Academic Programs

Group of students posing outside

We offer a variety of academic offerings to ensure that all students are prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow. Our faculty and staff stand united in the commitment to provide outstanding opportunities for all students to seek a future of unlimited potential. To learn more about Denver Public Schools’ College and Career Prep, click HERE.

College Prep

GWHS offers a wide range of standard level courses that will prepare students for success in college and/or career without remediation at a variety of post-secondary institutions, including community colleges, trade schools, and some four year colleges.

Honors

These rigorous courses are for underclassmen who are ready to accept the challenge of academic rigor and demanding expectations. These courses are open to all students at George who have: a passion for learning, persistence, a strong work ethic and regular attendance. We encourage students to take Honors courses in subjects for which they have demonstrated aptitude and/or in subjects in which they find themselves especially engaged.

Additionally, all grade 9 and 10 students will be enrolled in English Honors for All courses. As with other Denver area high schools such as East High School, North High School, South High School and Northfield High School, our English Honors for All courses set high expectations for every student. Many of our English Honors 1 courses are co-taught by an English teacher and a teacher certified in Special Education, allowing for targeted interventions, differentiated supports and curricular extensions. 

Advanced Placement

Developed by the College Board, the Advanced Placement (AP) program offers high school students college-level courses and exams, which result in students having the opportunity to get a head start on earning college credits. Students who take AP courses and achieve a qualifying score open the door to several benefits on their postsecondary success journey. By earning college credit while in high school, students save significantly on college tuition, avoid required introductory courses and advance to upper-level courses, which places them on a faster track toward degree completion.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Program

Created in 1968, the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program was established in order to provide an international education where young people would be better equipped to handle and manage the complexities of the world. A rigorous college prep program, students can choose to take IB courses specific to their interests, or be immersed in the full Diploma Program beginning in grade 11. Full Diploma students enroll in challenging coursework in six different subjects: English, Math, World Languages, Individuals and Societies, Experimental Sciences, and the Arts. In addition to their content areas, students engage with what IB calls The Core: Creativity, Activity, & Service (CAS), Theory of Knowledge (TOK), and the Extended Essay (EE). The belief is that students leave the Diploma Program as well rounded, holistic critical thinkers who will change the world.

CareerConnect

DPS CareerConnect gives students early exposure to thousands of career options as they learn more about their own passions and interests. With access to hundreds of exploration opportunities, students visit work sites in a field they want to know more about and talk to professionals. Students take the skills learned in the classroom and apply them on the job through shadowing, internships and apprenticeship opportunities. CareerConnect’s goal is to help students identify their passions, explore what they love doing and make a career out of it through intentional planning.

Concurrent Enrollment

Concurrent Enrollment allows students to take courses through local colleges and universities while they are enrolled in high school. Students gain exposure to the academic challenges of college while in their supportive high school environment or on a college campus, earning college and high school credits simultaneously. These courses are offered free of charge to GWHS students. Students must obtain an A, B or C to earn college credit. Students who have earned 12 or more college credits by the end of their fourth year of high school are eligible to enroll in ASCENT. This is a fifth year program that allows students to remain in high school for a fifth year that consists entirely of college classes.