Course Listing

AP Calculus AB is equivalent to a first-semester college calculus course. Topics include functions, limits and continuity, derivatives, and integrals. The course will focus on applying the skills and concepts of calculus to modeling and solving problems across multiple representations. 

Calculus has been one of the most influential ideas in human history.  Its impact on our daily lives is incalculable with most changes in the past 300 years coming from technological and scientific developments fundamentally based upon calculus.  Calculus pulls together many of topics studied in previous math courses and transforms them from mechanical, seemingly unrelated topics into powerful, interrelated tools for analyzing real-life situations – situations that involve motion and change.  This course provides the foundation on which we can truly understand and advance the world around us and prepares students for the AP Calculus AB Exam. 

AP Calculus BC is equivalent to a two semesters college calculus course. Topics include functions, limits and continuity, derivatives, integrals, differential equations, parametric equations, polar coordinates, vector-valued functions, infinite sequences and series. The course will focus on applying the skills and concepts of calculus to modeling and solving problems across multiple representations. It includes specific preparation for the AP BC Calculus exam. Students will practice AP-style questions, to familiarize themselves with the format and grading techniques.

AP Calculus BC covers much of a second semester of a college-level course in the Calculus and is the “continuation” of The College Board’s AP Calculus AB course.  Students are expected to come into this AP Calculus BC course with knowledge and understanding of all AP Calculus AB concepts.  AP Calculus BC covers four units beyond the AP Calculus AB curriculum as prescribed by The College Board.  These units focus on exploring advanced methods of integration as well as vectors, polar graphs, parametric equations, and polynomial approximations and series.  Investigations are included throughout the course as enrichment and extension of the material required for the AP exam. 

This A.P. Chemistry course is designed to be the equivalent of the general chemistry courses usually taken during a student’s first year in college and focuses on the big ideas and important scientific practices in chemistry.  As such, the student should attain a depth of understanding concerning fundamental chemical concepts and a reasonable competence in solving chemical problems with which they could be associated.  Additionally, this course will help develop the student’s scientific skills as a substantial portion of the course (25%) is spent on hands-on laboratory work using the instructor's-designed homeschooler AP Chemistry lab kit and manual.

This course features a live teaching session once per week to provide a learning connection between the students and the instructor not always present in online chemistry courses.  All live sessions are recorded and accessible for those students not able to be present for these sessions.

Study of Change, Atoms, Molecules, and Energy. Discover the Joy of Chemistry. 

AP Comparative Government and Politics is a dynamic class for all students, especially those looking to understand the inter workings and dynamic nature of international politics.  

This course will first and foremost prepare the students to be successful on the AP Comparative Government and Politics exam. The tests and written work will be formatted in a similar manner to allow them practice and refinement over the year. The course will, on its broadest level, consider "ideas and their consequences." Ideas and worldviews are at the root of how everyone sees the world (metaphysics), and gains knowledge and understands truth (epistemology). An individual and a government's view on these things influences their decisions and ultimately lives and countries are impacted.

Today's world is highly interdependent and global in nature. Students will learn to think globally and will explore the impact of countries' interactions. Students will learn, not only how our country interacts and affects the world, but also how other nation-states, as well as non-governmental organizations, shape our world. We will compare and contrast ideologies, governments, and policies in order to grasp the significance of the current world political scene and analyze its impact.

We will focus primarily on the following countries: the United Kingdom, Russia, China, Mexico, Nigeria, and Iran. These countries will not only prepare the students for the exam but will give them a broad understanding of the major political systems.

This course will be exciting, connecting political ideas with real-world realities. Students will be assessed through tests, short papers, various assignments, and class discussion.  We will meet every week for lecture/class discussion.  We will use Canvas as our course platform (password protected).    Additionally, we will have a time to meet to discuss current affairs and developing news in our key countries.  Throughout the year we will have guest speakers, who will come to talk to us about real life experiences in these countries. 

If you want to learn to code in Java; else if you want to major in computer science, engineering, or other math or science-related fields; else if you love problem solving and logic puzzles; else if you love coding; else if you want one more impressive AP course to put on your high school transcript: this is the course for you! 

Do you want to understand the main concepts of computer science and learn how to code? This course includes content on digital information, the internet, big data, cybersecurity,  the effects of computing on our world, and block and text coding in JavaScript (up through loops, lists, and libraries). It is an college-level introduction to computer science for non-CS majors.

In this asynchronous, intensive course, students learn to be masters in communication--picking apart texts like expert reverse engineers, writing with the precision of a scalpel wielding surgeon, and crafting compelling arguments from current events, images, essays, and books. 

This highly interactive asynchronous course is designed to prepare students for the AP English Language and Composition exam in May. Students will learn to understand complicated texts and write with complexity, clarity and polish.

This is a college-level course to prepare students for the Advanced Placement Language and Composition exam by engaging in critical reading, writing, and discussion. In addition to literature, we engage in analysis of all sorts of rhetoric to better understand the processes of communication and persuasion. Our goal is to develop skills in describing, explaining, and arguing through examining texts from various time periods and genres and through writing formal and informal responses to them in various modes. We also complete timed essays and practice tests to help prepare students for the AP exam.

This highly interactive asynchronous college-level course is designed to prepare students for the AP English Literature and Composition exam in May. It will push students to read imaginative literature (novels, poetry, and plays) closely and deeply. 

This course is intended for 10th, 11th or 12th graders who possess a love of reading and can write with few grammatical errors.  AP English Literature and Composition is a rigorous (and exciting) course with the ultimate goal of preparing students for the AP exam.  Throughout the course, we will study a broad range of texts from classical and contemporary canonical literature.  As such, students will be expected to read the assigned pieces analytically and deeply – a skill that is useful in high school, college, and beyond. Students will encounter themes that are still relevant today; students will explore and question and discover. Students learn to dive deeply into the literature to learn more about the world around them.

Join Dr. Lavin in AP Environmental Science as we explore and investigate the interrelationships of the natural world and analyze environmental problems, both natural and human-made. 

 AP European History is a high level academic study of modern European civilization from its origins in the fifteenth century to the present. This course is the equivalent of an introductory college or university survey of modern European history. AP Euro students will explore, analyze, and understand the significance of major European historical developments from the late Medieval Era to the present. By coming to know the history Modern Europe, students will be able to describe, explain, and discuss how the world we currently recognize, came to be. They will understand how the emergence of Modern Europe had significant influence on the world we know today. The will also come to know ways in which that influence continues and allows us insights on what the future may bring.  

Below is the introduction of AP European History provided by the The College Board. 

In AP European History, students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes from approximately 1450 to the present. Students develop and use the same skills, practices, and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources; developing historical arguments; making historical connections; and utilizing reasoning about comparison, causation, and continuity and change over time. The course also provides seven themes that students explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places: interaction of Europe and the world, economic and commercial development, cultural and intellectual development, states and other institutions of power, social organization and development, national and European identity, and technological and scientific innovations.

This AP course is an in-depth look at "modern" European History starting with a brief look at the end of the Middle Ages and ending with the current time period with a discussion on contemporary issues impacting the continent.  

AP Human Geography is a course sometimes called "the gateway to AP testing." It is a freshman-level college course that is taught asynchronously (totally online with no "live" component) using my weekly YouTube lectures and assignments that include field trips, map analysis, and interpretation of models, charts, graphs, and other spatial data. It covers the central themes of Population, City and Urban Areas, Agriculture, Political Geography, Economic Geography, Culture, Development, and Spatial Analysis. A previous study of geography (especially world regional) is useful but not a requirement for success in the course. Because the course is online, it is very hands-on and inquiry-bad, They will use geographic analysis to sole real-life problems through the use of case studies and activities that require them to apply geographic analysis.

Are you the sort of person who likes to talk about the effects of government policies and what the government should or should not do? You may be a born economist. Macroeconomics is the part of economics that studies government actions and looks mostly at problems of the economy as a whole such as inflation, unemployment, recession, international trade, and long-term growth. We will specifically learn about economics theories of important economists from Adam Smith, to John Maynard Keynes, to Milton Friedman.

In this class, you will learn how to predict the effects of government actions. For example, "What happens to unemployment rates when the government raises the minimum wage or cuts taxes?"

You will learn the skills necessary for analyzing economics problems: how to use the vocabulary of economists, how to draw “supply” and “demand” curves, how to read economics graphs, how to pull the economy out of recessions or inflationary spirals and how to promote long-term economic growth.

The most fun part of the class is the economics simulation games. Each game will be played twice (each run lasting two weeks), and there will be four games during the year.

Are you the sort of person who likes to talk about the effects of government policies and what the government should or should not do? You may be a born economist. Macroeconomics is the part of economics that studies government actions and looks mostly at problems of the economy as a whole such as inflation, unemployment, recession, international trade, and long-term growth. 

Available in both full-year and one-semester versions, AP Microeconomics is the study of how the economy functions from the perspective of individual businesses and consumers. We will consider topics such as the basics of supply and demand in a free market, how businesses operate when faced with different forms of marketplace competition, how companies make decisions about how much labor to hire, the benefits of international trade, and the proper role of government in the economy. Some examples of fun topics we will cover include:

• Using elasticity concepts to combat child labor
• Why the government wants to break up Google's advertising business
• Price fixing arrangements in the British toy industry
• Game theory and a prisoner's dilemma simulation 
• Prediction markets in sports and politics 

If you are interested in business or government, or just want a good foundation in economic principles, this will be a great course for you!

Seats are still available for the 2023-2024 school year!

This course will provide students with a rigorous grounding in music theory and in aural skills, all within a highly interactive, supportive, and encouraging environment. Students will come away with greater appreciation and understanding of the classical Western musical tradition, as well as with analytical tools and listening skills that they can apply to a wide range of musical styles. In addition, they will be superbly prepared for all aspects of the AP exam.

Both the Physics 1 course and the Physics 2 course cover algebra-based introductory physics concepts. These topics include the same material found in a first-year college physics courses typically taken by science students with non-engineering majors. AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2 emphasize understanding what the College Board has identified as the "Big Ideas" and the "Science Process Skills and Practices" necessary to move forward in other science courses.

2023 AP Scores are in. Average grade for my students: E&M: 4.88  Mechanics 4.38
AP Physics C Mechanics is a calculus-based course designed to expose the student to all the foundational topics needed to understand such concepts as motion, force, energy, momentum, rotation, harmonic motion, and gravitation. AP Physics C Electricity and Magnetism does the same for such phenomena as electric force, electric field, electric potential, electric circuits, magnetic effects, electromagnetic induction. The program of study for each course is equivalent to a single semester college physics course for engineering students. 

The following course information is for both, the Physics C: Mechanics course, as well as the Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism course.  These are calculus based physics courses each culminating with 1.5 hour Collegeboard AP Exams in early May.  Based upon the AP curriculum, Physics C is two courses: Physics C Mechanics and Physics C Electricity and Magnetism.  The Mechanics course offered here can be taken as an academic year-long course OR as a one (1) semester course that permits students to enroll in the Physics C Electricity and Magnetism in the spring semester. 

This AP course is designed to provide a comprehensive study of functions, which are the basis of calculus and other higher mathematics courses. The students will study the properties and graphs of trigonometric, polynomial, rational, inverse, exponential and logarithmic functions, inequalities, polar coordinates, complex numbers, conic sections, matrices, vectors, sequences, series, counting and probability. Students who successfully complete this course will be ready to take AP Calculus and college Calculus. 

AP Psychology is a highly interactive class that introduces students to our behaviors and the thought processes that guide our behaviors.  In this class we explore the topics of research methods used in psychological studies, neuroscience and the biology of behavior, the process of learning, memory, intelligence, abnormal behavior, developmental psychology, psychotherapy, and social behavior.  AP Psychology is the equivalent of a full semester course at a college or university.  It will fully prepare students for the Advanced Placement test in May.  This class is taught synchronously with live lectures and chats that enhance learning of the connections between research concepts and real-life applications of behavior and thought.  At the end of the year, students will have the opportunity to complete their own research in the field of psychology or compete in the American Psychological Association’s TOPSS essay contest. 

This course is designed to help students develop their language skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking and will develop their proficiency in the three modes of communication: interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational. 

This one year course is equivalent to an introductory, non-calculus-based college course in Statistics. You will learn about the major concepts and tools used for collecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data.

This class is for students who have completed at least algebra II, yet will still challenge students who have taken calculus. The structure of the course includes readings, live (optional) interactive classes, homework, labs, optional activities, real-world examples, live chat, and exams to provide students with multiple pathways to success, with frequent contact with the instructor available, and detailed feedback on exams. This course will prepare students well for the twin goals of AP Exam/college prep, and understanding statistics in the world around them. Everyone uses statistics— we consume them through advertising, healthcare decisions, personal decision-making, playing games, and in nearly every field of study, from liberal arts to STEM, as well as in most professions. Students should expect to budget 1-2 hours per day for this course. For highly independent learners, there is also an asynchronous option available, for completing the course in just one semester. Last year, students in this section scored a "5" on the AP exam at more than double the global rate.

Update 8/28: There's still space for four more students. Class starts September 6th!

My goal for this class is not only that students will excel on the AP U.S. Government exam, but that they will become engaged citizens and informed voters. We will discuss the big issues of freedom, opportunity, security, and equality and how they are influenced through the political process on a daily basis. I also hope to instill appreciation for the incredible heritage of liberty and representative democracy the founders gave us.

We like to have fun along the way! Games that help you apply civil liberties to specific scenarios are far more interesting than simply memorizing the Bill of Rights. We’ll take a virtual video tour of the Supreme Court. You’ll research TV ads from previous presidential campaigns to discuss which ones were effective and which were not. You will have the opportunity to watch Mr. Smith Goes to Washington for bonus points during the Congress lesson. 

AP U.S. Government and Politics is a college-level full-year course that will prepare students for success on the AP Exam (in early May 2024). AP GoPo provides students with the content knowledge and reasoning skills that are the foundation of thoughtful and meaningful understanding of the processes of American Government and the political narratives that influence public opinion, election outcomes, and the creation of government policy. This course is a political science that explores the constitutional system and political culture of the United States. Students develop a deep understanding of American foundational documents, the reasoning and impact of significant Supreme Court decisions, the evolution of civil rights and liberties, and processes through which the ideals of American citizens influence government actions. By the end of this course students will be able to analyze and explain historical and contemporary political events by using the same political reasoning skills applied by professional political scientists.

AP U.S. History is not just about learning facts, but about analyzing evidence to reach conclusions. Just as professional historians evaluate a range of sources for significance and credibility, as an APUSH student you will have the opportunity to sort through evidence from primary sources, secondary sources, and our textbook to argue for your positions. What do you think about the transcendentalist literary authors? Did the South have the right to secede? What about Theodore Roosevelt’s Big Stick foreign policy? The basic idea is that APUSH students are doing history instead of just studying history.

The nuts and bolts of the course involve a variety of assignment types. These include reading primary and secondary sources, watching videos, and doing research online, as well as practice with AP-style multiple choice questions, short answer questions, essays, and document-based questions - all aimed at helping students ace the AP exam and master the content of a college-level U.S. History survey course.

NOTE: This course will include live virtual sessions during the second half of the class that will focus on APUSH test-taking skills.  We will focus on essay writing, and I will use my twelve-plus year experience of being an official AP grader to help students understand what's expected of them.  Time of class meetings will be determined after students communicate preferences of meeting times.

This course will cover the development of American history from its pre-colonial roots through recent developments. It will prepare students to take the AP US History exam in May. However, my goals for this course are more comprehensive than getting students ready to take the formal exam. I also hope to inspire and increase students’ love and appreciation for history, expand students’ capacity to think creatively and flexibly about critical issues, and communicate powerfully and compellingly.

Students will read primary and secondary source material, watch videos, listen to audio, and participate in discussions. They will have access to my college-level audio-visual presentations, which include both improving thinking, reading, and writing skills and covering the content of American history from origins into the 20th century. In addition, each student will learn to approach the various components of the AP exam. I offer prompt feedback to the students’ various assignments throughout the course.

This class is now FILLED for the 2023-2024 school year-- audit students or 'wait list' students still accepted!

This AP US History course will thoroughly prepare students for the AP US History exam scheduled for May 10, 2024 at 8:00am. 

Class Description: This class will cover mainstream US History from early exploration and colonization to the present, using an online text, The American Yawp, as well as many original source documents, varied Internet resources, and the rich archive of material on our class site. Students will also listen to regularly scheduled history lectures produced by The Great Courses -- these are provided free to students via our class website. They also view the Biography of America lecture series, produced by Annenberg/CPB. Our class archives include all past original History Interviews, Biography Projects, History Film Reviews, Summer Book Reviews, 'History Happened Here' reviews,  past National History Day projects, and more, completed by past students-- new students are truly joining a long line of dedicated history explorers, and will add their work to our archives over the year. Students are also encouraged to use other outside sources (websites, videos, history-related novels, magazines, biographies, and visits to historical museums, etc.) for earning bonus points. Encouraging *student initiative* is a big part of my philosophy of teaching.

This course is reading and writing intensive-- and students regularly report that they gain a whole new level of appreciation of the complexities of our nation's history. And parents often report that their teens are ready to share at the dinner table about all the new things they are learning about! Join in and gain a new and deeper understanding of change over time.

This course will consist of content review (1200 C.E. to the present) through primary and secondary resources, video clips, and notes. Content will be assessed by stimulus based multiple choice questions which will prepare students for the AP exam multiple choice section. Students will also expand and improve their writing skills in preparation for the AP Exam's writing portion: 3 SAQs (Short Answer Questions), 1 DBQ (Document Based Question), and 1 LEQ (Long Essay Question). There will be a recorded & optional Zoom meeting once a week. This course is taught asynchronously, with work assigned Monday morning and due on Friday each week.  The assignments are related to the content we are studying and help students' historical thinking skills and writing skills. Students have opportunity to interact with each other through discussions and assignments.

This course will give a solid base for further study in chemistry – either in an AP Chemistry course or an introductory chemistry course at college or university – and is taught at the level of a challenging honors or pre-AP type chemistry course.  It is intended for students who plan on majoring in a physical science STEM program at college or university (particularly chemistry/physics/chemical or materials engineering) and the course will be VERY rigorous.  The course will cover the standard introductory chemistry topics, along with a mathematical treatment where appropriate, and will also cover organic chemistry and biochemistry in a more expansive fashion than is usually found in honors chemistry courses.  The time commitment is roughly 10-12 hours per week but that will vary greatly depending upon a student’s abilities and working speed.

This is an excellent introductory computer science course! You will learn block and text coding, basic game and app design, basic web design, and more!

If you're a 9th or 10th grader who wants a rigorous English class — but aren't feeling quite ready for AP Language or AP Literature — this course is for you! This highly interactive class will help students become critical readers, confident writers, and nuanced thinkers.

History of Western Science aims to be a fun and interesting, yet still in-depth, look at the ways scientific thinking has changed and developed over time, and the ways that history and science intersect with each other! There is no prerequisite for this class, but you should be a capable writer and have good study skills. There is a lot of Socratic discussion in this class and students will help lead the conversation throughout the year.

Organic chemistry and biochemistry in college are the courses that pre-med students struggle with the most so gaining a solid introduction to organic chemistry and biochemistry in high school will give a definite leg-up to students when taking those subjects again later in college.  This course would be an EXCELLENT course for students who may be considering a career in medicine or another professional health field.

This course will cover the basics of introductory organic chemistry and biochemistry and will be delivered as an advanced chemistry course for high school. The ability to memorize large quantities of material is essential for this course.  Time commitment is roughly 8-10 hours per week but that will vary greatly depending upon a student’s abilities and working speed.

Calculus: Prep for the AP Class tells the story of Calculus to students preparing to take full-fledged Calculus courses. This course primes the student’s ability to think in terms of Calculus, read and write more mathematically, and embrace greater complexity in each major concept. With a handcrafted curriculum motivated by hundreds of hours of teaching Calculus, this course is designed for any student who wants a head start in Calculus or who might benefit from the extra time to practice and understand more advanced mathematical concepts.

The purpose of the course is to provide students planning on taking AP Chemistry through PA Homeschoolers, other homeschooling organizations, brick and mortar high schools, and even upcoming college freshmen, a focused and interesting review of the prerequisite knowledge required for success in AP (or first-year college) chemistry.

This workshop will help you write your Common App essay! 

This workshop will help you write short-form college app essays!

This course is adapted from a longer novel-writing course in creative writing. The purpose of this course is to introduce creative writing in fiction to students who are interested in fiction writing in any capacity or genre and for students to experiment with their own writing. This course would be great for any aspiring creative writer, students who are interested in elements of storytelling, or any student wanting to expand their fiction repertoire in order to submit work for publication. 

Group Theory in Mathematics is an introductory course in abstract algebra, designed to make pure mathematics accessible to middle and high school students. This course challenges students to advance their ability to use logic in critical thinking, while expanding their creativity and capacity to embrace higher abstractions of reasoning.

This is an engaging and highly interactive workshop that equips students with the skills to dive into the wonderful world of birdwatching - one of the fastest growing hobbies across the globe! Dig up those dusting binoculars in your garage, and together, we can Learn to Bird!

This course provides the background needed to truly begin an intellectual journey into quantum mechanics before college. Students who start this journey in high school will find their university experience enhanced because the foundational ideas needed to form mental models of quantum mechanical concepts will have a solid structure on which to build. Taking this course will simply make the experience of science- and math-oriented high school students richer when exposed to quantum mechanical ideas in college and beyond.

SAT Math Prep is a high-intensity workshop designed to prepare students for the SAT Math Test. Students will solve several hundred SAT math problems, master each question type through daily target practice, receive topical lessons twice a week, and engage in an office hour to receive additional preparation help.

So you think you know what a sentence is? Think again. 

In each 3-week workshop, we'll dive deep into the definition and make-up of a sentence, what separates the great ones from the not-so-memorable ones (90+% of all sentences out there these days!), and finally, how to write a sentence worth reading. 

We'll cover more than just analysis and critique of sentences past. We'll create new ones that spark the mind and ignite the heart. We'll beat ChatGPT at its own game, and discover what exactly makes writing a truly human endeavor. 

After all, sentences are the building blocks of the written (and spoken) word. This 3-week summer workshop is designed to inspire, educate, and entertain through an in-depth look at the art of communicating through words.

We'll see you on the other side of the period. (Or exclamation mark, or question mark, or...)