COLLEGE PREPARATORY CURRICULUM

The Winter Sports School curriculum is designed to meet all the core requirements for Utah high school graduation and to provide preparation for success in college; most students study four years of English, Math, Science, at least two of Spanish, three in Social Studies, and often exceed state requirements in Health, Art, and CTE(Career and Technical Education). Physical Education credits and progress towards the Winter Sports School’s graduation requirements are earned by virtue of the hours our athletes spend training and competing with the teams and coaches of their choice; an eligible coach or athletic director must sign off on those hours.

Honors coursework is available in English, Spanish, Social Studies, Math, and Science. In order to receive the honors designation, students complete extension and enrichment study and assessment in addition to the college preparatory curriculum of each honors course.

Students who earn ten or more credits in honors coursework and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above are eligible to receive a WSS Honors Diploma and will be recognized at graduation.

Utah Statewide Online Education Program: For information regarding Utah’s Statewide Online Education Program, please visit: The Utah State Board of Education Online Program

View the current Winter Sports School Course Catalog

CORE BELIEF ABOUT TEACHING & LEARNING

UNDERSTANDING EMPHASIZED OVER CONTENT KNOWLEDGE: We value comprehension, critical thinking, and problem solving over mastering/memorizing a body of factual content knowledge. We do not discount the necessity of mastering facts and do not pursue one instead of the other, but the primary objective is to develop in students the ability to think and apply knowledge.

AUTHENTIC APPLICATION OF LEARNING: Secondly, we value and emphasize students’ application of that body of facts/knowledge in authentic ways – ways that allow students to demonstrate their understanding of the meaning of, relevance of, and practical uses of that knowledge.

CHALLENGE PAIRED WITH SUPPORT: ‘Rigor’ at WSS seeks to find the ‘just right’ place of learning for each student, where they have the chance to ‘wallow in complexity’ without making the challenge so hard that students might be tempted to give up in the face of the adversity.

SAFE, NURTURING CLASSROOM COMMUNITY: We believe kids learn best if they feel safe and cared for in the classroom community; our role is to foster a classroom (and school) community that helps build confidence of students, without making them overconfident.

TEAMWORK FOR COLLECTIVE SUCCESS: We believe in developing in students and demonstrating in ourselves the humility that allows us all to work together in support of our individual AND collective success. By nature, teenagers are often self-focused to a fault, and sometimes that self-interest inhibits their ability to work collaboratively in a productive way. We seek to provide the modeling and teach the skills that allow our students to realize that ‘nobody gets where they are all by themselves’.

PERSONALIZED LEARNING: We believe that all students have unique learning needs and since we are a small school environment, our focus on process allows us to individualize and support students in their zones of proximal development were the scaffolding of teacher and peer support provides that balance of challenge and support necessary for them to thrive.

MEETING DIVERSE LEARNING NEEDS: We recognize, embrace, and foster the individual qualities (strengths, personalities, learning styles, creativity – even challenges) of all students.