• Required honors year-long core academic courses (ELA, Math, Sci, SS) that meet every other day (A/B Day Schedule), as well as daily semester electives

• Required accelerated science program (Biology Honors for all 9th Graders)

• At least 2 hours of homework each night

• Responsible for pro-actively making up missing assignment or exams

• Required independent reading every day

• 100 hours community service

• ePortfolio (college application preparation)

• AB-Tech classes available as early as second semester of freshman year (GPA dependent, free tuition throughout high school career)

• University/college intended curriculum

• 99% graduation rate

• 4 C's: Critical thinking, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity

• Focus on scholars' fundamental needs for motivation, social connectedness, and self-regulation as prerequisites for learning 

• Develop the skills necessary for creating and sustaining a balanced lifestyle that will help them as they transition into college and career opportunities 

• Foster the mindsets, skills, attitudes, and feelings that help people succeed in school, career, and life 

• Acknowledging challenge & asking for help and/or support when needed!

• Expected to adhere to the ACS Code of Success

• Must be understanding of otherness & productively work collectively within a diverse student body

• Personally accountable for progressing on tasks in more open environments (group work, outside, media center, field trips)

• University/College/Workforce intended social interaction and accountability

• Reading, writing, thinking and speaking about CONTENT, every class, every day 

• All scholars are completing complex and high level assignments 

• Read longer, more complex texts with explicit and implicit arguments 

• Require mastery of units 

• Grade-wide penalties for late assignments

• Accountablity for scholars not doing their part in the learning process 

• Options for enrichment

• The example of excellence

• Initiate and complete assignments in “good faith,” striving to understand the content

• Ethically submits their own work and apprpriately cites other's work (APA)

• Manage assignments in a planner or planning software 

• Submit assigned work by the due date

• Read directions before starting a new task, assignment, or project, and ask clarifying questions of their teachers when they are unclear 

• Choose to limit distractions like TV and cell phones when doing schoolwork 

• Choose to “actively” listen when receiving new information (Can they repeat what has been said?) 

• Demonstrate openness to new and additional information, skills, and constructive criticism 

• Ask school content-driven questions of friends and family members outside of school 

• Demonstrate a growth mindset of persevering through struggles, embracing challenges, and perceiving falling short of goals as an opportunity to improve 

• Avoids asking questions 

• Cannot share where they are tracking their assignment progress 

• Needs to be reminded multiple times to initiate, complete, and submit assignments 

• Requests teachers accept missing assignments at the end of each quarter 

• Appears “otherwise occupied” when someone is providing new information 

• Jumps into a new task, assignment, or project; then requests support or instruction that can be found in the written directions 

• Displays faux confidence based on limited familiarity with a topic, content, or skill 

• Attempts to multi-task or avoid school work with watching TV, texting, chatting, or scrolling on their phones 

• Focused on points toward class average instead of authentic interest, inquiry, and general educational growth

• Demonstrates a fixed mindset of shutting down in the face of struggle, avoiding challenges, and perceiving falling short of goals as evidence of an inability to improve 

• Chromebooks

(Provided & needed daily for classes & assignments)

• Canvas

(All classes & most assignments are posted online)

• Powerschool

(Families are expected to check grades weekly)

• Creating a community & close relationships

• Focusing on ownership of education and grades 

• Understanding the difference between getting a good grade and actually learning

• Breaking down SILSA outcomes and how they can be/are being achieved

• Self advocacy by asking for help, time management, vocabulary, writing skills, presenting skills

• Taking breaks from more "academic" activities and incorporating art and other interests

• Scholar-led lessons/activities 

• Scholar involvement in class decision making 

• To help 9th grade scholars transition to high school (study skills, organization, extra support), but also learn about the process of "finding your path" and getting ready for college applications and life beyond. It will eventually tie in with all grades and subjects, as our previous ePortfolio and Senior Projects did 

• Shared arts, clubs & sports with Asheville High School

• AVID - college & career readiness program

• Extensive AB-Tech dual enrollment (with possibility to earn Associates Degree at graduation)

• Failing one or more classes during the first quarter, places freshmen into the Academic Supervision Protocol

• If a student fails one or more classes, they are required to make up credits through summer school or next year credit recovery (These options DO NOT replace the failing grade value, and DO increase the student’s workload next year)

• Additionally, scholars that fail English I, and/or other classes, may be retained in 9th grade, prevented from attending AB-Tech classes, and may become off-cohort (not graduate on time)