Electives

Peer Group Connections (PGC) is listed as an elective here first because it not only doesn't fall under a particular department at BASE, but it also requires rising seniors and some rising juniors to apply for it, participate in an interview and qualify for a recommendation process. PGC is an upper-level elective class. 12th graders welcome 9th graders to BASE and build community with them. 

PGC youth leaders work with ninth graders because they are the newest and most vulnerable members of our community. With staff and STUDENT support, guidance, and leadership, ninth graders can feel welcomed.

AP African-American Studies is an interdisciplinary College Board Advanced Placement course that examines the diversity of African-American experiences through direct encounters with rich and varied sources. Students explore key topics that extend from early African kingdoms to the ongoing challenges and achievements of the contemporary moment.

AP Lang is a course designed to support the learner's ability to dissect the world around them (text, advertisement, media, etc.); to really get at not only what people are trying to tell them, but also how they are telling it to them in an attempt to persuade them. 

The AP English Literature and Composition course focuses on reading, analyzing, and writing about imaginative literature (fiction, poetry, drama) from various periods.

The College Board AP Statistics course introduces students to the major concepts and tools for collecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data. There are four themes evident in the content, skills, and assessment in the AP Statistics course: exploring data, sampling and experimentation, probability and simulation, and statistical inference. BASE students will use technology, investigations, problem solving, and writing as they build conceptual understanding.

The AP U.S. History course is a College Board Advanced Placement course that covers historical events and processes in the United States from 1491 CE to the present day in a single academic year. Because of the volume of course content, students will have to process and remember a lot of information in a short amount of time. They'll also need to analyze data, understand other people's points of view, make arguments, and explain your point of view clearly and convincingly.

In this course, students continue to thrive on exercising their self-expression and their voice in order to influence and motivate themselves and inspire their community with art. They will continue being passionate in an art classroom in order to build a portfolio of their artwork and audition skills if they plan on applying to career opportunities and colleges that request applicants to demonstrate their visual art skills. In this course, students will continue to hone their investigative skills with art concepts, visual principles and technical skills in 2D and 3D mediums. 

This course will hone the writing skills and styles of BASE students while exploring contemporary and non-contemporary creative works as readers and writers.Its goal is for students to play and to experiment with language and storytelling across multiple genres such as short fiction, poetry, drama, screenplays, and graphic novels.

Daily screenings and discussions of avant-garde, animated, independent and foreign films will be given to engage students with a diverse range of ideas and conceptual story-telling techniques. This course provides a visual and auditory way of studying history by giving a general perspective of the development of those political, economic, and social institutions that explain our present-day civilization through film.

Students learn how to apply organizational and decision-making skills to financial decisions and consumer choices. They also learn about current consumer rights issues, how technology is used in money management, and the impact of national and global economics on personal financial plans. Students also explore career options related to financial management and the skills and education needed to succeed in those fields.

Forensic science is the application of scientific methods to matters involving the public. One of its principle applications is the scientific analysis of physical evidence generated by criminal activity. During this course at BASE, diverse learners will learn & demonstrate basic techniques used to analyze forensic evidence.

This graphic design course teaches students the fundamentals of design and how to use technology to create visual representations of ideas and messages. This additional technology course is interdependent to other course content that BASE students would already have had some experience with in regards to software development.  Students learn about the principles of art and design, typography, and how to use design software to create digital drawings, logos, advertisements, and more. They will develop skills in Adobe's Creative Suite and some will take on an important high school experience and challenge: The High School Yearbook

This course will explore the transition of rap music from a counter-culture, to a subculture, to mainstream culture by tracing the creation and evolution of hip-hop from the early 1970s to the present and analyzing the growth of a youth culture from the streets, parks, and playgrounds of America's most important cities to around the world.

Precalculus is a course at BASE that aims to build on concepts from previous math courses, such as Algebra I and Algebra II, and prepares students for Calculus. Students analyze mathematical relations, solve and also critique the proper depictions of functions, form graphs, define trigonometric ratios and learn how to use vectors and matrices. In addition to content mastery, the course aims to develop students' problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

This course is for students interested in empowerment, conviction and the passion centered around reading, writing, and voice in to build a better world and are willing to work hard at it. It's an opportunity for authentic education and experiential learning beyond the high school walls.

User Experience Design or User Interface (UX / UI) Design isn't a part of BASE's CTE pathway, this course is important for teaching students and preparing students for future careers that involve the design of user interfaces for machines and software, such as computers, home appliances, mobile devices, and other electronic devices, with the focus on maximizing usability and the user experience. As an elective course students will continue to program as well as creatively design websites and prototypes for applications using HTML, CSS, & JavaScript while fine tuning their design thinking skills.