Skip to main content

Courses & Grading at Homestead

Courses at Homestead

Our course guide describes the courses of study offered at Homestead High School. We encourage you to use this guide as a reference in planning the four years of high school. It is important that you read the guide carefully to understand the academic opportunities Homestead has to offer. The courses a student takes set students up for successful entry into the world of work or continued schooling upon graduation. It is important for families to read over all the options for study available in high school and make course selections which are challenging and reflect the needs of each individual student. If you have any questions concerning course selection or course content, please contact your child’s counselor.

Career Clusters at Homestead High School

 

2026-2027 Course Guide

 

Graduation Requirements

A total of 24 credits are required for graduation from Homestead High School.

Homestead High School is organized to have a five-period day for each of three terms or trimesters. In each trimester, all students must enroll in at least four classes in addition to one study hall and lunch. A student may enroll in five classes with a lunch period and no study hall. Some students participate in board-approved alternative programs such as cooperative vocational education programs, work-study programs, consortium programs, and college, university and/or vocational school courses. The school determines these options after discussion with the student and his/her parent.

  • Beginning with the Class of 2028, Personal Finance for 0.5 credits will be required for graduation.

  • No Graduation Requirement

    • Business Law
    • Financial Management & Decision Making
    • Keyboarding/Formatting
    • PLTW-Intro. to Engineering Design IED (H)
    • Robotics 1

  • .50 Credit Required for Graduation

    • Contemporary Computing

  • 4.0 Credits Required for Graduation

    Grade 9

    • English 9 OR
    • Honors English 9 (H)

    Grade 10

    • American Literature
    • Or Honors American Literature (H)

    Grade 11

    • Expos Writing & Literature
    • Or AP English Language and Composition
    • Or AP English Language and Seminar

    Grade 12

    • AP English Literature and Composition
    • Or select from Senior .5 English course options to equal 1.0

  • 1.0 Credit Required for Graduation

    • Band
    • Orchestra
    • Choir
    • Art
    • Theatre

  • 0.5 Credit Required for Graduation

    Grade 9

    • Health Education

  • 3.0 Credits Required for Graduation

    • Beginning course determined by recommendation and placement testing

  • 1.5 Credits Required for Graduation

    Grade 9

    • Freshman Physical Education

    Grades 10-12

    • Select from several 0.5 credit course options to equal 1.0

  • 3.0 Credits Required for Graduation

    Grade 9 or 10

    • World Studies
    • AP Human Geography

    Grade 10-12

    • United States History OR AP US History
    • American Government OR AP US Government and Politics
    • Economics OR AP Economics Macro OR AP Economics Micro

  • 3.0 Credits Required for Graduation

    • Biology
    • Chemistry or Physics (beginning with the Class of 2028)

  • No Graduation Requirement

    • French 1, 2
    • Latin 1, 2
    • Mandarin Chinese 1, 2, 3
    • Spanish 1, 2

AP/Honors/Dual Enrollment

Homestead offers a wide variety of honors, Advanced Placement (AP) and dual credit courses. As a school, we are committed to open access to advanced coursework (honors, AP, dual credit) in the name of preparing all students for college and career success. We encourage students to stretch themselves academically and pursue challenging courses that best meet their needs, interests, and post-secondary aspirations.

The content in these courses is enriched, meaning that material is covered in more depth and that more material will be covered in the course than in another course on the same subject. Students should expect to dedicate a significant amount of time outside of class meetings in order to succeed in these courses. Advanced Placement and dual credit courses cover college-level material. Students who com- plete an Advanced Placement course may take an AP test, the results of which may lead to college credit.

Participation in advanced coursework should not be taken lightly. As such, students are encouraged to collaborate with teachers, counselors, and parents when making course requests annually. In highly sequential content areas like math and world language, prerequisite courses are identified to ensure adequate development of background knowledge and skills.

Students are encouraged to sign up for a balanced schedule. Part of balance includes not only managing the rigors of a strong academic program but also allowing appropriate time for a healthy co-curricular and personal life.

Counselors will work with students to balance rigorous courses within the trimester system and will make changes when possible. Students should initiate contact with counselors during summer registration if academic balance becomes a concern. While not all courses are offered every trimester, the goal for any student is to have no more than three honors/dual credit/AP courses each trimester.

  • Homestead High School places NO LIMIT on the number of honors/AP/dual credit courses a student can take. We encourage students to challenge themselves.
  • Students interested in these courses should consider three to be the normal maximum number to be taken concurrently in order to optimize learning.
  • For courses not bound to a particular trimester, a counselor can help a student to balance his/her schedule. Please note that AP courses are locked into particular trimesters to accommodate testing in May.
  • Students should make sure to do the following when choosing courses:
    • Be sure they have met all of the prerequisites for the courses being considered
    • Consult with their counselor
    • Consult with current teacher(s)
    • Consider their co-curricular life
    • Discuss the decision with their parents

Courses With Weighted Grades

Advanced Placement Courses

  • AP Biology
  • AP Chemistry
  • AP Computer Science Programming
  • AP Computer Science Principles
  • AP Economics (Macro)
  • AP Economics (Micro)
  • AP Environmental Science
  • AP English Language & Composition
  • AP English Literature & Composition
  • AP English Language & Seminar
  • AP French
  • AP Human Geography
  • AP Calculus AB
  • AP Calculus BC
  • AP Music Theory
  • AP Physics 1
  • AP Physics 2
  • AP Physics C
  • AP Psychology
  • AP Research
  • AP Spanish Language & Culture
  • AP Statistics
  • AP Art & Design
  • AP U.S. Government & Politics
  • AP U.S. History

Honors Courses

  • Advanced Creative Writing & Reading Seminar(H)
  • Advance Mass Media & Communications (H)
  • Advanced Programming (H)
  • College Personal Finance - CAPP (H)
  • Cybersecurity 2 (H)
  • French 4 (H)
  • Game Design & Development (H)
  • Honors Algebra 1 (H)
  • Honors Algebra 2/Trigonometry (H)
  • Honors American Literature(H)
  • Honors Biology (H)
  • Honors Chemistry (H)
  • Honors English 9 (H)
  • Honors Geometry (H)
  • Independent Study (H)
  • Latin 4 (H)
  • Latin 5 (H)
  • Chinese 4 (H)
  • Multimedia 3 (H)
  • Multivariable Calculus (H)
  • Product Development Project (H)
  • Programming 1 (H)
  • Project Lead the Way Courses:
  • Aerospace Engineering (H)
  • Civil Engineering & Architecture(H)
  • Computer Integrated Manufacturing(H)
  • Engineering Design & Development (H)
  • Human Body Systems (H)
  •  Introduction to Engineering Design (H)
  • Principles of Engineering (H)
  • Spanish 4 (H)

Honor Roll

Students are recognized at the “Honors” level if they earn a minimum unweighted grade point average of 3.00. Students earning an unweighted grade point average of 3.5 or higher qualify for “High Honors.” All courses will be included in computing an average for the Honor Roll. In addition, the grade a student receives in a number of elective courses may be excluded from the computation of the grade point. Specific information about this information is included in the Course Guide.

Graduation Honors

Students are recognized for outstanding academic achievement as part of the commencement ceremony in June. This is done in two ways: 1. Distinguished Honor Students: Recognition is given to the top ten students based on using both the weighted grade point scale and the unweighted grade point scale. Students from both groups will receive a plaque recognizing this achievement. 2. Honor Cords: Honor cords are awarded at two levels. Students who have earned a cumulative unweighted grade point average of a minimum of 3.0 receive a yellow honor cord; students who have earned a cumulative unweighted grade point average of 3.5 or higher receive a white honor cord. The cords are presented to students just prior to the processional.

Grades

Two grading options have been established for some courses offered to students, including AP/Honors courses and some elective courses.

The grades that students earn in selected courses at the Honors and Advanced Placement level are weighted. Students will receive additional credit toward their grade point average, or GPA, for successful completion of these courses. Both GPAs are included on the student transcript sent to colleges and universities.

Additional information related to these grading options can be obtained from the counseling staff or by referring to the Parent/Student Handbook.

GRADE REGULAR HONORS & AP (+1.0) Grade %

A

4.00

5.00

93-99

A-

3.67

4.67

90-92

B+

3.33

4.33

87-89

B

3.00

4.00

83-86

B-

2.67

3.67

80-82

C+

2.33

3.33

77-79

C

2.00

3.00

73-76

C-

1.67

2.67

70-72

D+

1.33

2.33

67-69

D

1.00

2.00

63-66

D-

0.67

1.67

60-62

F

0.00

0.00

Below 60
 

UNWEIGHTED SCALE

WEIGHTED SCALE

  

 

  • Two grading options have been established for some courses offered to students, including AP/Honors courses and some elective courses.

    The grades that students earn in selected courses at the Honors and Advanced Placement level are weighted. Students will receive additional credit toward their grade point average, or GPA, for successful completion of these courses. Both GPAs are included on the student transcript sent to colleges and universities.

    Additional information related to these grading options can be obtained from the counseling staff or by referring to the Parent/Student Handbook.

  • GRADE REGULAR HONORS & AP (+1.0) Grade %

    A

    4.00

    5.00

    93-99

    A-

    3.67

    4.67

    90-92

    B+

    3.33

    4.33

    87-89

    B

    3.00

    4.00

    83-86

    B-

    2.67

    3.67

    80-82

    C+

    2.33

    3.33

    77-79

    C

    2.00

    3.00

    73-76

    C-

    1.67

    2.67

    70-72

    D+

    1.33

    2.33

    67-69

    D

    1.00

    2.00

    63-66

    D-

    0.67

    1.67

    60-62

    F

    0.00

    0.00

    Below 60
     

    UNWEIGHTED SCALE

    WEIGHTED SCALE