Course of Study @ Academy for Design and Technology

Academy for Design and Technology Endorsement
In addition to meeting all of the requirements for the Texas Recommended diploma, set by the state of Texas, Academy for Design and Technology students are asked to complete additional requirements in order to meet the mission and graduate profile of the academy. Students must complete the following in order to earn the Academy Endorsement.

• As a senior, complete the AP Capstone course
• Receive at least 80 Techsploration Points by May 1 of their senior year
• Obtain 3 credits in any of the electives:
  • Business & Industry Electives 
  • STEM Endorsed Electives (esp. Engineering, robotics, coding) 
  • Shared School electives (like Cosmetology at Lanier) 
  • Visual Arts electives  
  • Theater Tech 
    
    

Certificate of Endorsement
Students who complete all of the requirements above will receive upon graduation an Academy for Design and Technology endorsement certificate, verifying that they completed the Academy course of study.

Certificate of Participation
Students who are missing some of the requirements for the full endorsement, e.g. did not complete a Capstone Project, did not complete the Academy for Design and Technology course of study, or did not meet the community service requirement, are eligible to receive a certificate of participation.

Course of Study
​Students undertake a minimum of 11 pre-Advanced Placement and 5 Advanced Placement core courses throughout the four years in the Academy for Design and Technology, with many students exceeding these limits. Core courses within Academy are taught via an interdisciplinary team instructional method and feature project-based assessment. 

9th Grade	10th Grade	11th Grade	12th Grade
English I or PreAP English I	English II or PreAP English II	English III, or AP Language & Comp, or Dual Credit/Dual Enrollment English III	English IV, or AP Literature & Comp, ​or Dual Credit English IV
World Geography or PreAP World Geography	World History, PreAP World History, or AP World History	US History, AP US History, or Dual Credit US History	Government/Economics, AP Government/Economics, or Dual Credit Government/Economics
Biology or PreAP Biology	Chemistry or PreAP Chemistry	Physics or PreAP Physics	Science Elective
Algebra 1, PreAP Algebra 1, PreAP Geometry	Geometry, PreAP Geometry, PreAP Algebra 2	Algebra 2, PreAP Algebra 2, OnRamps PreCalculus, AP Statistics, Statistics, Algebraic Reasoning	PreCalculus, OnRamps PreCalculus, AP Calulcus, AP Statistics, Statistics, Honors College Math
			AP Capstone

Notes:

• Some “electives” are required to meet graduation requirements for AISD such as 1.5 credits of PE, .5 credit of Health, .5 credit of Speech, and  1 credit of Fine Arts.
• **Students who do not feel prepared to enter Pre Calculus after completing Algebra II may take Honors College Math instead.