Dimensions Academy High School (DAHS) is an innovative approach to gifted education at the high school level. Attuned to the psycho-social and emotional needs of advanced learners, the program combines the challenge needed by gifted students with trained faculty and a peer cohort necessary to support learners to reach their potential. 

Beginning with the graduating class of 2024, DAHS offers a four-year program within the Bloomington High School system where students are part of a learning cohort taking multiple college-level courses at college pacing. Students can focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), Humanities (english and social studies), or both. 

Students take grade-advanced coursework, and study at a faster pace and with opportunities for greater comparisons that engage learning and provide for deeper understanding of similar and overlapping topics. For example, students take AP Comparative Politics and AP Human Geography as semester long courses instead of a year-long course, as well as pairing Honors Algebra 2 with Honors Precalculus in the same year.

The program culminates with the Humanities cohort taking the AP Seminar class their junior year and AP Research in senior year. AP Research builds on what students learned in AP Seminar to delve more deeply into an academic topic, problem or issue of their interest. Students spend the entire year designing, planning, and conducting research to address their question, culminating in an academic paper and presentation. The combination of these two courses gives our students the opportunity of qualifying for the AP Capstone diploma. This diploma is a unique offering as only approximately 2000 schools set students up to earn the diploma by offering the Seminar and Research sequence. 

Through participation in the DAHS Humanities and STEM programs, students have the opportunity to take concurrent enrollment courses which earn direct college credit as well as 17 AP courses that, with a score of a 4 or 5, can be used for credit at many colleges and universities. 

All students are considered for participation in DAHS; placements are based on students' current qualifications, regardless of past participation in gifted and talented programs in elementary or middle school.

DAHS STEM Courses

Note: Incoming students don’t need to have completed Geometry to be in the program but they will need to take Geometry over the summer or concurrently so they have some geometry background prior to taking PreCalc.

DAHS STEM Placement Criteria

• Minimum of 2 consecutive years of middle school achievement data (e.g. MAP) => 95 percent (national) on reading and math
  OR
• IQ Measure => 95 percent (administered by an approved licensed psychologist/psychiatrist)

PLUS

• ACT scores: Math, Science and STEM subtests and composite = >20
• Middle School GPA (gr. 6, 7, and 1st half of 8th grade)= >3.667
• Teacher or other education professional recommendation
• Personal narrative essay
• Applicants with the highest cumulative scores are placed first. District students are given priority. 

DAHS Humanities Courses for 2023 Freshmen

*Dual enrollment courses where students will earn college and high school credit.

DAHS Humanities Placement Criteria

• Minimum of 2 consecutive years of middle school achievement data (e.g. MAP) =>95% (national) on reading and math
• -OR-
• IQ Measure =>95% (administered by an approved licensed psychologist/psychiatrist)

PLUS*

• ACT scores: Reading and English subtests and composite = >20
• Middle School GPA (gr. 6, 7, and 1st half of 8th grade)= >3.667
• Teacher or other education professional recommendation
• Personal narrative essay
• Applicants with the highest cumulative scores are placed first. District students are given priority. 

Nobel is an honors humanities pathway designed to nurture and develop the creativity of high school students.  Students who have been identified as creatively talented are grouped together in a cohort where they work with teachers who have been trained to grow creativity. Focusing on critical thinking and creativity, students engage in a rich curriculum connecting literature, social sciences, philosophy and the arts. Nobel is located at Kennedy High School. 

Core Nobel Courses

• Nobel 9 English
• Interdisciplinary 10: AP World History & Honors 10 English with dual enrollment credit
• Interdisciplinary 11: AP US History & AP Language & Composition
• AP Literature & Composition

Many electives are also available.  Students are grouped in a Nobel cohort for advisory.

Nobel Placement Criteria

• MAP reading score of 85 percent or higher. Placement points awarded as follows:
  • 85-89 percent = 1 point
  • 90 percent and higher = 2 points
• Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT). Students are scored on eleven verbal and figural categories of creativity. Placement points are awarded as follows on each category:
  • 51-69 percent = 1 point
  • 70-89 percent = 2 points
  • 90 percent and higher = 3 points
• Strong teacher and parent recommendations
• Applicants with the highest cumulative scores are placed first. District students are given priority. 

Students who complete the Nobel program at Valley View Middle School will automatically be placed in the Kennedy High School cohort. However, it is not a requirement that a student attended VVMS Nobel or other Bloomington middle school to be placed in the high school Nobel cohort.  

In addition to the Dimensions Academy High School and Nobel programs, Gifted and Talented staff work with our high schools to support staff in differentiated instruction and support students with options for advanced learning and enrichment.