SMS honors institute

What is Honors institute?

It is our desire to create a program that seeks to understand, support and serve the gifted learner by fostering his or her innate talents and deliberately stretching them beyond their comfort zones through the use of a cohort learning model that emphasizes and prioritizes the development of 21^st century learning skills, which include a focus on collaboration, critical thinking, communication, creativity, career readiness, and technology skill development.

How is the vision facilitated?

The vision is/will be facilitated by the use of teachers with a passion and desire to support the gifted learner and who provide an accelerated and advanced coursework program that embeds the use of interdisciplinary projects, competitions, services opportunities, and authentic learning experiences.

Program criteria:

This program seeks to identify students with outstanding scholastic potential who desire a challenge. Interested students may apply through an application process that will include review of the following:

• Teacher recommendations

• Report card grades

• Standardized test scores

• Student mini-essay responses

• Gifted Testing Scores

Program Expectations:

While students who complete the program successfully will conclude with between 5-7 high school credits, all students will have access to the following:

• Advanced placement coursework in math and science yielding HS credits

• Accelerated and rigorous coursework in reading and history

• World Languages yielding HS credits

• HI-only student events, such as career lectures, critical thinking challenges, leadership opportunities, community service collaboration with Salem Elementary students, and field trips

HI Assistant Principal - Brittany Lopes

HI Student Counselor - Traci Hixson