Q&A with Principal Avi Tropper How should I best prepare for success at Northfield High School? All of the Northfield High School boundary middle schools offer an excellent education and a supportive learning environment, ensuring that you will be ready for the high school. On top of doing your very best in middle school, you should also make sure to read a lot of different books in a wide range of genres and subjects. What are the advantages to being a student in the founding class at Northfield High School? Students in the founding class have the unique chance to create a school culture that will last long into the future. The culture and tone they set will have a positive impact on future generations of students. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As adults, students will be able to look back and know that they were the pioneers who founded the great Northfield High School. Simultaneously, the founding class will have the opportunity to customize the school to their needs, ensuring that their experience in high school is personalized to an extent that is rarely available. What kind of mentorships are available for the founding class? Northfield High School partners with Project VOYCE, a local student advocacy and leadership group as well as the Denver Public Schools Student Board of Education. These partnerships provides both leadership training and mentors for Northfield High School students. How will a Northfield High School Diploma be perceived by universities? As a new high school and one with a reputation for superb academics and well-rounded students, a Northfield High School diploma will be recognized by all universities in the United States and abroad. Universities are eager to establish connections with new schools and to recruit from the early classes in order to build long-lasting relationships. Individual student ACT/SAT scores, GPAs, extracurricular activities, essays, and letters of recommendation are perhaps the most important components of the college admissions process. Does a Northfield High School diploma meet the Colorado higher education admissions standards? A Northfield High School diploma vastly exceeds those standards as students take rigorous additional science, history, foreign language and elective courses beyond those required by the standards. How can I find out more information about the IB Diploma and college admissions? There are 830 high schools in the United States alone, and thousands of high schools worldwide, that offer the IB Diploma Program. All universities recognize the IB Diploma as an academically rigorous credential. For more about university policies on IB credits go to this http://www.ibo.org/country/US/ link. How are college credits for IB exams granted by universities? Each university has different rules for credits. Most universities post their policies online. For example, the University Colorado Boulder policy can be found at this link http://www.colorado.edu/catalog/2014-15/content/international-baccalaureate-ib-credit. Students who earn the full IB Diploma are granted advanced standing and 24 college credits. Will I be able to get a seat at Northfield High School? Students residing in the boundary (the Stapleton elementary boundary and East Park Hill between Quebec Street and Monaco Street and Colfax Avenue north to the city limits) are guaranteed a seat at Northfield High School if they select the school as their first pick in the SchoolChoice process. Should a student choose to attend another school, the guaranteed seat is automatically waived. Students outside of the boundary may apply for the 35% choice seats. Is the facility going to be able to accommodate the demand for all four years of high school? Yes. We will have a seat for every single student who is accepted. We will have the space to provide a superb and fulfilling high school experience all the way through to senior year and graduation. There is sufficient capacity to meet Denver Public Schools’ commitments that a) every student in the boundary who wants a seat at the high school is guaranteed one and b) 35% of the seats are set aside for choice, with priority to students living in the Far Northeast. In future years, as the high school-aged student population within the boundary increases, additional capacity will be needed. When is the high school going to be completed? Construction is proceeding quickly, and the academic building and gym are on track for completion by the first day of school in August 2015. The East Campus, which houses the athletic fields, is waiting on final agreements between Denver Parks and Denver Public Schools. The multi-purpose field should be ready by the first day of school and the baseball diamond by spring 2015. The softball diamond should be ready for games in fall 2016. What will access to the school look like in August 2015? Northfield High School is bordered by 56th Avenue to the north and Central Park Boulevard to the west. According to the developer Central Park Boulevard will be completed by early spring 2015. How will students be supported at Northfield High School? Each student has an advisor who follows him or her through all 4 years of high school. Advisors serve in multi- functional roles, supporting a group of 60-80 students and loop with their students from 9th grade through graduation. This structure ensures a high-level of individualized attention for each student, no matter how large Northfield High School grows. Advisors teach a sequence of courses that blend social-emotional learning with academic skills. This unique approach integrates eudemonia, or the good and virtuous life, into the academic experience. They teach Writing and Communications in 9th grade, Psychology in 10th grade, Research Methods in 11th grade, and Theory of Knowledge in 12th grade. What sort of guidance do students have in making sure they graduate, apply and are accepted to college? Every student has an advisor who supports the student by ensuring that he or she is on track to graduate. Advisors support students through the college application process and maintain contact with students through the transition to freshman year at college. A college consultant assists advisors with college applications. Is there an orientation for new students? Yes. All students accepted to Northfield High School are required to attend four half-day sessions that will take place prior to the start of their freshman year on Sundays during the months of March, April, May and June. During these sessions, students will be oriented to the expectations of Northfield High School, introduced to the courses they will be taking and to the elective pathways, asked to select their program for freshman year, vote on Student Government, and provide input into a broad range of school policies. What are the core academic courses at Northfield High School? Every student is required to complete four years of science, four years of history, four years of mathematics, four years of literature, and four years of a foreign language. In addition, students must complete two elective pathways, an independent research project, and the Theory of Knowledge course. Students who fulfill these requirements receive a Northfield High School endorsed diploma, which testifies to their readiness for the very best universities. What choices do students have within the curriculum? Students choose their foreign language from Spanish, French, and Mandarin. Initial student surveys have identified these languages as the most in demand. If there is sufficient student demand for additional foreign languages and qualified teachers can be found, other languages may be offered as well. Students also choose their physical education activity. As upperclassmen students choose their IB math course as well as whether or not they take the higher level IB science course (students who do not choose the higher level IB course take the standard level IB science course). Students choose two elective pathways they wish to take in four-year sequences. Students also choose the twice-annual seminars and Friday symposiums they wish to take, which have no prerequisites. Can you describe the science program at Northfield High School? In science, students construct empirical hypotheses, design and conduct experiments, gather and analyze data, report findings, and defend a conclusion or the need for additional experimentation. Our science program begins with the most fundamental forces in nature and develops student knowledge of science sequentially from there. Students take Physics in 9th grade, Chemistry in 10th grade, Biology in 11th grade, and 12th graders choose between an Advanced Biology course and an Environmental Science course. Students are also able to select from three STEM fields (Engineering, Computer Science, and Biomedical Engineering) as elective pathways. Can you describe the history program at Northfield High School? In history, students analyze and interpret original documents and sources, describe historical events through different perspectives and lenses, develop and defend causal analyses of historical trends, and form an understanding of past changes with an eye toward explaining the future. Students take American History in 9th grade, World History in 10th grade, and 20th Century World History and History of the Americas in 11th and 12th grades. There is a strong focus on interdisciplinary connections to the literature courses. Can you describe the literature program at Northfield High School? In literature, students interpret literary works, analyze and discuss the human condition through the lens of literary themes, use literary techniques and tools in their own writing, and apply various hermeneutic theories in reading. 9th graders take American Literature, 10th graders take World Literature, and 11th and 12th graders take English Language & Literature. Works selected in the literature courses are cross-linked to the topics and themes in the history courses. In addition to these core literature courses, students are able to select a creative writing elective pathway.