High School at VSL

High School at VSL

VSL is building a high school for the future, fostering critical thinking skills to prepare for careers that do not exist yet. High school at VSL looks like academic excellence with a goal of real-world application. A few advantages of high school at VSL are joyful education, relevant learning, and student agency. Other advantages are anti-bias education, equity, outdoor education, and opportunities for AP credit. VSL also prepares students for college through internships, real-world projects, multiple AP credit opportunities per year, and agency and responsibility in one’s own academic journey. A successful high schooler at VSL will have motivation, curiosity, initiative, passion, drive, inspiration, and more. See below for learn more information about high school at VSL.

• Relevant, engaging learning

• Real-world learning that positively impacts the Louisville community

• Anti-bias education with a focus on race and gender

• We work with:

• Mastery Transcript Consortium

• Beyond the States

• EF Tours

Curriculum

Like other grades, VSL's high school and junior high curriculum has foundational texts and resources, though students and teachers are not limited to those sources. We use a combination of proven curriculum, area experts, and resources based on individual need, project scope, and content. Frequently, through research for projects, class discussion, or curiosity, faculty and students will draw from other sources to deepen learning and make learning more relevant. Below are foundational "texts" for our four primary disciplines and any other common sources drawn upon in the classroom.

Mathematics - Interactive Mathematics Program is VSL's primary text for High School. Students may also use texts from The Art of Problem Solving and information available from youcubed.org.

Science - Science curriculum at VSL draws from OER, OpenSciEd, and AP textbooks and review books.

English - In the spirit of a philosophical tradition that ponders the question of “what does it mean to be human,” VSL’s high school English/Language Arts courses were expanded to incorporate other Humanities disciplines. These newly expanded courses, referred to as HELA courses (i.e., Humanities/English/Language Arts), include what one would expect from a traditional English/Language Arts class–subjects such as composition, literature, and rhetoric–alongside less conventional subjects like art history, philosophy, and theatre arts.

History - For junior high and high school history and government studies, VSL's foundational curricular materials come from OER Project. The OER Project curriculum was developed by historians and educators and is inquiry-based, globally focused, and aligned with academic standards. Other databases that are commonly used for VSL history and government studies include Learning for Justice, the Smithsonian, Stanford University's Digital Inquiry Group, and Facing History and Ourselves.

Graduation Requirements

Kentucky graduation requirements

1. 4 English credits

2. 4 Math credits (must include Algebra 1 and Geometry)

3. 3 Social Studies credits

4. 3 Science Credits (must include two lab-based science courses)

5. 0.5 credit Health

6. 0.5 credit PE

7. 1 Visual and Performing Arts credit

8. 6 credits total aligned with individualized learning plan (5-7 can be included in these 6 credits)

VSL graduation requirements in addition to Kentucky Graduation Requirements

1. Scientific or technical writing or computer or technical build

2. Visual or performing art or creative writing

3. Public speaking

4. At least one individual project

5. At least one group project

6. Portfolio and portfolio defenses

7. Internship or community work

8. Competency in 2 languages other than English

9. 4 years of Art

10. 4 years of Physical Activity and Health