Frequently Asked Questions:

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Enrollment:

• Students who are currently enrolled at SIA for 8th grade will not need to reapply for the high school program

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9th/10th Grade Courses:

• Due to the small size of SIA's high school, all students will take the courses listed above

• World Languages - Students entering 9th/10th grade are required to take (2) years' worth of world languages as part of the graduation requirements for Washington state. Students have the option of taking Spanish 3 in 9th and AP Spanish in 10th, if they have already completed Spanish 1 and 2 in 7th/8th grade (new students will be assessed prior to being placed in these classes). Students who would like to study (2) years of a different language, or new students who would like to start Spanish, will have the ability to do so via the courses offered via Spokane Virtual Learning. These courses will be completed independently during their world language block at school. There is no option to opt out of world language courses as they are required for graduation and are foundational to becoming a global citizen. Families who are looking into colleges should always consider the specific courses required by those institutions, as many will require (3) years of world language for admission.

• Teachers will offer electives on a rolling basis during the shortened Friday schedule. These will be released prior to the semester and students will have the opportunity to select from the different teacher-selected courses.

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Advanced Placement (AP) Program/Honors:

• All students will be required to participate in advanced courses in Science, History, and Spanish

• Students are not required to participate in the AP assessment unless they wish to receive college credit for those courses. Remember, students participating in the Running Start program will earn a full (2) year of college credit already.

• SIA will not offer courses that are designated as "Honors" in 9th/10th grade. However, courses offered during those years will operate on an accelerated course schedule and students will need to be prepared to complete a much higher level of coursework than they did in the middle academy. The goal is to prepare all students to enter a post-secondary pathway starting in 11th grade, meaning they will need to have near college-level skills at that point to successfully complete their pathway.

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Dances and other school activities:

• High school students will have the opportunity to plan and participate in a variety of activities. Middle Academy students have planned a dance for the past 3 years and High School students will have dances as well.

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Sports/clubs:

• SIA will not offer a wide variety of high school-level sports. The reasons we are choosing not to offer sports are:

  • Eligibility

    • Per state law, if a charter school chooses to offer a sport, students that attend that school cannot play that sport at their local high school. So, if SIA were to try to field a football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, etc. team, our students would not be able to go play that sport at a more competitive level at their neighborhood high school. 

    • SIA students will be allowed to participate in sports at their local high school and the school will work with families to the best of our ability to schedule this into their day.

  • Funding​

    • Unfortunately, charter schools in WA state are not able to access local levy funding. Levy funding is what all school districts use to pay for their athletics programs. ​In order to fund our sports, we would need to pull money from our classroom program and we are not interested in sacrificing the quality of our academic program to do that.

• Clubs

  • SIA staff will work to create clubs that allow our Upper Academy students to build relationships with one another and dive deeper into their unique interests​

    • These could include: eSports, chess, running, fitness, art, choir, Model United Nations, Math is Cool, theater/drama, coding, A/V club/student media, yearbook

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The requirement to participate in one of two pathways:

• All students attending SIA's High School will be required to fully participate in either the Running Start or Skills Center pathways. Students entering 11th grade and wishing to not participate in one of the two pathways will need to enroll in their neighborhood high school.

• SIA's College and Career Counselor will support students and families to the best of their ability to access the pathways and complete them successfully. Should a student decide that they no longer wish to participate in their chosen pathway, and do not choose to enroll in the other, they would need to attend their neighborhood high school.

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Running Start disclaimer:

• The Running Start program in college. Students and families who choose this pathway need to fully understand the choice they are making. Students are required to complete all work that is assigned to them during their college course. Topics discussed in RS courses are selected by the CCS or EWU and are not open to debate with families. Students may not choose to opt out of lessons taught there as it will negatively impact their grade and their ability to attend classes at those institutions.

• Due to FERPA regulations, SIA is not responsible for tracking student progress or academic grades during their Running Start program. When a student chooses to enroll in this program, they are choosing to enroll in college.

• Running Start will require students to spend a college-level amount of time on their coursework. It may be expected that students do multiple hours of homework each day. 

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Transportation:

• SIA will provide STA bus passes to all 9th-12th grade students free of charge to access SIA and/or their chosen pathway

• 11th/12th-grade students will need to use their own transportation or access public transportation, to access their chosen pathway. SIA will not provide transportation to or from CCS, EWU, or the Skills Center.

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School Schedule and Calendar:

• 9th/10th-grade students will have the same school day and calendar as the rest of the K-8 program at SIA

• SIA will work with students wishing to participate in after-school sports at their neighborhood high school

• 11th/12th-grade students will follow whatever school day/calendar that is used by the pathway they are accessing. Skills Center students will access their classes at SIA on the schedule established by SIA.

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Travel Opportunities:​

• High school staff will coordinate both domestic and international travel opportunities for students that align with the content being taught in their courses

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