GETTING READY FOR UNIVERSITY AND BEYOND
DWA high school promotes a rigorous academic learning program designed to ensure the greatest number of post-secondary choices for graduates. It encourages a greater academic load to prepare students for university; not just to qualify for entrance, but to succeed in their chosen faculties.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT
DWA also features the Advanced Placement (AP) program. This is the equivalent of a first year university course taken over the last two years of high school. Completion of this course stream allows students to write the College Board exams enabling universities to grant early credits if students have earned an acceptable mark. English AP is written every year; other AP courses are based on demand.
COURSES
Classes are generally 70 minutes long with a low student to teacher ratio because even in high school, students still need interesting learning activities and assignments to reach a diverse population of learning styles, time for discussions and questions, natural movement shifts and most importantly, time for the teacher to spend with them individually in every class. Any learning or organizational blips are also more quickly identified, communicated to parents and and with the support of parents, set on a path to resolution.
The amplified academic course roster, based on the Alberta Education curriculum, is completed by the end of Grade 12.
An extra hour is set aside Mondays to Thursdays from 3:30 to 4:30 during which students can access their teachers for additional course-specific instruction (ATI). This is by appointment only.
TRAVEL
International travel starts in high school and builds on the national excursion experiences in junior high. See Travel the World.