AP Courses (Advanced Placement)

AP Biology is an introductory college-level biology course. Students cultivate their understanding of biology through inquiry-based investigations as they explore the following topics: evolution, cellular processes, energy and communication, genetics, information transfer, ecology, and interactions.

This course is designed to make it possible to earn one semester of college credit with a qualifying score on the AP test.  This course is a rigorous study of Calculus that covers fewer topics than Advanced Placement Calculus BC. 
 

This course is designed to make it possible to earn two semesters of college credit with a qualifying score on the AP test.  All students enrolled in Advanced Placement level courses will have required summer work.

The AP Chemistry course provides students with a college-level foundation to support future advanced coursework in chemistry. Students cultivate their understanding of chemistry through inquiry-based investigations, as they explore content such as: atomic structure, intermolecular forces and bonding, chemical reactions, kinetics, thermodynamics, and equilibrium. AP Chemistry  is designed to be the equivalent of a general chemistry course, usually taken during the first college year.

This course will develop your understanding of the techniques and data structures used by software engineers to create powerful and sophisticated programs.  Special attention will be given toward preparation for the Computer Science (A) AP exam.  Students who plan on pursuing post-secondary studies in computer science, mathematics, science, or engineering will benefit from this course.

AP Computer Science Principles is an entry-level Computer Science course. No prior Computer Science experience is required or expected! The course has the advantage of being both an entry-level course, with a general introduction to the course content, and also an AP course. The course will explore how computers function, how they are programmed, and the impact that Computer Science has on our society.  Students will leave the course with strengthened, creative, problem-solving skills.  Anyone who is planning on majoring in Computer Science or any form of Engineering, Mathematics, or other areas of Science or Business after high school will benefit from this course.

The AP English Language and Composition course requires students to become skilled readers of prose written in a variety of rhetorical contexts and skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. This course will incorporate texts from American literature. Students will not be required to take the AP exam, but it is strongly encouraged. 

The AP Literature & Composition course is an in-depth study of literature and composition for seniors who may want to earn college credit. The literature studied will represent varying genres, time periods, and cultures, including British Literature. Students will not be required to take the AP exam, but it is strongly encouraged. 

The goal of this course is to provide students with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and to examine alternative solutions for resolving or preventing them. This course will follow the national curriculum for AP Environmental Science while connecting with real world issues in our own community. It is highly recommended that students who enroll in this class take the AP test in May.

This course is the equivalent to a college introductory course in Western Civilization.  Beginning with the Renaissance, the curriculum moves chronologically to the present. In addition to providing a basic narrative of events and movements, the goals of this course are to develop an understanding of some of the principal themes in modern European history, an ability to analyze, and an ability to express historical understanding in writing.

This course is designed to further develop interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational communication skills as well as comprehensive cultural knowledge through the study of advanced grammar, French literature, and cultural material.  This course will help students prepare for the AP French Language and Culture exam, college proficiency tests, and/or future study of French.

This course is designed to provide a better understanding of how people behave politically, how our political system is designed, how our political institutions work, and how all of these facets of our political system interact to create public policy.  Qualified students may opt to take this course to meet the Government requirement for graduation.

The AP Human Geography course is equivalent to an introductory, college-level course in human geography.  The course 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 landscape analysis to examine socio-economic organization and its environmental consequences.  They also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their research and applications.  

This course provides motivated students of the classics with the means to succeed on the AP Latin Exam, which allows students to earn college credit.  Students translate more than 500 lines of Virgil's Aeneid and more than 500 lines of Caesar’s Gallic War with detailed analysis of each work of literature. 

AP Economics prepares students for the AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics tests.  Topics of study include supply and demand, forms of competition, and the role of government in the economy. Qualified students may opt to take this course to meet the Economics requirement for graduation.
 

AP Physics C is a two-semester sequence equivalent to the first year of University Physics (calculus-based). Students will study; Kinematics, Newton’s Laws, Work and Energy, Linear Momentum, Rotation, Gravitation, Oscillations, Electricity, Magnetism, Electrostatics, Circuits, Magnetism and Electromagnetism.

This course is equivalent to a one-semester college course, but is taught over a full school year.  Students will investigate the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other animals.

This course is designed to further develop interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational communication skills as well as comprehensive cultural knowledge through the study of advanced grammar, Spanish literature, and cultural material.  The skills developed will help students prepare for the AP Spanish Language and Culture exam, college proficiency tests, and/or future study of Spanish.

This course is designed for students who may want to earn one semester of introductory, non-calculus based college credit by taking the AP test.

For this class, students are asked to demonstrate an understanding of 3-D design through any three-dimensional approach, including, but not limited to, figurative or non-figurative sculpture, architectural models, metal work, ceramics, glass work, installation, performance, assemblage, and 3-D fabric/fiber arts. This is an extremely fast-paced course for highly motivated art students. An extensive portfolio will be developed throughout this course. Summer work is required.