Students at Northgate Academy have the freedom and flexibility to work on their classes at their own pace within their 12 month grade level enrollment period. That’s a serious advantage compared to the strict timelines and schedules of a traditional brick-and-mortar school. However, just like students in a physical school building, Northgate students must meet certain graduation requirements from our accredited program, and all students must take at least 6 credits with us to graduate with our diploma. Those courses must include 1 English, 1 math, 1 science, 1 social studies, and 2 elective credits.
When you enroll with us, you have two pathways to choose from: Standard and College Prep. The College Prep High School Diploma requires 24 credits, while the Standard requires 21.5. Both are from our accredited school, but you’ll want to check with potential colleges and universities to make sure you know if they have a set credit requirement for admissions before you decide which path you’d like to take.
When something as important as high school graduation is on the line, the four main areas that you should be aware of include:
- Core Classes
- Elective Classes,
- Minimum Grade Requirements, and
- Student Support.
Core Classes
Core classes include English, math, science, and social studies. In order to graduate, every Standard High School Diploma student has to earn 4 credits in English, 3 credits in math, 3 credits in science, and 3.5 credits in social studies. For the College Prep High School Diploma, students take a few extra credits to round out their graduation track. In addition to the Standard core requirements, you’ll take 1 additional math credit.
Elective Classes
Elective classes are those courses offered where students get the chance to discover more about the things that are tied to their specific interests. At NGA, we offer a wide range of elective courses that focus on how to build and strengthen your faith as well as an opportunity to explore a variety of career oriented content. Classes like Bible Doctrines, Jesus and His Followers, and Kings of Israel can help you deepen your understanding of your faith. To prepare you for life after high school, we offer classes like Family & Consumer Science, Introduction to Business, Marketing, Biotechnology, Electrical Engineering, Introduction to Coding, and Sports Science.
Students who choose the Standard pathway take .5 credit each of Health & PE, 1 Fine Arts credit, and 6 additional elective credits of their choosing. If you’re on the College Prep pathway, you take the same required Health, PE, and Fine Arts credits as well as 5.5 elective credits that you can select to explore your interests. In addition, College Prep students take 2 foreign language credits.
Minimum Grade Requirements
We hold our academic values in high esteem, so in order to graduate, our students have to achieve some minimum grade requirements. To pass a course, students must not only have an overall grade of 60% or higher, but all written assignments and the final exam must be passed at that minimum standard as well.
The great news is that you have the opportunity to take all quizzes and final exams twice and submit written assignments twice, too! And if you find yourself in need of some help after a disappointing outcome on your first attempt, we have plenty of support to guide you toward success.
Student Support
We want our students to succeed, so we implement some safety nets for you to help you not only across the finish line but to do so with a sense of accomplishment and pride in your successes as well. Every full time high school aged student has access to an Academic Success Coach who can help you plan for your graduation requirements and guide you with support from their Success Coach Corner. Be sure to reach out to them if you need their help deciding what courses you should take. They’re happy to guide you along the way.
Questions about NGA?
If you’ve got questions about our faith based programs and what they can offer you or your family, feel free to visit our main webpage for Northgate Academy. We offer full-time or part-time options for grades 9-12. Feel free to reach out by texting us at 763-412-4701 or calling 800-339-7132. Our academic support team will be happy to answer any questions you have.
