Academy Life

A graduate of the Collegiate Academy will not only be prepared academically, but will also be armed with creativity and leadership skills that will enable them to compete with confidence in a rapidly changing world.

OVERVIEW

Once students are admitted into the Collegiate Academy, students are required to complete the following components:

8 credits of honors, Advanced Placement, and/or Dual Enrollment classes
20 documented hours of extra-curricular activities each year
Life experience in the area of his/her major focus
Senior Capstone Project

ACADEMICS

After acceptance, students are required to take the following classes

Freshman: Pre-AP English I, Advanced Placement Human Geography, Pre-AP Biology I
Sophomore: Pre-AP English II Honors, Honors Chemistry
Junior: Advanced Placement English Language & Composition
Senior: Honors Capstone

Academy members declare their majors at the Pinning Ceremony in the sophomore year. This major will be linked to the Senior Capstone Project.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

The Collegiate Academy believes that participation in extra-curricular activities immerses individuals into the school culture contributing to their well roundedness while preparing them for success at the college level. Each Collegiate Academy member is required to complete a minimum of 20 hours of extra-curricular activities per year. See the Grade Level Checklist for specific requirements.

LIFE EXPERIENCE

The Collegiate Academy believes that real-life experiences aligned with a student’s major focus will enhance the education and resume of each Collegiate member. This 40-hour experience must be completed before graduation. Hours may be accrued in the sophomore, junior, and senior years.

CAPSTONE

The Senior Capstone Project is designed to provide opportunity to apply what students have learned in the four years of high school to projects which extend learning, stretch potential, and challenge abilities. The Project consists of four major pillars: paper, product/performance, portfolio, and presentation. The goal is to choose a topic of interest and to explore.

The first phase is an expository research paper. The student chooses a subject to research and obtains a mentor for advice and assistance. Students must spend 16 hours with their mentors (8 hours for job shadowing/8 hours for product creation.)

The second phase requires the student to apply the information gained from the research to manufacture a product. The product may be an actual physical product, a performance or demonstration, or a service to the community. There must be a clear relationship between the research and the product.

The third phase of the Project is the portfolio. The portfolio records progress and demonstrates the journey throughout the entire Senior Project. This may include documents such as personal notes, photographs, time logs with the mentor, journal entries, receipts, letters, and the research paper.

The final phase of the project is the presentation. This is a speech of between eight to ten minutes, given before a board of judges. Students are assigned a date and time well in advance.