Department Policies

Credits:

Graduation requirements consist of 2 credits (2 years) but some colleges and universities require 3 years of Social Studies. Therefore, it is recommended for college-bound students to take at least 3 years of Social Studies courses. Students must earn a passing grade (at least 60%) for each semester enrolled in the course in order to receive credit for that semester.

Pre-Requisites & Sequence:

None of the social studies courses have pre-requisite courses. For the elective courses, Geography and World History are designed for 9th and 10th grade students (yet open to any grade levels) while Psychology is only available to 11th and 12th grade students. For the AP U.S. History course, we recommended the student also be enrolled in the Advanced English program due to the college-level reading and writing components.

Course Formats:

Social Studies teachers use a variety of learning strategies, such as reading, discussion, lecture, interactive and cooperative learning, document interpretation and analysis, hands-on simulation, and more. Student application and engagement are essential to have the best experience in each course.

Grading Procedures:

All teachers use a point system and the A-J grading scale. Refer to individual courses for specifics. Course syllabi may be found on the "Resources & Links" page.