Challenging Students Who Want More
At City Charter High School we have many ways of keeping students interested, engaged… and learning.
Honors Program
Participation in the City Charter High School honors program is open to all students. The honors program is a deeper and broader study of the standard curriculum in Mathematics, English, History and Science, beginning in the 10th grade. Students may take a maximum of 12 honors courses between grades 10-12. Approximately 30% of City High students participate in the honors program in each subject area.
Honors credit is given within a course for work over and above the core curriculum and Honors designation is included on the City High student transcript. Students enter the honors program at the beginning of the trimester and students are allowed to drop honors at any time during the first four weeks of a given trimester. 10th, 11th and 12th grade students must stay in honors for the entire year long class.
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society recognizes academic achievement, service to the school and community, leadership, character and citizenship. Inducted students are expected to take on leadership roles in the school and community. Criteria for membership has four parts –
- Scholarship (3.25 QPA, and at least 1 Honors class)
- Character (No suspensions in the current school year, minimum grade B in Workforce in the previous and current trimesters, 5 or less unexcused absences/tardies in the current school year)
- Leadership (Recommendation signed off by four grade level teachers)
- Service (50 hours of participation in school and out of school service experiences).
Email nhs@cityhigh.org for more information.
Electives
City Charter High School provides students the opportunity to explore electives during all four years of high school. Ninth and tenth grade students can take electives in the arts, music, technology or desktop publishing. Upperclassmen can take electives in all content areas. Elective offerings can change based upon trimester.
9th GRADE ELECTIVES
- Introduction to Programming
- Introduction to Desktop Publishing
- Introduction to Music
- Introduction to Artistic Design
10th GRADE ELECTIVES
- Programming
- Desktop Publishing
- Music
- Artistic Design
11th GRADE ELECTIVES
Elective offerings may include:- Health
- Marketing, Accounting
- Visual Literacy, Sculpture
- Piano, Chorus
- Public Speaking, Short Fiction
- Music & Social Change
- Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus
- Botany
Current 11th Grade Elective Offerings
12th GRADE ELECTIVES
Elective offerings may include:- Strength Training, PLYOGA, Lifetime Health
- Technology & Business Electives
- Chorus
- Mythology, Horror Fiction, Poetry
- Sports & Politics, Modern World, Violence in America
- Probability & Statistics, Mathematical Games, Number Theory
- Anatomy, Microbiology, Science & Manufacturing, Zoology, Engineering
Current 12th Grade Elective Offerings
Advanced Electives
BotsIQ Robotics
BotsIQ is a workforce development program of the Pittsburgh Chapter National Tooling & Machining Foundation. It was created to provide a pathway for youth to explore rewarding careers in manufacturing in grades 9 to 12. To accomplish its mission, BotsIQ offers multiple programs, two of which are offered at City High.
BotsIQ Combat Robotics
Through this exciting, hands-on STEM program, student teams partner with industry professionals to experience the entire process of engineering and manufacturing a 15-pound robot (Bot), including Computer-Aided Design, fabrication, machining, welding, and electrical engineering. Once the Bot is complete, students test out their creations in BotsIQ’s gladiator style competitions.
BotsIQ Academy
BotsIQ Academy offers access to online educational platforms such as Tooling U-SME, SolidProfessor, and Mastercam University to deliver high quality, industry-based curriculum. BotsIQ Academy offers coursework to prepare for industry recognized credential exams such as SME’s Certified Manufacturing Associate certification or NIMS Materials, Measurement, and Safety credential.
Extracurricular Opportunities
In addition to advanced learning opportunities within the classroom and in honors classes, City High believes that all students should have access to extracurricular experiences that can tap into higher level learning. These experiences can be led by City High staff or take place as connections with outside organizations.
List of Current Extracurricular Opportunities
Sabbatical Policy
There are opportunities in the region or across the country that are consistent with City Charter High School’s educational program. Examples of such programs include but are not limited to, NASA Space Camp, the Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Shakespeare program, and the Student Conservation Association National Parks programs. Because outside programs often occur during the City Charter High School calendar, students may apply for a sabbatical to participate in qualifying programs. Ninety-five percent (95%) of the qualifying program must be academically rigorous and provide the opportunity for the student to research, study, or learn the facets of a subject area that are provided by the curriculum at City Charter High School. Students who will miss finals are required to complete culminating projects in each course or a grade of zero (0) will be entered for each exam.
Qualifying programs MAY not (1) Provide the student with compensation such as a paid internship or employment; (2) Be a camp, athletic training, tourist, or sightseeing program; (3) Require the student to miss more than 4 weeks of City High instruction.
Requirements
Students interested in applying for a sabbatical must meet the following requirements:
- Cumulative minimum GPA of 3.0 AND B grade or higher during the previous AND current trimesters in all courses including Workforce Readiness
- 95% attendance (Present AND On Time)
- No disciplinary referrals in the previous AND current trimesters
- Must be submitted to the Transition Office at least six (6) weeks prior to the start of the sabbatical.