Academic programs at Binghamton High School offer a wide-ranging variety of paths and options, based on the individual student's interests and abilities.  With over 65 different courses in the BHS Course Catalog, a full International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, BOCES vocational courses, a pre-engineering academy and the Rod Serling School of Fine Arts, there's something for everyone.  For complete information on all courses and programs of study, please click the link below:
  2008-2009 BHS Curriculum Guide

For specific information on instruction within a grade level and subject area, please refer to our
District Curriculum Maps.

Dr. Patricia Gazda-Grace, Director - 762-8244

In 1997, BHS became the third public high school in New York State to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) program.  The IB program is a comprehensive and rigorous two-year curriculum, leading to examinations, for students between the ages of sixteen and nineteen.  The general objectives of the IB are to provide students with a balanced education; to facilitate geographic and cultural mobility, and to promote international understanding through a shared academic experience.  In the more than 50 years since its founding the IB Diploma has become a symbol of academic integrity and intellectual promise.  The student who satisfies its demands demonstrates a strong commitment to learning, both in terms of the mastery of subject content and in the development of the skills and discipline necessary for success in a competitive world.

Binghamton High School students may elect to complete the requirements for a full IB Diploma, or they may choose to take individual IB courses and be awarded a certificate for the examinations completed.

Additionally, the International Baccalaureate Organization has extended an invitation for BHS to be the third IB School in the world to pilot the IB Careers Certificate program.  This exciting new program is a two-year course of study open to all juniors and seniors who are aspiring to enter a career-related/vocational field and advance to a two/four-year college or university.

For additional information, please visit the International Baccalaureate section of our website.

Margaret McGarry, Director - 762-8245

The Rod Serling School of Fine Arts at Binghamton High School, named for famed  author Rod Serling, a '43 graduate of Binghamton Central High School, opened in 1995.  Since then, the School has averaged over 300 Fine Arts students per year, functioning as a magnet Fine Arts curriculum within the confines of a normal heterogeneous high school.  It is thus unique among magnet secondary Fine Arts programs.

A student at the Rod Serling School of Fine Arts can major in any of the following four areas: the Visual Arts, Music, Theatre, and Dance. Within these areas, students can concentrate on individual interests and gear their study to those interests. For example, in the Visual Arts, students can concentrate in any of three areas: Drawing and Painting, Photography and Media, or Ceramic and Sculpture. In Music, there are concentrations in Vocal Music, Instrumental Music, and Music Theory/Composition. Theatre majors can specialize in Stage, Drama, or the Musical Theatre. While there are no specific concentrations in Dance, the Dance program touches upon every genre (Ballet, Modern, Jazz, and Ethnic Dancing).

Currently, the Visual Arts, Dance, Drama and the Music Department also offers the International Baccalaureate Program in their respective disciplines. Since its inception, it has become a model for Fine Arts education within New York State and in many districts throughout the nation.

Project Lead the Way pre-engineering program is a five course sequence designed to help you explore technology related careers and to prepare you for two or four year college programs. Each class uses state-of-the-art technology equipment and software and is taught in a laboratory setting that involves projects rather than lectures to learn the material. Classes focus on problem solving and encouraging students to work in teams. In many cases, students may actually earn college credit through special agreements with area colleges.

This program allows students to apply their math and science skills to real world problems. Students will have an opportunity to explore the broad field of engineering to help them make career decisions. It is better to find out in high school if this is an area of interest, rather than in college. The program is presented in a project oriented manner that encourages problem solving skills in a team centered approach similar to what students will be doing when they go to work in industry.

Students who complete this program will have a competitive advantage when they apply to college.  For more information on the Project Lead the Way Program, please click here or on the logo at the top of this section.

Students in EBE will be encouraged to view the community as a vital learning resource. They will also be encouraged to have some ownership in decisions affecting their lives in the school. Individual and peer counseling will be a constant facet of the program in order to enhance self concept and assist students in dealing with the past while becoming more future-oriented. The school will maintain constant communication with the home so as to become a cooperative partner with it in helping the student achieve success. Each and every student will have access to caring teachers, a supportive guidance staff and community agencies when intervention is necessary.

Participation in EBE is voluntary. Students are carefully screened and fully informed of what they must do to continue participation in the program. All sign an EBE contract together with their parents outlining exactly what their responsibilities in the program are.  Contact person for the EBE School is Mr. Derek Gouldin, gouldind@binghamtonschools.org.

The Advanced Placement program is open to any student seeking a challenging academic program.  The student will be prepared to take the AP Examination in the spring for college credit.  More than 2,900 universities and colleges worldwide grant credit, advanced placement, or both to students who have performed satifactorily on the exams, and approximately 1,400 institutions grant sophomore standing to students who have demonstrated competency in three or more of these exams.

BHS offers the following Advanced Placement courses, based on student enrollment and teacher availability:

• English 10
• Studio Art
• Calculus
• European History

Students may challenge the AP exam in the following courses:

• English Literature and Composition
• Art History
• French Language
• Spanish Language
• U.S. History
• Biology
• Physics B
• Environmental Science
• Chemistry

Students who take AP courses must pay for examinations by during the first week in March.  The fee for each examination is approximately $86.00.  For more information on Advanced Placement courses at BHS, contact Mr. Martin Klein, AP Coordinator, at 762-8212, kleinm@binghamtonschools.org .