School Profile

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HISTORY

In 1941, five companies joined to become Basic Management, Inc. The present city of Henderson was called the Basic Townsite and consisted of homes built to sustain the industrial area developed by Basic Management. Basic High School’s name was derived from this industrial site developed in the Southern Nevada desert.

SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY

Basic High School, established in October of 1943, is one of 36 comprehensive high schools in the Clark County School District. It has a student population of approximately 2,450 with a faculty and staff of 170. The faculty consists of 114 licensed personnel including teachers, counselors, librarian, educational computer strategist, and special education instructional facilitator, with over half holding a master’s degree.

Henderson is currently one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. It continues to have a strong industrial base as well as a large number of new home communities with accompanying consumer services and retail businesses. The College of Southern Nevada has a campus located in Henderson. The Nevada State College at Henderson is in its fifth year.

Basic High School has a comprehensive athletic program and a wide variety of school activities. The Marine Corps JROTC Program is nationally recognized and has received “Honor School” designation for the last six consecutive years. The El Lobo is one of eighteen yearbooks inducted into the National Scholastic Press Association’s Hall of Fame, having won top national awards every year. Basic High School has won first place in the congressional district’s “We the People” competition for the last eight out of nine years and competed in Washington, D.C. for national recognition in 1999.

The Class of 2006 garnered more than $2,646,000 dollars in scholarships. Approximately 20% of the students in the class enrolled in four-year colleges; approximately 30% enrolled in two-year colleges, technical or trade schools. The average composite ACT score was 20.6 and the combined SAT score, including the writing portion, was 1389.

Basic High School’s ethnic composition is as follows: 52% Caucasian, 28% Hispanic, 13% Black, 6% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 1.5% American Indian/Alaskan Native.

SCHOOL ORGANIZATION

The school day consists of six 51-minute class periods. All classes, including physical education, meet for eighteen weeks each semester, five periods per week. One-half credit is awarded for each semester course successfully completed. The teacher-pupil ratio is 1:32. The Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges accredited Basic High School in the spring, 2006, an accreditation enjoyed for over sixty years. Basic earned the 2002 Exemplary School Award for Excellence in School Improvement efforts presented by the Northwest Association of Schools, Colleges, and University of Nevada Commission. In 2006, Basic was named a Nevada Honor Grant High School for its continuing school improvement efforts.

SMALL LEARNING COMMUNITIES

In addition to the Freshman Academy, which eases students’ transition from middle school to high school, Basic High School has four school-within-a-school career institutes. The Law, Justice and Public Service Institute has a two-fold mission of preparing students for careers in the areas of law and public service and providing a first-class course of study for students who wish to go to either community college or a four-year university. In addition to required courses, the Institute’s curriculum includes specialized courses which focus on both judicial and enforcement areas.

The Health, Wellness and Medical Technologies Institute prepares students for careers in the areas of medicine, sports fitness, emergency medical response, and nutritional dietary science. In addition to required courses, the Institute’s curriculum includes specialized courses that focus on both medical and wellness areas.

The Business, Technology, and Mass Communications Institute prepares students for careers in the areas of communication and technology of business: including general office skills, publishing, broadcasting, drafting, and mechanics.

The Creative and Technical Arts Institute prepares students for careers in the areas of the arts by integrating elements of theatre, graphic arts, music, food, fashion design, creative writing and visual arts.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

The 2008 graduation class is required to have twenty-two and one-half (22 1/2) credits including fifteen (15) in required areas of study and seven and one-half (7 1/2) credits in elective areas. Required areas of study include four credits of English, three credits in math, one credit of World History, one credit of American Government, one credit of U.S. History, one-half credit in Health, two credits in physical education, two credits in science, and one-half credit in computers. Students must also pass the Nevada High School Proficiency Examination in reading, writing, and math, in addition to meeting the credit requirements.

HONORS DIPLOMA

The Honors Diploma is a Clark County School District diploma option designed to challenge advanced students with a rigorous and demanding academic program. Students wishing to receive an Honors Diploma must meet all high school graduation requirements and accumulate a minimum weighted G.P.A. of 3.5. In addition, they must take three credits of Honors or AP English, two credits of Honors or AP mathematics, two credits of Honors or AP science, two credits of Honors or AP social studies, one credit of Honors or AP foreign language, and two credits in Honors or AP classes of their choice. Beginning with the class of 2007, a student may obtain a G.P.A. of 4.8 with two additional AP classes.

ADVANCED DIPLOMA

The Advanced Diploma requires additional credits beyond the Standard and Honors Diploma option. Students who elect to earn an Advanced Diploma will be required to earn one additional science credit in the 24 required credits and have achieved a minimum unweighted cumulative grade point average of 3.0. For students pursuing the Advanced Diploma, World History will satisfy either the student’s third social studies credit or the student’s arts and humanities credit, but not both.

GRADE POINT AVERAGE AND CLASS RANK

The Grade Point Average computation is based on a marking system of A=90-100, B=80-90, C=70-80, D=70-60, F with point values of 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. The weighted G.P.A. is calculated using this standard 4.0 scale; an additional weighted grade point factor of .025 is added for each semester passing grade received in Honors classes and .050 is added for AP classes.

Students may not have received the weighted grade point factor for more than thirty semester-long classes (fifteen yearlong classes). A maximum weighted G.P.A. of 4.8 may be accumulated. Class ranks are determined by using the cumulative weighted/non-weighted G.P.A.

Basic High School offers the following Advanced Placement classes: