Overview of Secondary Curriculum

Secondary School at KPIS includes the Middle School grades (grades 7-8) as well as the High School grades (grades 9-12).

The curriculum at KPIS is designed after the California curriculum Program. We have designed the curriculum to meet the needs of the students at KPIS. The syllabi, lessons, and exams are carefully planned and constructed so that the teachers and the students are properly guided in their daily interactions. Flexibility is provided through each teacher's instructions and activities, and there is always room for initiative and opportunities for incidental learning.

The KPIS Curriculum is a mixture of hands-on approach and textbook approach. Students are involved in many types of instruction, which would include, project based, lecture type and small group instruction.

Classes offered in the Middle School Grades (Grades 7 and 8) include

• Grade 7 (Language Arts, Pre-Algebra, Earth Science, Social Studies, Music, Thai Language/ Culture, IT, Physical Education, Arts and Crafts, Chinese, Health)
• Grade 8 (Language Arts, Algebra, Life Science, Social Studies, Music, Thai Language and Culture, IT, Physical Education, Arts and Crafts, Chinese, Health)

Students start to earn credit per subject in Grade 9. The classification of High School Students are illustrated in the following

Classification of High School Students

• Freshman: A student of grade 9 who has successfully completed eighth grade in a curriculum approved by the administration
• Sophomore: A student of grade 10 who has successfully completed a minimum of 6 units of high school credits prior to the current school year
• Junior: A student of grade 11 who has successfully completed a minimum of 12 units of high school credits prior to the current school year
• Senior: A student of grade 12 who has successfully completed a minimum of 18 credits prior to the current school year

High School Student Class Load

The normal class load is 6 credits per year. A student with a GPA of 2.50 and above may register for 7 credits per school year.

Assessment

Assessment of student learning is incorporated as an integral part of the teaching-learning processes. At KPIS, we use a variety of different assessment methods, to name a few; oral presentations, student work observations, paper and pencil exams, and the Michigan Test. They reflect a diversity of approaches and criteria motivating and supporting constructive learning and the achievement of goals rather than interpersonal competitiveness and the ranking of individuals. Cooperation and team work, participation in classroom activities, taking the initiative to learn and helping others learn, etc. and other citizenship aspects are also integrated into the assessment program.

Home-school communication

Home-school communication is vital to the success of your child's school experience. To keep you informed of what is happening at school your child's teacher will communicate with you daily through a Homework Book and bi-weekly through a Bi-weekly Folder.

The Homework Book will contain daily homework assignments as well as any special events or activities that your child has participated in. Parents are encouraged to write notes back to the teacher if they have any requests, questions, or comments.

The Bi-weekly Folder will contain a note explaining what has taken place in the previous two weeks. It will also contain work samples. Again, parents are encouraged to send notes if they have any requests, questions, or comments.

In addition to daily and bi-weekly communication the progress of your child is reported formally twice a year. In October and again in March through the parent and teacher conferences and a progress report is sent home. Between reporting periods parents may request progress information by contacting their child's teacher.

If you have requests, questions or concerns, please call the school office or send a note to speak to your child's teacher. Please arrange appointments or conferences in advance so that teachers can collect information needed to answer your questions.

Homework

Students in Secondary School may not always have daily homework. There may be other assignments depending on the projects being undertaken by each class at any given time. Parents can expect their child to spend from thirty to sixty minutes on homework each night.

Parents are welcome to help their children with homework by explaining what is expected for an assignment. If a child doesn?t understand what to do it is better to work through an example together than to tell them the answer. Please don?t do the homework for your child. This doesn?t help to improve their understanding.

Graduation Requirements

Students are required to successfully complete a minimum of 24 academic credits and a minimum of 500 points on the TOEFL examination in order to graduate from KPIS