Academy students commit to rigorous academic preparation.  They read challenging and diverse fiction and non-fiction texts, write analytical essays, examine primary sources, and solve abstract mathematical problems. They read, write, and speak Mandarin Chinese beginning in the seventh grade. Our core high school curriculum includes four years of English, math, history, science, and Mandarin, and there are no course options until senior year. For example, all students take Algebra I in the eighth grade and continue their studies in math through calculus or statistics in the twelfth grade.