Academic Requirements

For the Classes of 2011-2014

Western offers three academic programs: College Preparatory, Accelerated College Preparatory, and Teacher Academy. All three programs:

The Accelerated College Preparatory Program has these additional features:

The Teacher Academy requires four additional courses that prepare students for a career in education:

College Preparatory Accelerated College Preparatory
  • 4 English (Eng. I, II, III, IV or Honors/AP levels)
  • 4 Math (including Alg. I, Geometry, Alg. II, Pre-Calculus or AP Statistics)
  • 4 Levels of Same Second Language
  • 3 Social Studies (World Hist., Amer. Govt., US History)
  • 3 Lab Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)
  • 1 Tech. Education
  • 1 Fine Arts
  • 1 Physical Education, including 0.5 Personal Fitness
  • ½ Health
    -------------------------
    21 ½ Required Courses
    6 ½ Electives
    Requirement for this program: at least 1 AP course or 2 Honors level courses after 9th-grade year
  • 4 English (Eng. I, II Hon., Eng. Lang./Comp. AP, Eng Lit/Comp AP)
  • 4 Math (Alg. I, Geometry, Alg. II, Pre-Calculus)
  • 4 Levels of Same Second Language
  • 3 Social Studies (World Hist., Amer. Govt., US History)
  • 3 Lab Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)
  • 1 Tech. Education
  • 1 Fine Arts
  • 1 Physical Education, including 0.5 Personal Fitness
  • ½ Health
    -------------------------
    21 ½ Required Courses
    6 ½ Electives
    Requirements for this program: Cumulative GPA of 3.0 Min., 4 Hon./AP courses per yr. (sophomore–senior year), must take 4 Advanced Placement courses, including AP English Lit./Comp. For Class of 2011, English III Hon., only one AP English, and a total of only 3 Advanced Placement courses are required.
Teacher Academy
  • 4 English (Eng. I, II, III, IV or Honors/AP levels)
  • 4 Math (including Alg. I, Geometry, Alg. II, Pre-Calculus or AP Statistics)
  • 4 Levels of Same Second Language
  • 3 Social Studies (World Hist., Amer. Govt., US History)
  • 3 Lab Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)
  • 1 Tech. Education
  • 1 Fine Arts
  • 1 Physical Education, including 0.5 Personal Fitness
  • 1 Human Growth and Development through Adol.
  • 1 Teaching as a Profession
  • 1 Foundations of Curriculum and Instruction
  • 1 Educational Academy Internship
  • ½ Health
    -------------------------
    25 ½ Required Courses
    21 ½ Electives
  • Freshmen placed in Algebra I may take two math classes in the sophomore year in order to enroll in Calculus in the senior year. Teacher Recommendation required.
  • Honors and Advanced Placement courses are available to all 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. Placement in honors courses is de-termined by teacher recommendation the previous spring and year-end grades.
  • Students must enroll in a minimum of four credits each year from among the English, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, and Foreign Language offerings.
  • All students enter the College Preparatory program in grade 09. They may apply to enter the Accelerated College Preparatory or Teacher Academy programs in grade 10, for which administrative approval is required.