Angelicum Academy High School Credit Track

Authentic Classical Education with all of the Timeless Ten^© Elements

• Known as the “high school track,” this program does not provide college credit or an AA degree.

• • It differs from the college-credit and AA programs in the level of student work required.
  • The high school track Great Books workload includes weekly readings, two 1,000 word essays per semester, and one oral exam per semester.

• The high school track program is designed with maximum flexibility that provides students, co-ops and schools with many options to complete the requirements while also assuring the academic rigor sufficient to merit our well-regarded certification.

• The choice of the “high school track” should be carefully thought through as we find that parents and students often select the high school track out of concern that the College Credit & BA Track or the AA Degree Bundle are too challenging only to later realize that this is not the case and decide to upgrade to either the College Credit & BA Track or the AA Degree Bundle in a subsequent semester.

• It is possible for high school track students to later change to the College Credit & BA Track or the AA Degree Bundle but this may involve more student work if they wish to make up academic work for the time spent in the high school credit track and thereby earn college credit for prior semesters taken in the high school track.
• Notes corresponding to the reference numbers in the above chart are found at the bottom of this page

Students in our High School track who desire an Angelicum certification of 12th grade completion must complete the following (or substantial equivalents) through grades 9 through 12:

Four Year Great Books Program

Our 4-Year Great Books Program, 12 credits each year, satisfies the Social Studies and English Language Arts requirements for a 12th grade certification, as it is both the core of our educational approach, and “the backbone of a classical education.”

• Students in the Great Books Program study 120 Great Books of Western civilization over four years (8 semesters). These Great Books include works of literature, history, philosophy, theology, poetry, political science, social science and psychology.
• In more detail: the Great Books courses include much Ancient History, World History, US History, US State Papers/Civics, Western Civilization, World Literature, English Literature, American Literature, Poetry, Shakespeare, Ancient Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Vocabulary. See HS credit chart HERE.
• Consequently, students in the program receive the substantial equivalent of four years of English language arts courses, and three years of social studies, inter alia. The courses include much more as well, but students who take this program do not need to take additional English language arts courses (assuming they completed 8th grade grammar) or social science courses to fulfill our graduation requirements. They are of course free to do so – and we do offer such courses – but for them it is not required.
• The High School workload includes weekly readings, two 1,000 word essays per semester, and two oral exams.
• Students taking the Great Books program can either enroll in our live weekly online courses or the asynchronous (pre-recorded) courses—the tuition is the same for both. To enroll or learn more, click HERE.

Math & Science Requirements

In addition to the Great Books Program, high school track students will have several options (see next section below) to complete the following math and science requirements necessary for an Angelicum Academy certification:

• 3 Years of Math (Algebra I & II and Geometry; note: the ACT also tests Trigonometry; the SAT tests data analysis, statistics, and probability, but we do not require these)
• 3 Years of Science (normally consisting of: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, but sometimes Astronomy or other science courses)

• • Note: Some states also require, two or more years of Foreign Language (Ancient Greek or Latin are recommended, but any foreign language qualifies) and one year of Art or Music (Art History—e.g. Art in Focus or instrumental or vocal Music lessons are also recommended); however these are not required by the Academy nor for its certification. Students should plan accordingly based on the admission requirements for colleges they wish to attend.

Theology Requirements

In addition to the Great Books Program, high school track students will have several options to complete the following Theology requirements necessary for an Angelicum Academy certification:

• 4 Years of Religion or Theology
  • Students can complete their theology requirements by:
    • Enrolling in the Angelicum Traditional Homeschool Religion classes. For information on the classes click HERE. To purchase books and lesson plans for these courses click HERE.
    • Enrolling in the Angelicum Live Online Religion classes HERE
    • Enrolling in the aysnchronous My Catholic Faith online Didache Series HERE
    • Juniors and Seniors may enroll in one or more of the four Theology Online courses with Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., HERE

Options for High School Math, Science & Theology Requirements

Live Weekly Online Courses

Students enroll in one or more of our live weekly classes in these subjects for additional tuition.  Students complete weekly work and tests graded by their tutor. Parents and students can find detailed information on our Live Weekly Online Courses HERE

Local Tutor, Co-Op or School

Students are free to select from various local options including mixing and matching elements of the Angelicum Academy curricula with curricula from local tutors, co-ops, or schools. This includes curricula from another provider. Grades, grade reports, and transcripts from other sources can be forwarded to the Angelicum Academy for inclusion for notation in the Angelicum Academy transcript.  We work with a number of co-ops and schools who rely on the Angelicum to supplement their local curriculum.  Our program for supporting schools and co-ops who wish to use all or a part of our curriculum is quite flexible and can be customized to meet the unique needs of each co-op or school. For more information on our support for schools and co-ops, click HERE.

Traditional Homeschool

Students enroll in our traditional homeschool program for a minimal fee and receive lesson plans, grading services, transcript maintenance, and consultation. Parents and students can find detailed information on our Traditional High School Homeschool Program HERE.  Textbooks, lesson plans and study guides can be purchased HERE.

Why Our Greats Honors Program is an Affordable and Great Enhancement for High School Track Students

Students in our high school track that intend to go to college should seriously consider our Greats Honors Program as an affordable option to strengthen their competitiveness for later college admission. To enroll and see additional information, click HERE.

In the Greats Honors Program, the study of the trivium and the great classics is restored, as well as those other studies which traditionally followed the trivium: the quadrivium (originally arithmetic, music, geometry and astronomy). Reflecting the advance of science over the centuries, the modern version of the quadrivium is broader, composed of the natural sciences (biology, chemistry, physics), higher math, music and art). These subjects are offered to Greats Honors students via Wondrium™, as selected and assessed by the Angelicum Academy faculty, mentors, tutors and graders. This makes for an unparalleled educational opportunity for students, 9th grade and up, in this Honors program.

Creating unique learning experiences since 1990, Wondrium™ is the online streaming provider of the nation’s leading developer of premium-quality media for lifelong learning and personal enrichment by providing access to a world of knowledge from the most accomplished professors and experts. More than 300 courses and 8,500 lectures are available, all designed to expand horizons, deepen understanding and foster epiphanies in the arts, science, literature, history, music, philosophy, theology, economics, mathematics, and high school curriculum.

The Angelicum Academy has selected approximately 36 of these courses for inclusion in its Greats Honors Program high school curriculum and prepared a means of student assessment after each lecture. Students will submit a reasonable, modest amount of written work or take short tests, and occasional essays, to allow the Academy to assess where they may need further explanation, study or guidance, which is offered on request by the mentor assigned to them, and in subject-area, live tutorials with experienced Academy tutors. Monthly progress reports are emailed to Greats students and parents.

The agreement between the Academy and Wondrium™ brings together the finest elements of education in one, integrated, online educational program – The Greats Honors Program. Because Wondrium™ shares our passion for learning and commitment to high-quality content, we are pleased to be able to include relevant courses from Wondrium™ into our curriculum in the Greats Honors Program in order to provide access to renowned professors and offer a complementary supplement to your learning experience. We are enthused to be able to bring together and offer all of this to our students, high school level and up.

The Great Honors Program courses are prepared and taught by professors and teachers at many of the finest colleges and universities in the world, and of the 120 credits in the Greats Honors Program, courses with 60 such credits have been reviewed and recommended for college-level credit by the American Council on Education (ACE CREDIT), those so recommended being the 8 Great Books Program courses.