UPPER SCHOOL
Electives
Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy offers elective courses both on campus—based on student preference, as outlined here and in the individual discipline sections above—as well as online. Online courses are offered in partnership with VHS Learning, a group of schools worldwide that use collaborative e-learning to afford students a wider variety of courses. Around 100 schools in Connecticut alone, as well as schools in more than 30 other countries, are members of VHS.
More Than 300 Elective Courses
Through VHS, we are able to offer more than 300 elective courses. In past years, our students have taken a variety of offerings including AP Music Theory, Business and Personal Law, Forensic Science, Computer Animation, Psychology of Crime, Screenwriting Fundamentals, Investing in the Stock Market, Oceanography, World Religions, Entrepreneurship, Shakespeare in Films, Twentieth Century Women Authors, Journalism in the Digital Age, Art History, Web Design, and Poetry Writing.
VHS is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, a regional accrediting body equal to our own accrediting agency, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. VHS courses are equally as rigorous as “brick-and-mortar” classes, and instructors use assessments such as essays, tests, quizzes, portfolios, journals, group projects, and class discussions, with specific due dates and scheduled deadlines for assignments and activities. Additionally, the College Board has approved 21 VHS courses as Advanced Placement, which are recognized college-level courses.
Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy (like all VHS-affiliated schools) has an on-site VHS coordinator who monitors each student’s progress to make sure learning goals are being met and the students are keeping up with their work.
In addition to the VHS courses, Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy offers the following additional on-campus electives (some of which are also listed within their individual departments):
| Subject | Level |
|---|---|
| Art History | Regular |
| Astronomy* | Honors |
| Computer Science* | Regular |
| Computer Science* | Honors |
| Creative Writing | Regular |
| Environmental Science | Regular |
| Environmental Science | ECE |
| AP Environmental Science | AP |
| Engineering 1* | Honors |
| Engineering 2* | Honors |
| History of the Holocaust | Regular |
| History of American Judaism* | Regular |
| AP Microeconomics* | AP |
| AP Macroeonomics | AP |
| Organic Chemistry | Honors |
| Psychology* | Regular |
| AP Psychology* | AP |
| Strategic Financial Management | Regular |
| Studio Art* | Regular |