PA Cyber School Honors Program
The Commonwealth Charter Academy (CCA) Honors program is customized to meet students’ advanced educational needs.
Our cyber school’s Honors program provides unique opportunities for high-achieving CCA students in grades 3-12 seeking to participate in a rigorous and challenging online school experience. In high school, the Honors program expands to include Advanced Placement (AP) courses and College in the High School.
While gifted and talented charter schools often focus only on numbers and performance, we are committed to identifying students who exhibit the characteristics of gifted and advanced students and designing learning experiences to meet their needs. Students within the Honors program, which incorporates project-based learning, must participate regularly in class discussion and problem-solving. Students in the Honors program can expect courses that accelerate and customize their learning around areas of interest, deep exploration of topics, and challenging discourse with their Honors program teachers and classmates.
Students who believe they can meet the expectations and rigor of an Honors or AP course and would like to add it to their school experience can apply for program placement. Students can be considered for one or more of the Honors courses at their grade level.
Honors and AP students can be identified during initial placement or after enrollment based on academic performance and additional screenings by the CCA Honors program staff. Input from learning coaches is an important part of identifying and serving students for the Honors program.
CCA strives to meet or exceed standards set forth by the National Association for Gifted Learners for its online Honors program.
Honors Courses for CCA Online Education Students
Like any school curriculum for the gifted, CCA Honors courses in grades 3-12 give students the chance to dive deep into enrichment projects and self-guided topics.
In CCA’s elementary grades, Honors math students explore advanced math concepts and engage in real-world problem-solving as a main component of instruction to develop deep conceptual understanding.
Honors language arts for grades 3-5 explores a diverse collection of literature, which builds reading and writing fluency.
Elementary Honors science explores advanced topics. The courses challenge students through experiments and assignments focused on critical thinking, collaborative discussion and deep exploration of content, including in the student’s areas of interest.
In Honors social studies, elementary students learn how to be good digital citizens, and learn information about their home state. The Honors classes feature hands-on learning from designing brochures and analyzing artifacts to designing maps.
In middle school, the Honors social studies courses branch out to the world past and present, covering ancient civilizations and current cultures worldwide.
Middle school Honors science courses focus on inquiry-based investigations through projects in STEM and hands-on and online activities that help students to master core science concepts.
In middle school Honors language arts, students build on their literary fluency skills and develop and improve their ability to write and interpret different styles of writing.
Honors courses in the high school language arts curriculum give accelerated and gifted students the chance to become immersed in enrichment projects and self-guided topics. Courses focus on different periods of literature, with opportunities for meaningful discussion, deep analysis and critical writing.
Similar to language arts, the Honors science courses include real-time online discussions that stimulate development. Gifted science classes provide opportunities for students to intensively explore each lesson with extended lesson labs. The courses hone in on advanced topics in everything from marine biology and chemistry to physics and real-world applications for the learning.
High school honors social studies courses cover American and world history, government and politics, human geography and psychology.
The Honors arts and humanities courses include art history and computer science, while students enrolled in Honors math courses can start with algebra and work their way through statistics and calculus.
Cyber School Teachers for Gifted Students
CCA’s teachers for our accelerated and gifted students provide process monitoring throughout the Honors courses, as well as end-of-year assessments. A spring-semester cross-curricular project is a feature of the program in which cyber school students use what they’ve learned in multiple subjects to develop a major project that extends their learning.
The Honors program in our K-12 school seeks to foster the academic enrichment and personal development of students at a comfortable pace. Gifted and accelerated online students are encouraged to work above grade level with a rigorous curriculum that challenges and promotes the academic growth of each student. Advanced courses are available pending a counselor’s approval.
Benefits of Enrolling With CCA
While you may be considering a gifted and talented charter school for your child, CCA is the only cyber charter school fully ready to give your child a customized, challenging school experience at his or her pace on whatever schedule suits the family the best.
That’s because, at CCA, we know our accelerated students learn best at their own pace. Our teachers are prepared to offer challenging subjects, hands-on learning and real-world applications for newfound knowledge so our learners of today can lead in their fields tomorrow, whether that be in continued education, right into the job market or in military service.
At our cyber charter school, we work with families to help students develop an academic experience that is not just challenging but customized to their interests and skill levels. Best of all, students can choose when and how they learn. They can take a real-time virtual class or watch later when it suits their schedule better. That sort of autonomy gives our accelerated and gifted students the time to explore a subject of interest, join clubs to expand their horizons or even pursue internships in fields they have uncovered at CCA. We encourage exploration and intellectual experimentation – so it’s perfectly fine to try something new and fail. That’s part of the learning process, and it’s a cherished component of our customized curriculum for gifted and accelerated students.
Also, CCA knows that just because your child is gifted or excels in several areas, that doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges in a different subject. Our state-certified teachers are equipped to meet our students wherever they are in their educational journey. If they need extra help to master a subject, they will receive it. If they need wings to fly in a subject they know well, they will get that, too.
We provide challenging courses for students who might be seeking a more advanced arts, science or technical education. If you’re looking for a school for the gifted student, we suggest taking a look at CCA’s Honors program. It’s the right fit for your family.
Ready to Enroll at Our Cyber School?
Interested in our online Honors program? Contact a CCA parent to learn about their experience, or enroll today!