What is the Kent ATYP Curriculum? 

Kent ATYP Language Arts Courses

The Language Arts content is offered as a three year sequence.  All Kent ATYP Language Arts Courses take an Humanities approach to learning with literature studied in context. Students usually take AP Language exam  (and Literature if teacher recommended)  in their base school in the fourth year.  (ATYP pays for one AP exam only.)

• Year 1:  Kent ATYP/Language Arts Year I Writing Skills/Literature meets and exceeds the High School Content Expectations for English for Grade 9 with an emphasis on American Literature.  In addition, course writing instruction is very similar to a freshman college writing course. Readings are carefully selected to be both challenging and acceptable for middle school students.  
• Year 2: Kent ATYP/Language Arts Year II Writing Skills/Literature meets and exceeds High School Content Expectations for Grade 10, with more emphasis on American Literature. It builds on Year I to challenge students with both literature, literary analysis and writing.
• Year 3: Kent ATYP/Language Arts Year III Writing Skills/Literature is developed around the  AP Language & Composition guidelines. This class meets and exceeds High School Content Expectations for Grade 11 plus prepares student for the AP Language and Composition exam. Students may take the AP exam in May as an integral part of the ATYP/Language Arts program at Kent ATYP expense. 

The Kent ATYP Mathematics Instructional Program

The math content is offered as a three year sequence.  Students usually take AP Calculus at the sending high school or Calculus as dual enrollment students in the fourth year.   Students participating in ATYP math master five years of high school mathematics in three years.

• Mathematics Year I:  Algebra I and Algebra II.  Meets and exceeds High School Content Expectations for Algebra I and Algebra II with highly accelerated pace, greater depth and complexity.  Student will need a graphing calculator.  Advanced Algebra is an option offered to students who during screening show the need for a faster pace through Alg. I concepts.  More time is spent on Algebra II and Trigonometry.  Both groups are then combined for Year II.
• Mathematics Year II: Enriched investigative approach to Geometry, which meets and exceeds High School Content Expectations for Geometry.  ATYP Geometry is taught in a computer lab to facilitate exploration and students investigate proof to much greater depth and complexity than is normally seen in a high school Geometry class.  
• Mathematics Year III:  Functions, Statistics, Trigonometry, PreCalculus, Discrete Mathematics and more with extensive explorations of applications of these mathematical principles.  Meets and exceeds High School Content Expectations for PreCalculus and Statistics.

Coursework includes lively group discussion, weekly five-ten hour homework assignments to solidify concepts introduced in class, periodic quizzes, and both teacher-constructed tests and nationally normed math achievement tests.   Geometry is taught in a computer lab and makes extensive use of Geometer’s Sketchpad and other mathematical software.  University of Chicago Mathematics Program texts are used as a framework, but additional supplemental texts and materials and instructor resources are used extensively.

In all Kent ATYP Math courses special attention is given to making sure that each student is able to meet Michigan High School Content Expectations and, although his regular ATYP work may be years beyond  his current grade, also the Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCE) for his current grade.   Kent ATYP Math courses are fully aligned with the Michigan High School Content Expectations.