Course Offerings
SWWHS offers a robust courses across the following eight departments: Art Department, Humanities, Mathematics, Music, Physical Education and Health, Science, Social Studies, and World Languages. * Important * courses are offered based on student demand and can only be offered if a minimum of 15 students enroll.
>>Click here for SY20-21 courses <<
Senior Paper
The Senior Project class is a required course for School Without Walls graduation. This course offers a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum that requires students to complete multiple assignments related to a single research argument or thesis. The Senior Project will prepare students to be critical thinkers, thoughtful writers, and scholarly researchers in preparation for college. The outcome of the project will demonstrate academic and creative skills, as well as be a platform for students to develop as reflective learners and thinkers. The Senior Project reflects the culmination of academic experiences at School Without Walls and the influence community and global knowledge have on our student population.
The Senior Project is divided in to five major components: an interview with an expert, paper, product, portfolio, and presentation. Students must show proficiency on the research paper and presentation in order to graduate from SWW and/ or participate in any part of the School Without Walls graduation events.
For the 2020-2021 school year, many changes have been made to the curriculum with two goals as the catalyst for these changes. The first is a desire to create a curriculum that will support academic skills in research that students may not have practiced given the challenges of the 2019-2020 school year. Assignments leading up to the major components have been carefully scaffolded to support the students’ progress and growth in required skill areas. The second change to the curriculum is designed to provide students equal accessibility to materials and feedback during both in-person and distance learning. The changes reflect the School Without Walls’ culture of high standards and our track record of student success.
2021’s Senior Project teachers are as follows: Jason Bulluck (Jason.bulluck@k12.dc.gov), Laura Hall (Laura.hall@k12.dc.gov), Edward Ismail (Edward.ismail@k12.dc.gov), Maribel Jimeno (Maribel.jimeno@k12.dc.gov), Cristal Piper (Cristal.piper@k12.dc.gov) , and Adebayo Thorpe (Adebayo.thorpe@k12.dc.gov) and the Senior Project Coordinator is Jenine Pokorak (jenine.pokorak@k12.dc.gov).
Advanced Placement
SWWHS offers a multitude of Advanced Placement courses. Every sophomore is required to take AP World History to fulfill the second World History credit requirement and every junior is required to take AP English Language and Composition.
All students are required to take the AP Exams for the AP courses they take. DCPS has covered the cost of all exams taken in recent years.
>>Click here for SY20-21 courses <<
GWU Early College Program - Associate of Arts Degree
The GWECP- AA affords highly motivated and academically talented students the opportunity to pursue an associate of arts degree from The George Washington University. Sophomores are encouraged to apply. Details here.
High School/College Internship Program (HISCIP)
The HISCIP allows a student to take college courses during his or her senior year of high school. HISCIP offers DCPS students the opportunity to maintain their high school status while enrolling part-time or full-time at a participating college or university. In addition to being able to take challenging college courses that are not offered at their home high school, DCPS students are given the opportunity to earn college credit that can be transferred to many post-secondary institutions. Details here.
Internship
Students are required to complete an internship prior to graduation. In this course, students will obtain an internship in the community to strengthen their job skills, expose them to the world of work, and build professional relationships. As an intern, students will explore areas of interest to gain experience with networking, following deadlines, and improving written and spoken communication in a professional setting. Students’ abilities to plan ahead, multitask, and show flexibility and creativity will be huge assets during the Internship course.
Internships take place Junior or Senior year. Students must complete 60 hours of internship work along with related coursework, such as reflections, resumes, and a portfolio.
Please reach out to your school counselor or the internship coordinator directly with any questions.
Grade Bumps
A grade bump—more formally known as “weighted grading” or “value-added grading”— increases a student’s numeric grade by a full point for courses designated by DCPS/OSSE as advanced or college level. For example, if a student gets an A in an eligible course, the numeric grade received is not the standard 4.0 but a 5.0; for a B, the student receives a 4.0, not the standard 3.0; and so on. These bumped grades can significantly increase a student’s grade point average (GPA). Details of how SWWHS manages grade bumps here.