Honors English and science courses are offered at the Lower Dauphin Middle School in grades 7 and 8. Enrollment for these courses is limited to our most qualified students. Although your child may be eligible to participate, it is important to understand the purpose and rigorous requirements of the courses before you and your child decide if you are interested in enrolling.
The honors courses are designed for students who have demonstrated high achievement. The primary focus is to help academically talented students achieve their full potential and receive acceleration and enrichment based on their abilities. The curriculum for these courses will include complex areas of study that are not typical components of the regular curriculum.
These courses are more demanding than standard courses. Regardless of the students’ abilities, the children will be challenged and expected to work on advanced topics at an accelerated pace. Although your child will not be asked to complete more work than a typical student, the work will be more difficult and the expectations will be much higher than normal. For these reasons, it is important for you to talk with your child about his or her motivation to enroll in an honors course. Your child’s interest level and motivation to succeed should be heavily considered and discussed as you determine if you are interested in enrolling.
Students are recommended to take honors classes if they have earned a strong teacher recommendation, very high end of marking period grades, and high scores on summative assessments used throughout their English and/or science courses. At the end of the students’ 6th and 7th grade years, this information is collected from teachers and reviewed by administrators and school counselors. If your child is not recommended for an honors course, and you have additional questions or concerns, please contact your child’s counselor or a member of the administrative team.
