Academic Programs
A number of intentional components make Highline’s academic program unique and successful:
Skilled Faculty: The success of Highline Academy’s academic program is a result of the passion, expertise and dedication of our teachers. Nearly 50% of our teachers possess graduate degrees. Combined, our teachers average 10+ years of classroom experience.
Small Groups and Class Sizes: Based on assessments and teacher input, students are placed in small groups for math, literacy, and language arts in middle school. Small groups and class sizes allow us to better tailor our classrooms, spend more time working with students, and support their individual needs.
Spanish in All Grades Levels: Highline Southeast students take Spanish beginning in kindergarten.
Curriculum: Highline offers a standards-based educational program to all students. We begin with the end in mind; what should students know, understand, and be able to do. Then we draw upon a variety of curricular resources to meet the end goal. The foundation for curriculum and instruction at Highline Academy is based on the National Common Core Standards. These standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn and master at each grade level.
Multi-Language Learners
The English Language Acquisition department at Highline Academy serves to provide guidance, resources, training and support to ensure that all of our classrooms are equitable, rigorous learning environments for our Multi-Language Learners.
Multi-Language Learners in the elementary program at both Highline campuses receive 45-minute dedicated instruction with explicit focus on how the English language works, the structures and complexities of the English language, as well as providing students practice with linguistic skills needed to participate effectively in academic discourse and conversational language. Instruction is driven by students’ assessed English proficiency levels on ACCESS, with the goal of moving students from one proficiency level to the next.
At our Southeast campus, Multi-Language Learners in our middle school receive a truly unique approach to English Language Acquisition-- a co-taught model. With this model, a content-specific teacher and the English Language Development Coordinator collaborate to co-plan and co-deliver rigorous, standards-based content instruction with intentional planning and supports for academic language, in order to maximize learning of both content and language, simultaneously.
Elementary ELD Curriculum - E.L. Achieve
Middle School ELD Curriculum - The DBQ Project
Gifted and Talented Program
“Gifted and talented learners” are those whose learning capacity and potential for accomplishment are so exceptional or developmentally advanced that they require special provisions to meet their educational and affective needs. See the PDF document below for more information about what it means to be gifted and talented (GT) and the process for identifying GT students at Highline Academy.
Our leadership team provides programming to students who are identified as Gifted and Talented, or have high potential. They use Seasonal STEM Challenges, Math Stars, Destination Imagination, and Personalized Learning Projects for students.
Resources for Parents and Teachers
Check out the following resources to learn more about what characteristics to look for in a potentially gifted and/or talented child in your family.
