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Advanced Studies

About Our Programs

All 22 of our traditional high schools offer options for your student to engage in rigorous curriculum to prepare them for the challenges of college and beyond. Your student has the opportunity to enroll in Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Cambridge AICE, and AVID in our elementary, middle, and high schools. Follow this link to view a map of schools and programs. For more information on individual programs, click on the program links below.

Program Links

Advanced Placement

The Advanced Placement Program through the College Board offers college-level courses at the high school level. The AP Program currently offers 39 courses and exams, some or all of which are offered in 21 of OCPS' traditional high schools. Teachers and students immerse themselves in a comprehensive survey of curriculum ranging from Music Theory to Human Geography and Physics to Drawing.

Exams are scored by teachers and university professors and awarded a score of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. Many colleges and universities, including all universities in the State University System of Florida, will award introductory course credit based on demonstration of mastery in the subject with an AP score of 3, 4, or a 5.

Select link for a list of AP courses offered at OCPS High Schools

The Pre-Advanced Placement Program offers grade-level instruction designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in future AP courses, college, and careers is available at the following schools for zoned students.

Cambridge

The Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) Program helps students become confident, responsible, reflective, innovative and engaged. An AICE Diploma prepares students to tackle the demands of tomorrow's world, capable of shaping a better world for the future. With Cambridge programs, students build more than just a deep understanding of their subject. They also develop higher order thinking skills so that they can apply what they've learned.

Cambridge students play an active role in the classroom. They will be asked to think critically, to learn how to construct an argument and evaluate evidence. They will learn to work independently and to collaborate with one another to bring a project to a successful outcome (and if it's not successful, they'll also learn lessons from reflecting on why that might be). They'll be encouraged to develop an international outlook, and become confident, global citizens.

Students are asked to demonstrate an understanding of the core knowledge of a subject, as well as to think critically. Culminating exams are there to recognize, reward and encourage learning as students become a productive part of an international environment.

The AICE Program is currently offered at Liberty Middle School and as a diploma option at Colonial High School, and both programs are open to all students within Orange County Public Schools. To apply to these programs, please click here for the Magnet Application.

Cambridge Advanced courses and/or the AICE Diploma Program is also available at all traditional High Schools across the district. Contact your child's school Cambridge Coordinator to find out what is available at your zoned school! 

Cambridge Primary and Lower Secondary Programs are also available at the following schools for zoned students only:

If your child attends these schools, please speak with your child's guidance counselor about entrance into the program.

International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate curriculum cultivates inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people with the purpose of creating a more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. Your student will be exposed to rigorous Middle Years and Diploma Programme curricula taught through a multi-faceted lens of learning. This IB Learner Profile, coupled with a focus on perspective and service learning, will develop your student into a pluralistic thinker and a socially-conscious adult in an increasingly interconnected world.

Currently, five high schools offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Six middle schools and one high school offer the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme. Each school was purposefully chosen to provide ease of enrollment for each of five OCPS' learning communities. In addition to the traditional Diploma Programme, Winter Park High School also offers the IB Career Programme.

For questions on enrolling your student in an IB school, please contact the Office of School Choice.

IB Diploma Programme Schools

IB Middle Years Programme Schools

*Non-magnet school, students must live in this school's attendance zone.

AVID

Spanning Kindergarten - 12th grade, the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program promotes critical thinking, inquiry, self-advocacy, and empowers students to own their learning. AVID provides scaffolded support for students that encourages college and career readiness and success.

AVID Elementary students develop the academic habits they will need to be successful in middle school, high school, and college, in an age-appropriate and challenging way. The AVID Elementary program focuses on organization, study skills, communication, and self-advocacy. Students take structured notes and answer and ask high-level questions while promoting a strong college-going culture.

AVID Secondary equips students with what they need to succeed on a path to college and career success. Through collaboration with their peers and adult tutors, for one period a day, students participate in a an AVID elective course where they receive additional academic, social, and emotional support that will help them succeed in their school's most rigorous courses.

Good News: Of the most recent AVID graduates in OCPS, 99% met four-year college entrance requirements and 97% took at least one AP, IB, or AIE course.

Academic Dual Enrollment

Dual enrollment is an articulated acceleration mechanism open to secondary students who are attending public high school. To enroll in dual enrollment academic courses, students must demonstrate a readiness to successfully complete college-level course work and have attained a qualifying grade point average.

Select link for more information on OCPS Academic Dual Enrollment.

Mission Statement

The mission for Advanced Studies is to support all students through academic and social post-secondary preparation and to ensure each student is prepared for individual success.

Contact Info

Dr. Rebecca Hunt
Director of Advanced Studies
407-317-3200 Ext. 200-2634
[email protected]

Dr. Chrissy Steppi
Program Specialist of Advanced Studies
407-317-3200 Ext. 200-3034
[email protected]

Rachelle Strang
Program Specialist of Advanced Studies
407-317-3200 Ext. 200-3035
[email protected]

Corey Mcguire
Program Specialist of Advanced Studies
407-317-3200 Ext. 200-2722
[email protected] 

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