Our school doesn’t have Project Lead the Way (other schools in the district do, far away). Sounds like a great program. All schools should have more programs that expose students to actual careers producing actual things in this country.
It seems like the future high school courses/community college are dependent on the sports training and whether she’ll head out of state for training. Does your state have an online school - like Florida’s Virtual School - where her classwork could go with her? Many states are still allowing students to choose 100% virtual learning and that may be a good option. Her schooling could be uninterrupted no matter where she trains.
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The VHS Learning that I posted above is used in some of the top high schools in my area. Students were very happy with the diverse offerings, teaching and content.
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You know, that is a great question. No idea, so I have to research that. Apparently, there is an actress at school that somehow does the work while not being on campus, but I am loathe to have my kid do the same, due to the STEM path being pursued.
My kid was a dancer and barely attended school in person. She used some online and the local school also accommodated her absences (teachers gave her packages of work).
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My D said the single most helpful HS class for engineering was AP Physics C, both mechanics and E&M.
My D is a chem E and only got through AP Calc because that was the highest level math offered at her school. Worked out fine for her. In college she took Calc II and Calc III, linear algebra, diff eq, and a Calc based statistical modeling and probability class. There is a ton of applied math in all of her chem e courses but that was it for straight math courses.
In term of other STEM courses in HS, she took AP Chem , AP stats, Organic chem, CS, and then her school’s project based engineering courses. No room for AP biology but she did have a year of honors as a freshman.
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The public school has 2 English APs, 2 History APs, AP Spanish, AP Art History, AP Psychology. AP Calc was replaced by the dual-enrollment college calculus classes. The science APs are Bio, Physics, Chemistry, Environmental Science. I am amazed by the schools that have project-based engineering courses and more than one physics AP.
So it looks like more than one level of advanced physics would be important, along with comp sci courses.
I think it is most important to have a solid base in math and the sciences when going into engineering. Your daughter seems to have that.
My daughter did not have any calc classes and I think only AP Chemistry going into college. More than half her Calc I class was retaking it but she still managed an A as she had a really solid algebra base. She just took all the classes on her list, in order. If we had it to do again, she would have taken more DE classes in history and English to get them out of the way, but she is not sorry she took all the math and science after arriving at college.
Other kid was the opposite and wished she’d gotten any science requirement over with while in high school so she could have taken more English and history for credit in college.
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Getting feedback from families that are past this phase is really useful; interesting that @twoinanddone’s daughter would have done her DE classes a bit differently.
History and English are incredibly valuable courses to take. But if she could do some DE classes in senior year, to take better advantage of more niche STEM offerings at college/university, then my kid would probably pick that as well.
Since OP’s kid leans toward engineering, I agree with @momofboiler1 that a rigorous course in physics will be the most helpful, more so than even the usually-recommended math courses. Just like in math, building a solid foundation in the sciences is critical for a future engineer or scientist. Physics is the foundation of all natural sciences, even though most US high schools dont’ sequence it that way out of necessity.
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Quick update: summer training has started and we are dealing with an equipment issue but hope to resolve it soon.
The coaching has been very good, and the team recognizes all the hours my kid is putting into training. Most of the other athletes are highly advanced, so there won’t be the opportunity of quickly-made close friendships. But after years of being under-trained without proper instruction, it’s a huge honor and a great challenge to be at a facility that caters exclusively to my kid’s specific discipline.
Because she started the week after finishing school, she’s been taking it easy outside of training and binge-watching a couple of different TV shows. Some of what should happen this summer includes making art, sewing, cracking open her AP Physics and Bio texts to get a preview of the year ahead, and figuring out how to move forward with a prototype she’s been envisioning for the past couple of years.
Not a bad start, all things considered.
You know your kid but I would be afraid of burnout. She does not have to be productive all the time. Can she omit academics for the summer?
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I agree about not being productive all the time - but there’s no shortage of TV time, so the kid’s not hard done by.
With regards to academics, this is also a good point - hence the “no courses for credit during summer” quasi-rule in place. The school year is enough.
However, my kid is not a fast reader, and tends to gloss over/miss things. Diving into the textbooks a bit over the summer is to prevent a sense of being completely overwhelmed come September.
I don’t know what student-approved resources are out there to help with better reading skills and retention. Anything coming from me is deemed irrelevant due to familial bond. It’s not something the public school covers.
Some of the textbook publishers offer a digital version, with tutoring and short lessons, for a fee. Google Pearson, MacMillan and the grade, edition, author, etc.
See some suggestions from dyslexic students, can help anyone improve reading comprehension.
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Has she had any testing done? Public schools will do it, or you could hire a neuropsych. It’s worth looking into. (There is no legit test for ADHD-just a questionnaire). Another idea, which was suggested to my daughter and helped another CC poster a few years back, is Irlen syndrome What is Irlen Syndrome? | Irlen Syndrome Foundation The remedy is colored glasses, which help make reading easier.
I would not mention any of this except for the way you mentioned she can get “completely overwhelmed.”
Another possible explanation for being overwhelmed is that she is doing too much too fast academically. Or the combination of training and ambitious academics is a strain.
I just wonder about a kid who is entering the second year of high school, feeling that she has to get started on AP physics and bio during the summer.
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I asked her school to do testing; took awhile, but it happened. Don’t think the extent of tests are the same as what is done privately but, for what it’s worth, they found nothing to work with.
Learning how to read is not something that is always taught in schools - no matter how good the school. Some kids are good at plowing through whacks of content quickly; my kid needs more time, and better note-taking. During the school year there is so much busy work that reading large chunks of textbook when there’s another assignment due is a challenge for any student. I’m a big fan of re-distributing work-flow and while I don’t think schooling for marks needs to happen over the summer, a certain amount of maintaining subject retention can be a good thing in my kid’s case.
Academically, the balance is that going slower in courses was boring - acceleration was a better fit for their intellectual capabilities. Developing reading skills, however, is an ongoing process. So that’s the current need.
Since she isn’t going any STEM camps, the time is there.
I get the mismatch- it is familiar! Gifted kid with slower absorption reading, possibly due to giftedness and possibly due to focus issues, hard to tell.
A very very similar kid’s parent wrote me back here on CC that Irlen screening and treatment was life-changing. That student was genius level but reading lagged.
The testing done by schools or by neuropsych’s does not evaluate ADHD. Primary care or a psychiatrist can do the questionnaire and you can find one online. The student and the family do one.
Not saying that is the issue, not at all.
Still, she ought to have school work during the school year that can be done without feeling overwhelmed or feeling like she has to prepare during the summer.
Just speaking from experience- burnout happens! May not apply at all and you clearly have a handle on the situation and know what is in her best interests 
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A full neuro psych evaluation for ADHD (and other things that look like it) will not simply be a questionnaire and takes quite a bit of time. But the findings may not be conclusive and may instead suggest a high probability of ADHD.
The good thing about such a dx is that it can make a student more open to strategies for dealing with it - strategies that also benefit someone without a dx.
Definitely worth pursuing as bright kids often find suboptimal coping skills that aren’t sustainable over the long term and can be really stressful.
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All three psychiatrists and two neurpsych.'s used a questionnaire to diagnose ADHD, one done by kid and one done by family. There was also an interview. There is no objective test for ADHD, we were told. This included an ADHD clinic at a top hospital.
That said, other learning challenges can resemble ADHD and vice- versa and a full neuro psych. evaluation is very useful.
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The insights are appreciated. It’s so important for each of us to know thyself, and how to work in ways that suit our distinctive needs. For kids managing serious school course loads, not having a consistent plan can mean issues pile up.
My kid’s course load had to pivot from what was originally a set schedule last June - so some new dual-enrollment courses with lots of videos, readings and assignments. This semester is more reading-heavy than what next semester will be. And due to class enrolment issues, the kid started one a week late. So, already trying to catch up in the third week of school! Some assignments have been graded and I’ve encouraged the kid to understand how each professor is different in their coursework preferences.
It’s helpful that professors are discussing deadlines. Takes the heat off a parent when a professor makes their due dates clear. Trying to encourage a kid to reverse-engineer work so that they are not slammed later on is never fun.
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