It’s that time of year again where students are picking their courses for next school year! Kenwood has a variety of choices for students to choose from when selecting their courses. Whatever career path a student is considering, there’s probably a course to take to see if it’s the right fit for your future!

From their variety of elective courses in every content, to their two magnets and eight CTE programs, to college prep courses in IB, world languages, and AP-there’s something for everyone. Students between the end of December through February in grades 9-11 will be meeting with their grade level school counselor to select their courses. Incoming Freshmen will be selecting their high school courses after the upper classmen finish selecting theirs.

Back on December 3, Kenwood hosted an AP and IB fair so students could learn more about the courses available and benefits of taking AP and/or IB courses. Though some may think you need to be in Kenwood’s IB Program to take an IB course that is actually not true. IB teacher, Ms. Single sees many benefits to students considering IB or AP courses in high school. “The courses give students the chance to experience what classes will be like in college and they may be able to test to receive college credit while still in high school,” she shares.

To learn more about the variety of Career Technical Education (CTE) programs available at Kenwood in December freshmen and sophomore students in Foundations or Engineering or Computer Science class spent 15-20 minutes in all CTE programs learning about the program and taking part in a hands on activity ranging from making magnets to fitting pipes to baking.

As students select their courses they will have to decide which level of five possibilities they’d like to take. At Kenwood students can attend standard, honors, GT, AP, and IB level courses.  Standard classes are the basic level that students need to take to meet  requirements for graduation. Honors and AP (advanced placement) classes are advanced-level classes that present students with more of a challenge to begin preparing them for college level coursework. GT (gifted and talented) classes are for students who achieve leadership or creativeness in a specific academic field and are often taken freshmen and sophomore year in preparation for IB and/or AP level courses their junior and senior year. IB (international baccalaureate) courses are classes that encourages students to think broadly and see themselves as members of society and though it’s one of Kenwood’s magnets students outside the magnet can take an IB course.

When students are selecting their courses and class levels for the upcoming year, they should take their decisions seriously and make choices that reflect their future interests and explores skills they want to build and improve. High school courses are a free opportunities for students to explore their interests and skills for future college and career endeavors.  There’s plenty of opportunity to leave high school college and career ready. Be sure to make the best of your four years.