exams can earn credit and/or placement into advanced courses in college. ◦In the state of Colorado, students who earn their IB Diploma will receive a minimum of 24 credits at state schools (and CC and DU also award credits, as well as the AFA for advanced placement in courses)

DP Courses offered at DCC IB English Lit HL I IB English Lit HL II IB French SL IV & V IB Spanish SL IV & V IB History of the Americas HL IB 20 th Century History SL IB Psychology SL & HL (I & II) IB Environmental Syst. & Societies SL IB Biology HL I & II IB Biology SL IB Chemistry HL I & II IB Chemistry SL I & II IB Physics HL I & II IB Physics SL I & II IB Math Studies SL IB Math SL I & II IB Math HL I & II IB Theatre HL I &II IB Theatre SL I & II IB Visual Arts HL/SL I/II

Questions? Ms. Amy Huch