Graduation Requirements
To qualify for an Asheville School diploma, you must earn a total of 19 credits, must be enrolled during the entire Sixth Form year and must pass all full-credit courses that year.
All students must carry five courses each year. Humanities students earn two credits (English, History) each year. The half credit in music is earned at the completion of the Humanities sequence. Humanities courses for Third and Fourth forms are Foundations I and II, respectively.
Standard Course of Study
Before the fourth, fifth and sixth form years, the Academic Office reviews each student’s schedule in light of graduation requirements and college goals. Teachers recommend students for Honors and Advanced Placement level classes. See specific course descriptions for AP or Honors availability. The Academic Office will review your files to determine the classes that best match your profile.
Third Form (9th grade)
The Academic Office will review your files to determine the classes and sections that best match your profile.
- Ancient Studies
- Algebra I, Geometry, Advanced Alebra and Geometry, or Algebra II
- Biology
- French, Spanish, or Chinese
*Depends upon demand.
Core Class Requirements (19 credits)
- Humanities: 8 credits (Music History 0.5)
- Math: 4 credits
- Language: 3 credits
- Science: 3 credits
- Fine Arts: 1/2 credit (Intro to Art)
Speech
As a senior, you must address the entire student body during Chapel or Convocation to fulfill the public speaking requirement. A panel of faculty members will assess the speech to determine if it meets standards for content and presentation.
Community Service
As a Third Former, you'll engage in on-campus community service with faculty members. As a Fourth Former, you'll participate in off-campus community service. Between your Fourth and Sixth Form years, you'll commit to 40 hours of community service working on behalf of one organization such as Habitat for Humanity. Upon completing a graduation requirement of sustained volunteerism, you'll submit a 750-word essay about your experience to the Head of School.
Outdoor Experience
During your first year at Asheville School, regardless of Form, you’ll go on a three-day camping trip.
Senior Demonstration
A graduation requirement, the Senior Demonstration is the capstone academic experience at Asheville School. Sponsored by the Humanities Department, this in-depth project tests a senior’s analytic writing, research and speaking skills. You’ll write two major papers, then defend your work in an oral examination before a panel of faculty members.
| Recent Senior Demo Topics | ||
|---|---|---|
| A Portrait of Edward R. Murrow | Postmodern Literature | An Anatomy of American Nationalism |
| Samuel Beckett | Fyodor Dostoevsky | F. Scott Fitzgerald |
| Nutrition and Health | Toni Morrison | The Autobiography of Malcolm X |
| The Media and the War in Iraq | The Fiction of Ayn Rand | The Fiction of John Steinbeck |
| The Art of Possibility | The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela | Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom |
| Postmodern Drama | Obama's Challenge: America's Economic Crisis | |