AP Government introduces students to key political ideas, institutions, policies, interactions, roles, and behaviors that characterize the political culture of the United States. The course examines politically significant concepts and themes, through which students learn to apply disciplinary reasoning, assess the causes and consequences of political events, and interpret data to develop evidence-based arguments. Included in this course will be a study of the federal and state constitutions thereby meeting the state’s constitution requirements. This course will be offered second semester only.

This course will focus on national and world news. As news events are discussed, emphasis will be placed on the roots of world and national situations, distinguishing between fact and opinion in the news, bias in news presentation, and recognition of various propaganda techniques used to sway public opinion. Research will be used to learn how national and international situations have developed and what proposals have been advanced to deal with these situations. Students who enroll in this course should be able to read at or above grade level, have good comprehension skills, and have the ability to think and analyze situations. They should be able to express themselves both verbally and in writing and be able and willing to participate in class discussions.

5126: Design Thinking (1-2 credits ELE, Gr. 12)

Prerequisite: Approved Capstone Project

This capstone is a project that allows students to learn about themselves by moving an idea or dream toward a topic of interest, specialization, community need, or career choice. As part of this course, all students must complete a capstone experience which may include, but is not limited to: senior project, virtual enterprise, internship, externship, work-based learning, service learning, community service, etc.

8819: Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) - 4 credits (3 credit PAR and 1 credit SCI, Gr. 12)

Prerequisite: Minimum 2.0 GPA, 90% attendance record; Biology; reading, writing, and math at a 10th grade level

This program at Herndon Career Center prepares the EMT student to provide pre-hospital assessment and care for patients of all ages with a variety of medical conditions and traumatic injuries. Areas of study include an introduction to emergency medical services systems, roles and responsibilities of EMTs, anatomy and physiology, medical emergencies, trauma, special considerations for working in the pre-hospital setting, and providing patient transportation. This course is physically demanding and requires students to be focused on gaining the knowledge and skills required to pass the EMT Basic exam. Clinical observations may be necessary after school hours and would require transportation to the site. Student fees will be approximately $150 and include CPR, uniform, and required equipment.

5602: Emergency Management Capstone (2 credits, PAR, Gr. 11-12)

Prerequisite:  Introduction to Public Service

This course offers an exciting opportunity to learn and experience all facets of emergency management, including the history of emergency management, implementation in conjunction with other agencies, implementation during emergency response. Students also explore the roles and responsibilities of government and non-governmental organizations as it pertains to disasters through mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery systems.  Students in this course complete Teen Citizen Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T) training and certification.  

1201: French I (1 credit ELE, Gr. 9-12)

All about me!  In French I, students will be able to describe themselves, their family and friends, classes at school, and so on. In addition, students will be able to express their likes and dislikes on a variety of topics! Students will discover the French culture by tasting French cuisine, listening to French music, and celebrating French holidays and traditions. Projects and presentations will include academy emphasis.

1203: French II (1 credit ELE, Gr. 10-12)

Prerequisite: French I

The world around me!  In French II, students will be able to communicate in a restaurant and a store and describe their homes. Students will also be able to engage in a conversation about cities, where they are located, and organize and plan a trip. Culture will be experienced through food-tastings, virtual trip planning, researching geography, housing, and tourist destinations. Projects and presentations will include academy emphasis.

1205: French III (1 credit ELE, Gr. 11-12, weighted) College Credit Available

Prerequisite: French II 

This advanced course will expand upon all language acquisition from previous years emphasizing new and more complex grammatical structures needed for oral communication and written composition. The major objective of this course is to develop sufficient linguistic skill (speaking, listening, reading, writing and understanding) in French to communicate at an elementary level — enough to perform simple tasks in everyday situations, using appropriate courtesy levels, and to be able to ask and answer questions in short conversations. Students will acquire these skills in a context that will introduce them to French and francophone (French-speaking) culture, art, architecture, music, current events and civilization. 

1209: French IV (1 credit ELE, Gr. 12, weighted) College Credit Available

Prerequisite: French III 

This advanced course is for students with a proficient level of French. The goal of the class is to help students strengthen their competence in speaking, listening, reading, writing and understanding French. Students will improve their skills in a context that will introduce them to French and francophone culture and civilization. The major objective of the course is to develop sufficient skills in French to communicate at an intermediate level —to perform tasks in everyday situations, using appropriate courtesy levels, to be able to ask and answer questions, to form narratives in the past, present and future, to discuss issues in French and American life using reasonably complex language. Many of the skills acquired will be used to discuss French and francophone (French-speaking) culture, art, architecture, music, current events and civilization.

1401: German I (1 credit ELE, Gr. 9-12)

This course provides students the opportunity to learn skills to successfully study foreign languages and learn to hold a basic conversation in German. Students will explore German speaking countries, learn about the German home by creating a dream room project, and create a book about their favorite things. Learning German benefits students in ALL career pathways.

1403: German II (1 credit ELE, Gr. 10-12)

Prerequisite: German I

This course provides students the opportunity to learn German vocabulary centered on clothing by participating in a fashion show and master food vocabulary by creating a video project of ordering at a restaurant. Students will explore weather vocabulary by becoming a weather forecaster, use social media, in German language, to discuss responsibilities you have at home. Students will engage in a market place scenario and continue to build confidence and skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing.

1405: German III (1 credit ELE, Gr. 11-12)

Prerequisite: German II

In this advanced course students will enhance their German reading skills with German short stories and creating a short story of their own. Students will develop advanced speaking skills by creating a travel commercial. In addition, this class will provide students the opportunity to explore German culture by learning about holidays. Course content will allow students to continue to build confidence and skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing.

1407: German IV (1 credit ELE, Gr. 12)

Prerequisite: German III

In this advanced course students will explore German fairy tales by creating a video of a beloved Grimm Brother's tale. In addition, this class will provide students the opportunity to engage in a mock health care scenario as a class and explore the animal kingdom by creating projects about various animals. Course content will allow students to continue to build confidence and skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing.

This introductory course is designed to give students an understanding of business practices. It serves as a background of information for those students who plan to continue with other business courses and as a general information course for personal use. It includes the study of such areas as the free enterprise system, economics, exploring business careers, consumerism, and business technology. The course introduces business practices and structure between all levels of an organization. Students are encouraged to approach their work from an entrepreneurial perspective, and focus on the value that an employee can bring to the company.

2409: Introduction to Criminal Justice - Online Dual Credit (0.5 credit PAR, Gr. 11-12, weighted)

Student must have a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA.

This course covers the philosophical and historical background of the criminal justice system as it relates to the individual. Course content reviews the principles underlying social organization control devices with an emphasis on such legal systems as the criminal courts, corrections, and law enforcement. The course is designed to provide general knowledge about the concept and causes of crime, the varying goals and objectives of the criminal justice system, and an assessment of specific role performance of various members of the criminal justice system including major aspects of civil process.

2410: Introduction to Juvenile Justice - Online Dual Credit (0.5 credit PAR, Gr. 11-12, weighted)

Student must have a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA.

This course studies the delinquent juvenile as an individual and the impact on society. Course content investigates delinquency, causation, the role of the law enforcement officer, the juvenile officer, the juvenile court, and juvenile corrections.

8600: Introduction to Public Services (0.5 credit PAR, Gr. 9-11)

The coexistence of any group of people requires some form of governance or division of labor in order to maintain the existence of the group. The provision of these types of public services requires the full-time attention of some members of the group. This course provides an overview of the public service systems and examines the purpose, history, organization, approach, and functions of these systems with a special emphasis on current issues, trends, successes, and challenges from a population perspective. 

5517: JROTC Health and Wellness (0.5 credit HLT, Gr. 9-12)

This course is designed to help students master beginning skills in the areas of word processing, spreadsheet software, and the proper creation and application of professional presentations. Students will learn file management, how to save and find files, use a network, and share files with others for collaboration.  Students will learn the software skills needed in Microsoft and Google to be effective in school and the workplace. Advanced projects combining all of Microsoft Office and Google software will be included in the course.

8818: Police Science I - 4 credits (3 credits PAR and 1 credit ENG, Gr. 11-12)    

This course is designed to allow the student to examine his/her place in the legal system. Course content will deal with how the law and the judicial system directly affect the individual as a well as individual rights and responsibilities under our legal system. Topics include: why law, where law comes from, different types of law, the criminal justice system, juvenile law, etc. Real world applications of these concepts will be explored as they deal with individuals in society.

5600: Public Safety (0.5 credit PAR, Gr. 9-12)

Prerequisite: Introduction to Public Services

This course introduces students to careers in criminal justice, law enforcement, fire protection, emergency response services, and other related career areas. Students will learn about public safety careers through engagement in classroom and laboratory activities modeled after real-world work assignments, scenarios, and problems. Strong emphasis will be placed on written and verbal communication skills, mathematical applications, problem solving, ethics, accountability, and cultural diversity. Public safety professionals and post-secondary instructors will guest lecture to discuss aspects of their respective careers enabling students to make a more informed career choice. 

1529: Public Speaking/College Speech (0.5 credit ELE, Gr. 10-12, weighted) College Credit Available

This course is designed to improve students' public speaking skills in real-world communication situations. The class challenges students to become more effective speakers and listeners in a variety of communication tasks. Students will participate in group discussions, research, listening exercises, and prepare various speeches individually, and learn to both give and receive constructive criticism.

2407: Psychology (0.5 credit SOC, Gr. 10-12)

This course is designed to assist students in gaining an appreciation of psychology as the science of studying and understanding human behavior.  Major units of study will include: the development of philosophies and methods used to gain insights into behavior, a study of the brain and nervous system, human psychological development, psychological processes and disorders.

2406: Psychology - Online Dual Credit (0.5 credit SOC, Gr. 11-12, weighted) College Credit

Student must have a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA.

This online college course through Missouri Western State University, covers general information about psychology in everyday life, designed to correct misconduct and to give the students a better understanding of self and others

2411: Sociology (0.5 credit SOC, Gr. 10-12)

Sociology as the study of human behavior in groups is designed to acquaint the student with the types of groups we form, how we function in these groups and how we deal with social problems resulting from the interaction within and between these groups.  These topics are analyzed through sociological perspectives in order to evaluate various interpretations and explain why people behave the way they do.

2412: Sociology - Online Dual Credit (0.5 credit SOC, Gr. 11-12, weighted) College Credit

Student must have a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA.

This online college course through Missouri Western State University, covers basic sociological concepts and theories. Major topics included in this course are culture, society, societal interaction, crime, race/ethnicity, class, gender, the family, education, religion, medicine, the economy, politics and cross-cultural comparisons.

1301: Spanish I (1 credit ELE, Gr. 9-12)

Be a global learner!  Make yourself marketable in a global society! Students will engage in communication activities, which apply to real life situations and incorporate cultural relevance. Students will think critically and problem solve when expressing themselves through reading, writing, listening, and speaking at the appropriate level.

1303: Spanish II (1 credit ELE, Gr. 9-12)

Prerequisite: Spanish I

Students will continue to engage in communication activities, which apply to real life situations and incorporate cultural relevance. Students will broaden their abilities to think critically and problem solve when expressing themselves through reading, writing, listening, and speaking at the appropriate level.

1305: Spanish III (1 credit ELE, Gr. 10-12, weighted) College Credit Available

Prerequisite: Spanish II

This is an advanced level course is intended to progressively develop the ability to communicate well with native speakers, according to class level. The effectiveness of this program depends on the student’s active participation in a structured set of learning activities in the classroom, the language lab and at home. The textbook presents a gradual sequence of topics and situations supporting the acquisition of grammar and vocabulary in context. Communicative and cultural goals are achieved through listening, speaking, reading, and writing in the second language. These skills will be tested in the evaluation process. Proficiency in speaking and writing is progressively emphasized through this course.

1307: Spanish IV (1 credit ELE, Gr. 11-12, weighted) College Credit Available