SD Virtual High School AP Learning Power and APEX Courses
The SD Virtual High School offers free AP courses through Learning Power, APEX and other providers. The Learning Power program provides $100.00 cash awards to students who complete designated Advanced Placement courses in Math, Science, and English. Students must pass the end of course exam with a score of 3 or higher to qualify. Courses are available online at the South Dakota Virtual School on a first-come, first-serve basis. There are 7 courses available
AP Calculus
AP English Literature and Composition
AP English Language and Composition
AP Biology
AP Physics
AP Statistics
AP Chemistry
There are other courses offered by SD Virtual High School via APEX. These include all of the above courses and additionally, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP Government, AP Psychology, AP History and AP French. These courses are free, as long as you maintain a C or above .The district signs a Memorandum of Understanding and APEX waits to bill the school until after the student’s grade is in. Students are responsible for the cost of the class if they do not maintain a grade of a C. Students can take these classes during the year. APEX does not offer the $100.00 incentive for a score on the AP exam of 3 or higher.
The registration deadline for the fall APEX and Learning Power Courses is September 4th. Since classes begin on August 24th, students are expected to sign up for theses courses in the spring before school is out. Courses end the second week of May with the AP exam.
Students are expected to take the AP exam. There are prerequisites for each course (i.e. you need Chemistry and Biology for AP Biology, and Physics and Chemistry before the respective AP course). There is no age requirement, but sophomores would have difficulties in these classes due to the level of the curriculum. There are course descriptions with the prerequisites for each course online at www.sdvs.k12.sd.us/Students/CoursesAp.aspx. You can work ahead on these courses. The lecture tapes are all online. Assignments are given 2 weeks in advance.
The first step in the process to sign up for these classes is for the student to contact Kathryn Sosa, who is the Central High School contact person that signs up the student for the Learning Power or Apex course on South Dakota Virtual. She determines if the student meets the pre-requisites for the desired course. Once the student is enrolled, they are assigned an e-mentor, the person who has a vested interest in the student’s success and help with questions or problems. The e-mentor for our school is also Kathryn Sosa. She will order the student’s AP exam in October and administer the exam in May at the prescribed time.