Classes follow a block schedule, enabling each team of teachers to have the same daily planning period. Teachers and students also get to know each other in regular team meetings. As students begin their high school experience, a transition program is designed to prepare them to choose the career academy they will attend over the next three school years. They get information about the five academies from brochures, faculty descriptions, and student presentations. They then rank their academy preferences.
Students also get information about college alternatives and application procedures.
Each academy enrolls between 250 and 350 students and has its own faculty of 14 to 18 teachers. The faculty introduced the common core curriculum of college-prep courses to set high expectations and encourage a climate of serious purpose. In addition to the core academic courses, students take practical applications courses that relate to their academy's career theme. For example, the Arts and Humanities Academy offers a four-course sequence in computer graphics and illustration for which students can earn community college credit. The Transportation and Engineering Technology Academy has a five-course sequence in automotive technology that can lead to a state technology certificate, entrance to a community college program, or a college engineering major.