This class is required for graduation. It is usually completed during the fourth year of high school. Responsible citizenship, including civil and political participation is essential to maintain a representative government that truly represents the people of the United States. In this course, students learn about the structure of government and how it shares power at the local, state and federal levels. This course also explores founding principles that inspired the Constitution and Bill of Rights, preserving the freedoms that students experience daily. Students will examine the processes of each branch of government, the election process, and how citizens can impact public policy. The media, interest groups and influential citizens provide examples of how the government can be effected by informed and active participants. Students will examine the U.S. Court system, and become a part of the process by participating in the judicial decision making process. They will also discover ways the United States interacts with countries around the world, through domestic policy, foreign policy and human rights policy. Completion of this course will allow you to act as an informed citizen who is ready to participate in the American democracy!

Economic decisions affect us every day of our lives. Understanding economics means thinking about how scarcity, or limited resources, requires us to make choices and evaluate our options. In this course, you will recognize examples of economics in your daily life. You will understand how the economic choices of larger groups, like businesses and governments, affect you and others. As you progress through the course, you will recognize that the costs and benefits of choices connect individuals and groups around the world. In addition, you will learn the practical skills of managing money and making sound personal financial decisions.

How do law and the U.S. legal system affect your daily life? In this course, you will examine aspects of the foundations of the U.S. legal system as well as different types of law including civil, criminal, family, and consumer law. You will analyze key principles underlying law such as justice and how the state and federal court systems work to fulfill these principles.

Students will learn more about the challenges facing societies and the relationships between societies, governments, and individuals in these areas. Each unit will focus on a particular area of social concern, often with a global view, and examine possible solutions at both a structural and individual level.

The Social Problems II course continues to examine the social problems that affect individuals and societies in the world today. Students learn about the overall structure of the social problem as well as how it impacts their lives. Each unit focuses on a particular social problem, including racial discrimination, drug abuse, the loss of community, and urban sprawl, and discusses possible solutions at both individual and structural levels. Students examine the connections in each issue between societies, individuals, governments, and the global arena.

American History (Required 1.0 credit to graduate) Usually completed in the third year of high school. The United States began as an experiment in freedom and democracy. Since its establishment, the country and its people have endured social, political and economic revolutions. In this course, students will investigate the people, events and ideas that have shaped the United States from the end of the Civil War through today. Students are asked to analyze and evaluate decisions made by political, business and military leaders. Emphasis is placed on connections between events of the past and present. This course also gives students the opportunity to conduct research and apply their learning to current, real-world problems.

The student will be taught to use the basic skills of map reading and development, geographic technology, and the recognition of geographic themes to make sense of the world. The course examines world regions including the nations, people, and cultures of the Americas and Western Europe.