High School

For the 2018-19 school year, our private school’s High School program will offer 9^th and 10^th grades.  Every year, one higher grade will be offered until we reach our first graduating class in the year 2021. By 2020, our private school will offer all High School grades 9th-12th.

High School students will be able to pursue AP and Honors courses, dual enrollment with a college or university, specialization and certification in a variety of fields, and internships.  Beginning in the 9^th grade year, all high school students will be enrolled in an ACT/SAT test prep course. This continuous practice will help the students feel relaxed and well prepared for the college admissions tests.

High school students access the general education core curriculum, Adobe Creative Cloud, NWEA MAP assessments, foreign language courses, and more!  The general education core curriculum includes an array of teaching videos, readings, and assessments. Along with our general core, students will have a full suite of courses, electives, foreign languages, and specialized STEM activities. Certified teachers are assigned to each general education course, and students can message the teacher with questions directly within the course pages!

Teacher support and live help

Our teachers and tutors hold live office hours for student support Monday – Thursday. Students can also message teachers directly within the online curriculum on the exact page that they need help with!  Teachers respond to messages on the same school day!  Our team also helps to guide student academic development by providing ‘checks for understanding’ throughout the school year; the checks are mini-assessments which the student complete via web conference or phone with our teachers and tutors.

Workload

Wondering about the workload for online school? Students typically work on the general education core and enrichment courses for 4 to 5 hours daily for 4 days per week, and take a 5th day for offline learning activities which may include service learning/volunteering, physical education and sports, music, cooking and nutrition, art, and more.  Flexible scheduling allows the student to progress through the courses at an individual pace.  General education courses include Math, Science, English Language Arts, and History/Social Studies.

Electives

Students benefit from a wide range of electives to choose from—they are sure to find specialty electives to help develop their STEM passions! Our electives are an eclectic mix of general elective courses, foreign language enrichment courses, and specialized STEM learning opportunities.  From animation and graphic design to zoology and Mandarin Chinese, your favorite electives are just a click away!  All private school students receive a student user account for Adobe Creative Cloud!

High school students complete two years of the same world language, and at least 1 semester of another world language.  World language electives for Dolphin STEM Academy private school students are based on the top 3 business world languages. Other than English, these are:

• Mandarin Chinese
• Arabic (Modern Standard)
• Spanish

In addition to electives, students can participate in a wide range of clubs.  Blog and fine tune graphic design and animation skills with our digital media production club. Gain leadership experience as a member of the student council. Showcase your intellectual skills in our Honor Society. Compete in our various STEM competitions–globally and locally!

Our goal is to help prepare every Dolphin STEM Academy student to achieve their dreams and live their passion! Join our High School program!

At Dolphin STEM Academy, we are committed to student growth and development. To ensure student progress, we universally screen all students at the beginning of their academic year and continue assessing throughout the year using the NWEA MAP suite of assessments, general core assessments, and student ‘checks for understanding.’  The assessments pinpoint the strength and challenges of each student and identifies what is needed for individual continued growth.  NWEA MAP assessment results are integrated with our customized general core curriculum and provide a rich array of data for teachers to help advance student learning.

We also use the MAP assessment to help predict future ACT scores for students in 5^th-12^th grade; the results help teachers to promote learning activities to strengthen test taking skills and master content to achieve higher ACT scores.  Our ongoing student ‘checks for understanding’ give students an opportunity to demonstrate mastery of subject knowledge during an online web conference with a teacher/tutor.  The checks help to ensure that students have gained sufficient content knowledge to be successful in the course.  The data from our various assessments helps us to provide enrichment to help struggling learners and to challenge advanced learners.

Dolphin STEM Academy High School graduation requirements are:

• 4 Credits in STEM Specialization
• 4 Credits of English/Literature Studies
• 4 Credits of Math
• 4 Credits of Science with Lab
• 3 Credits in History to include World History, US History, and one elective History course: Latin-American History, African American History, Asian History, or European History.
• 3 Credits in Pre-Collegiate Studies and Service Learning
• 3 Credits in Physical Fitness, Nutrition, and Health and Wellness
• 2 Credits in Foreign Languages (must be 2 credits in the same language)
• 1 Credit in Economics, Psychology, or Sociology
• 1 Credit in Personal Finance

Foreign language courses available:

• Chinese (Mandarin)
• German
• Arabic (Modern Standard)
• French
• Spanish

Click here for a list of our general ed and elective courses.  If you want to suggest a course, email us at director@dolphinstemacademy.com