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Academic Program

Instructional minutes
The instructional day is composed of seven periods. Period 1 is a 56-minute period where students receive a curriculum that is focused on Targeted Academic Support (TAS) in math, College Readiness, or Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID). In addition, all teachers deliver a weekly lesson from Second Step, a social-emotional learning curriculum, and also lead students through academic progress monitoring and goal setting activities. After Period 1, class periods are 46 minutes with a three-minute passing period. The school year is composed of three trimesters.

Grade 6
The Grade 6 student course schedule includes Language Arts, Math, Targeted Academic Support (TAS), World History: Ancient Civilizations, Earth Science, and Physical Education. The TAS course is taught by the student’s math teacher and incorporates the IXL program, which focuses on remediation and acceleration of math skills. CAASPP data and STAR Reading data are analyzed to determine student needs. Students who are identified as not meeting standards are scheduled into a Language Arts Support class to address their learning gaps. Students who are proficient are scheduled in an Exploratory Wheel where the course changes each trimester.  
Exploratory Wheel : Project Lead the Way (Innovators and Creators), Exploring Careers, Financial Literacy

In addition, a cohort of sixth-grade students who attended the Two-Way Bilingual Immersion (TWBI) Academy at Ramona Elementary, a feeder elementary school, are enrolled in the sixth-grade TWBI program at HMS. TWBI students receive instruction in English during their Language Arts, Math, TAS and Science periods. TWBI students receive instruction in Spanish for History and an additional Language Arts course.

Grade 7
The Grade 7 student course schedule includes Language Arts, Math, World History: Medieval and Early Modern Times, Life Science, and Physical Education. In addition all students during Period 1 are enrolled in a TAS, College Readiness or AVID where they work with the IXL program that focuses on remediation and acceleration of math skills, AVID strategies, and the Second Step social-emotional learning curriculum. CAASPP data and STAR Reading data are analyzed to determine student needs. Identified students are scheduled into a Language Arts Support class to address learning gaps. Students who are proficient are enrolled in an exploratory period. Most seventh graders are scheduled into a year-long Project Lead the Way course, which focuses on the APP Creators curriculum. Selected students are enrolled in Yearbook. TWIBI students continue to receive Spanish instruction through an exploratory course.

Grade 8
The Grade 8 student course schedule includes Language Arts, Math, United States History: Growth and Conflict, Physical Science, and Physical Education.  In addition, all students during Period 1 are enrolled in a TAS, College Readiness or AVID course where they work with the IXL program that focuses on remediation and acceleration of math skills, AVID strategies, and Second Step Social-Emotional Learning curriculum. CAASPP data and STAR Reading data are analyzed to determine student needs. Identified students are scheduled into a Language Arts Support class to address learning gaps. Students who are proficient are scheduled into Business Communications, an exploratory course focused on Entrepreneurship that uses Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) curriculum. Selected students are enrolled in Yearbook.ddle school.