NOVA
is a term in astronomy meaning "emergence of a new star that achieves its maximum brightness". This is the new name for the program formerly known as High Potential.
Program structure:
NOVA has two curricular flexibility paths, Personalized Cambridge Path (PCP) and Personalized Advanced Path (PAP).
Personalized Cambridge Path (PCP): Personalized Cambridge Path.
The PCP route applies to students who need a curricular adjustment in order to achieve the number of exams required in the university and career of interest. For example, if a student must achieve the AICE Diploma by university requirement and to do so must take 7 exams but the current curriculum allows to only prepare for 5 exams, this PCP route is applied to adjust the curriculum so that the student can have more class periods in the two subjects required to complete the 7 exams.
Personalized Advanced Path (PAP):
The PAP pathway applies to students that we have identified as requiring a more advanced curricular pathway to develop their full potential. This pathway will be progressively implemented in all grades. In the 11th and 12th grades students already have an advanced pathway in their academic emphasis that prepares them for an advanced curriculum (Cambridge AS/A levels) of that emphasis (Math, Biology, Physics, Economics, Art & Design). For this reason, this pathway will most often apply to K-10th grades, but can also be applied to 11th and 12th grades if needed.
Important information:
- i. In both routes a novelty is applied to the curriculum where some subjects are eliminated to provide more time and space for independent study to the student to dedicate to work on the subjects he/she must prepare for the Cambridge exam. For example, the student will not take the Elective course in order to dedicate that space to prepare for Economics. This will not affect the student's GPA since the Elective is not part of the student's curriculum.
- ii. Each student receives a personalized schedule that indicates the spaces in which he/she will work.1Each student receives a personalized schedule indicating the spaces in which he/she will work on each subject. In these spaces the student will work independently with material previously provided by the teacher of the subject. If two or more students coincide in preparing for this exam, the students are grouped in the same space.
- iii. Both routes require a great deal of agency and responsibility on the part of the student, given that he/she must optimize his/her independent work spaces to identify his/her strengths and areas for improvement in his/her preparation in order to receive support from the teacher in the consultation spaces.
- iv. Students in the PAP program will have a credit of 1.05 in their grade because they will be exposed to a more advanced curriculum with more rigorous evaluations. In this way, it seeks to protect equity in terms of each student's GPA. Students in the PCP pathway do not apply the 1.05 credit since they are working on the same curriculum as the rest of the class but in a more accelerated pathway.
- v. At the end of each trimester, each student's academic performance in both pathways will be monitored to determine if there is a need for an adjustment or action plan in their personalized pathway.
- vi. This personalized pathway is intended to accompany the student in his/her academic life until graduation in 12th grade. However, the institution may determine that the student will not continue in the NOVA program according to his/her academic performance or the student will have the possibility of withdrawing from the program by his/her own means.
- vii. On the registration dates of the Cambridge exams, the student will be able to confirm if he/she will take the corresponding exam according to his/her level of academic preparation for the test and his/her performance to date.
Support resources:
| Personalized student pathway | PCP |
| Search university requirements | Cambridge Recognition Search |
| Search for AICE Diploma guidelines | AICE Diploma |
| Cambridge Exam Dates | Window: Registration Exam: 1 August October, November 2 January May, June. |