The curriculum in all academic courses is rigorous, and designed to prepare students for four-year colleges. Classes are heterogeneously grouped and the academic expectations are the same for all students. Students have the option of taking any course as an Honors course by meeting additional requirements that include additional work and/or taking additional exams or writing additional papers.

ACC teachers use a variety of instructional approaches that enable students to be independent thinkers and cooperative learners. Strategies include a constructivist approach to learning and a focus on seminar-style discussions that enable analysis and analytical writing. In the constructivist approach, students create and shape their own understanding of the work at hand, while being challenged by their teachers and fellow students for sound argument, depth of analysis, and thoughtful evaluation.

Through a variety of instructional methods and assessments, students make meaningful connections between their personal experience, background knowledge, nightly reading, and class work. Teachers design curriculum that aim for a balance of breadth and depth in subject matter. The teaching staff works to enrich students with an expanse of cultural literacy, and gives them the power to focus their research, analytical and evaluative skills for depth of understanding.

To further engage students, teacher created curriculum is encouraged and valued. An engaged teacher leads to engaged students. Giving teachers the freedom to craft their own curriculum, guided by the high expectations of the school’s college preparatory mission, helps to create energy in the classroom, job satisfaction among teachers, and achievement in our students.