Northcoast Preparatory and Performing Arts Academy is an independent public Charter high school located in Arcata, California. It is currently the top high school in Humboldt County.
History
Northcoast Preparatory and Performing Arts Academy students perform a dramatization of the emotional - Northcoast Preparatory and Performing Arts Academy students perform a dramatization of the emotional and physical effects of climate change to launch their new project on the subject. They...
NPA was founded in 2000 as the high school branch of the Northcoast Charter Network, providing a college preparatory program with an emphasis on the arts and sciences. In August, 2004 the International Baccalaureate Organization granted NPA status as an IB World School offering the IB Diploma Programme.
In 2009, NPA was ranked as the 30th top public high school in the United States by Newsweek Magazine.
In 2010, NPA was ranked as the 23rd top public high school in the United States by Newsweek Magazine.
In 2011, NPA was ranked as the 12th top public high school in the United States by The Washington Post.
In 2018, NPA was ranked as the 28th most Challenging high school in the United States by The Washington Post, and 96% of students passed at least one college-level exam during their high school career.
In 2016, the NPA middle school was opened on a different campus. It is currently being integrated into the IB Middle Years Programme.
Curriculum
The school’s curriculum focuses on college preparation and the IB Diploma Programme, plus a broad range of opportunities including:
- Travel, including International
- Music
- Drama
- Art
- Community service
- Analytical and creative writing
- Research papers
According to the IB, NPA offers:
IB Group 1 subjects:
- English A lit
IB Group 2 subjects:
- French B
- Japanese B
- Spanish AB
- German AB
IB Group 3 subjects:
- History
- Philosophy
IB Group 4 subjects:
- Biology
- Physics
IB Group 5 subjects:
- Mathematical Studies SL
- Mathematics SL
IB Group 6 subjects:
- Dance
- Music
- Theater
- Visual Arts
IB Diploma Programme Courses:
- Theory of Knowledge
NPA also offers 2 AP classes: AP english and AP chemistry.
Computer Science is also a class students can decide to enroll in. It is not the IB Group 4 computer science class. It teaches students the basics of the computer language Python.
The school newspaper, the Heron Herald, is one of the electives students can choose to take. The current editor is senior Mattea Denny.
The school’s program also permits students to take advantage of courses taught at College of the Redwoods, the local 2-year college, and at Humboldt State University.
Each year there are at least two major dramatic productions, which are produced first locally at Gist Theater at HSU and then sometimes performed in the countries to which students travel that year.
Demographics
According to Niche, 79.9% of the 139 students are white, 7.2% are Asian American, 6.5% are Hispanic, 5.8% are multiracial, and 0.7% are African American. 61% of students are female and 39% are male, with 34% of students coming from low-income families.
Athletics
Sports at NPA include Men and Women's Varsity Tennis, Co-Ed Basketball, and Co-Ed Cross Country. Tennis is the most competitive, with both teams playing regularly in the H-DN league. The school is planning to transition the rest of the sports to the H-DN league in the upcoming years.
External links
- Official website
- International Baccalaureate school profile
