North Allegheny students are eligible to accelerate honors biology (during the summer following 8th grade) or honors chemistry (during the summer following 9th grade).  Students must meet prerequisites for the course they hope to accelerate (Ex: A student attempting to skip honors biology must have an honors biology recommendation).  Please see the links on the drop down menu for specific information regarding Biology and Chemistry acceleration and to access detailed documents & forms for each subject. 

Please pay particular attention to deadlines and requirements for this process.  All students must fill out the NASD Acceleration form prior to April 19, 2024 in order to be eligible to attempt the acceleration process.  No exceptions will be made to this deadline, nor any of the requirements for acceleration.

The general information below describes the acceleration process for biology or chemistry at NASD.

1. Students must get a B in a pre-approved CCAC (or other institution) course and be able to provide a transcript from CCAC (or their institution).  Please see the biology or chemistry acceleration packets for detailed information about this year's pre-approved courses.  These courses may be hybrid, but can include no more than 50% online instruction.  All enrollment deadlines, requirements, paperwork, entrance exams, and course materials are the responsibility of the student/CCAC.  It is the student’s responsibility to determine if they meet CCAC’s pre-requisites for the pre-approved courses, as CCAC maintains their own pre-requisites as an institution.
2. At the conclusion of the summer, students must score 80% or better on the North Allegheny acceleration exam that is based on the curriculum of the science course they are attempting to accelerate at North Allegheny.  The details of this exam (format, time, date, etc.) will be shared by email with students early in the summer.  As soon as details are available, they will be communicated with the students who are enrolled in the process and have filled out the NA online acceleration form linked above.
3. All students who wish to accelerate must fill out the NA online acceleration form by April 19, 2024.  This form should be filled out after students have completed their college summer course registration.  All students planning to accelerate must fill out this form to notify NASD of their desire to accelerate, in addition to any dual enrollment paperwork that was required for the CCAC or other college registration process.

If a student is aware of and understands the above information and they still plan to attempt acceleration, they should carefully read the detailed acceleration information for their course, register at CCAC (or another pre-approved institution), and fill out the NASD acceleration form.  The information in this form will be used to communicate with students over the summer and to be sure that their schedule is built correctly for the start of the school year.

There will be informational meetings and the opportunity for Q&A at the schools during the following times (announcements with further information will occur at each school prior to the meeting dates):
NAI:  February 12 & 13, Homeroom, Room 600
MMS:  February 21, Activity period
CMS:  February 7, Activity period, Room 127
IMS: February 8, Activity period, Room 109

Any further questions about this process should be directed to:

Mr. Chris Omasits, Science Department Chair or Mrs. Richelle Gibson, NAI Science Department Liaison