Parent Information Meetings and Tests
| Dimensions Academy (STEM and Humanities) Info Meeting | Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025 7-8 p.m. | 2025-26 Slide Presentations: |
| Nobel High School Info Meeting | Virtual meeting date TBD | |
| Pre-ACT Test | Valley View Middle School Oak Grove Middle School Olson Middle School *Out of district students, see information below. | BPS 8th graders take the test at their middle school. |
Dimensions Academy
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.
DAHS consists of a learning cohort for 9th and 10th grade students who take multiple college level courses at college pacing in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) pathway, humanities (english and social studies) pathway, or both. In grades 11 & 12, students have the opportunity to continue their pathway by enrolling in college courses offered at their school and participating in a DA Advisory focusing on post-secondary planning and support through graduation.
Students take grade-advanced courses, 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, in the Humanities pathway students take AP Comparative Politics and AP Human Geography as semester long courses instead of a year-long course. In the STEM pathway students take Honors Algebra 2 with Honors Precalculus in one year as well.
Students in the DAHS Humanities and STEM programs have the opportunity to take concurrent enrollment courses to earn direct college credit as well as 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.
*Out of District Pre-ACT Testing Information
Students wishing to enroll from outside the ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ district will need to take a Practice ACT. Students can register for a Practice ACT through this link: . Please email inquiries@flyingcolorsprep.com and let them know your child is in 8th grade, needs to take a Practice ACT, and that you are using the score to apply for the Gifted Program in ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ. They will be able to get your student set up.
| Math Courses | Science Courses | |
| Freshmen | Honors Algebra II/ | DA Earth and Space Science |
| Sophomores | AP Calc AB | AP Chemistry |
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.
- Minimum of two consecutive years of middle school achievement data (e.g. MAP / FastBridge / ReadBasix => 90% (national) on reading and math
OR
IQ Measure => 90th percentile or higher (administered by an approved licensed psychologist/psychiatrist)
AND
- ACT scores: 20 or higher in Math, Science and STEM subtests and composite
- Middle School GPA (Grades 6, 7, and first half of 8th grade): 3.667 or higher
- Teacher or other education professional recommendation
- Applicants with the highest cumulative scores are placed first. District students are given priority.
Social Studies Courses | Language Arts Courses | |
| Freshmen | AP Human Geography/ | Pre-AP English 1/ |
| Sophomores | AP World / | Pre-AP English 2/ |
*Dual enrollment courses where students will earn college and high school credit.
- Minimum of two consecutive years of middle school achievement data (e.g. MAP / FastBridge / ReadBasix) => 90% (national) on reading
OR
- IQ Measure => 90% (administered by an approved licensed psychologist/psychiatrist)
AND
- ACT scores: Reading and English subtests and composite = >20
- Middle School GPA (Grades 6, 7, and 1st half of 8th grade)= >3.667
- Teacher or other education professional recommendation
- Applicants with the highest cumulative scores are placed first. District students are given priority.
Nobel 9
The Nobel high school cohort serves academically talented students who also have outstanding leadership and/or creative abilities. Students are grouped together in a cohort for Nobel English 9, have the opportunity to participate in accelerated arts classes, and are placed in a 9-12 Advisory focused on nurturing and further developing their creative talents to be future ready. Nobel is located at Kennedy High School.
For all Learners
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.