Here at Western we offer Honors classes, Dual Enrollment, and Advanced Placement.
Honors classes are classes with increased rigor designed to challenge students and to provide them with an educational opportunity that is stimulating and rewarding. These classes are meant for students who are both talented enough to do the work, and motivated enough to work independently. Students in honors classes should be interested in pursuing a discipline beyond that of the regular level of study.
Currently we offer Honors Level classes in the following courses:
Dual Enrollment is a class where the credit is issued by Piedmont Virginia Community College as well as Albemarle County Schools. In other words, it is a college class. Classes are offered at WAHS by our faculty but the syllabus is approved by PVCC and the student gets credit for the class from PVCC. Most colleges in Virginia will give credit for these classes as is or as elective credit. This means that some students will be able to leave WAHS with several college classes finished before they have graduated from high school. If you plan to go to school in state, you want to save money on your education, and you are mature and responsible, this is probably a great option for you!
We offer Dual Enrollment Classes in the following:
NB: The major issue to note here is that this is a college class. Teachers do not take late work, a single paper, exam or project might be an entire grade for a semester and failure in these classes may affect financial aid when it comes to college applications later on. In addition, many colleges outside the state will not accept this credit because the classes are not standardized the way an AP is.
This document below is PVCC's policy on Satisfactory Academic Progress:
Honors classes are classes with increased rigor designed to challenge students and to provide them with an educational opportunity that is stimulating and rewarding. These classes are meant for students who are both talented enough to do the work, and motivated enough to work independently. Students in honors classes should be interested in pursuing a discipline beyond that of the regular level of study.
Currently we offer Honors Level classes in the following courses:
- English: 9, 10, 11
- World History: I & II
- Geometry, Algebra II, Trigonometry, Math Analysis
- Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics (if you take it over the summer. It is not available during the school year)
- Spanish IV, French IV, Latin III, IV, German IV,
Dual Enrollment is a class where the credit is issued by Piedmont Virginia Community College as well as Albemarle County Schools. In other words, it is a college class. Classes are offered at WAHS by our faculty but the syllabus is approved by PVCC and the student gets credit for the class from PVCC. Most colleges in Virginia will give credit for these classes as is or as elective credit. This means that some students will be able to leave WAHS with several college classes finished before they have graduated from high school. If you plan to go to school in state, you want to save money on your education, and you are mature and responsible, this is probably a great option for you!
We offer Dual Enrollment Classes in the following:
- Web Design I
- Web Design II
- Computer Science I
- Teaching as a Profession
- Medical Terminology
- Anatomy
- Economics and Personal Finance
- EMT 1 & 2
- English 12
- Drawing
- Quantitative Reasoning/Statistics
NB: The major issue to note here is that this is a college class. Teachers do not take late work, a single paper, exam or project might be an entire grade for a semester and failure in these classes may affect financial aid when it comes to college applications later on. In addition, many colleges outside the state will not accept this credit because the classes are not standardized the way an AP is.
This document below is PVCC's policy on Satisfactory Academic Progress:
Advanced Placement classes are meant to be the equivalent of a college introductory course. These are highly standardized classes with a syllabus that must be approved by College Board before the course can be taught. Because of the high levels of standardization, many selective colleges prefer AP to DE classes because they believe that the course in Virginia is reliably the same as it is in Idaho and New York. Some colleges will grant credit for these classes either as elective credit or as college credit for the equivalent introductory class based on the grade received on the exam at the end of the year. AP demands even more independence, motivation and time management than an honors class does. For many students this is a good choice if they would like to challenge themselves beyond the honors level. For some, a combination of honors, DE and AP is a better fit.
At WAHS we currently offer 19 AP classes:
Here is my recommendation on AP Classes: If you are a student with a strong preference for Math and Science, I will recommend you lighten your load in Humanities and Social Sciences by taking fewer APs there. If you are a Humanities and Social Sciences person, I will recommend you lighten your load on maths and sciences. I believe in a balanced life, not in working yourself to death. My daughter is a humanities and social sciences person. She did not do calculus or AP Chem. Instead she did AP Stats and PVCC Envi Sci which both applied to what she actually needed in her future because they are more suited to humanities and social sciences. And she's doing the Envi Sci as a DE rather than an AP as well. Oh, and yes, she got into William and Mary and was offered a Monroe Scholarship. So no, you don't have to actually die from class overload.
NB: It should be noted that there is no evidence to support that students who take AP Classes are any more successful in college than students who do not take AP classes. Students who take between 5 and 7 APs are just as successful as students who take more than 5 AP tests at getting into great schools that are perfect for them, while students who pile on AP classes not meant for them are often very unhappy.
At WAHS we currently offer 19 AP classes:
- English 12
- US/VA History and US/VA Government
- World History
- Calculus AB and BC
- Statistics
- Biology II, Chemistry II, Physics 1, Physics C, Environmental Studies
- Spanish, French, and Latin V
- Art History and Art Portfolio
- Psychology
- Micro-Economics/Personal Finance
Here is my recommendation on AP Classes: If you are a student with a strong preference for Math and Science, I will recommend you lighten your load in Humanities and Social Sciences by taking fewer APs there. If you are a Humanities and Social Sciences person, I will recommend you lighten your load on maths and sciences. I believe in a balanced life, not in working yourself to death. My daughter is a humanities and social sciences person. She did not do calculus or AP Chem. Instead she did AP Stats and PVCC Envi Sci which both applied to what she actually needed in her future because they are more suited to humanities and social sciences. And she's doing the Envi Sci as a DE rather than an AP as well. Oh, and yes, she got into William and Mary and was offered a Monroe Scholarship. So no, you don't have to actually die from class overload.
NB: It should be noted that there is no evidence to support that students who take AP Classes are any more successful in college than students who do not take AP classes. Students who take between 5 and 7 APs are just as successful as students who take more than 5 AP tests at getting into great schools that are perfect for them, while students who pile on AP classes not meant for them are often very unhappy.