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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

What kinds of courses are offered?  (Particularly in 9th and 10th grade which seems like a weak spot in non-magnet schools.)  How strong is the writing instruction?  Do folks generally think of them as better than, worse than, or roughly similar to the middle school humanities magnets?

[/quote]

9th grade: AP Gov (also called AP NSL), Humanities English 9 (weighted as honors), Criticism in the Humanities (course specifically designed for the program, only offered there)

10th grade: AP Seminar, APUSH, and a class similar to Criticism but centered around culture instead of specifically art. I think it’s maybe Culture in Literature? This class is new as of this school year. Last year, sophomores took English.

11th grade: AP Lang, AP World History, AP Art History

12th grade: AP Lit, AP Research (this, along with Seminar from 10th gets them AP Capstone)

There is a very strong focus on interdisciplinary learning, particularly in 9th-11th. They have numerous projects that involve all 3 classes working together. This is the main draw of Humanities. Yes, you can take classes like AP Lang or AP World anywhere, but the interdisciplinary learning is unique. And of course the non AP classes are pretty tailored to their curriculum too.

The writing instruction is strong. There was less of a focus on writing in 9th grade, which leans more toward art, literature, and government. But with Seminar and then Lang, 10th and 11th  grades are very writing intensive. So is 12th, as AP Research entails a 4-5k word paper. There’s also a strong focus on historical research throughout.

The program is more serious than the middle school one. The cohort is noticeably more advanced than the middle school cohort. They’re also more tightly bonded than the middle school Humanities kids were. This is helped by all the projects that require “blocking” (the whole cohort is together for a 3 period long “block” instead of broken into different periods).

Humanities is the place for strong writers and readers, who like history, art, and culture, and value a close community of peers.

Other notes: it has roughly 55-60 kids, and a significant number (10-20) come from the Humanities program at MLK. Humanities is hard but manageable. It’s the same size as SMCS whereas Global has ~90 kids.

— mom of a current Poolesville Humanities junior/former MLK Humanities student[/quote]

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