Harding is a comprehensive high school offering an educational program tailored to individual student needs and interests while promoting community and social awareness. Harding has five Small Learning Communities:
- Ninth Grade Academy
- Academy of Fine Arts
- Human Services Academy
- Medical and Environmental Studies Academy
- Science, Engineering and Industrial Technology Academy
In addition to participating in career-focused activities, these Academies build student connections through advisory classes and allow for coordinated interventions and support. Students stay with the same advisory teacher for tenth through twelfth grade so that strong relationships between students and with staff are developed. Advisory focuses on school-wide initiatives (SMART goals) in reading and writing and supports the implementation of our "pyramid of intervention" to ensure learning for all students.
Harding is increasingly developing a collaborative school culture where we are individually and collectively improving learning for all. Harding uses a seven period schedule to increase student choice, provide more flexibility with timely student interventions, and allow for "job embedded" professional development and increased teacher collaboration during the school day. The job embedded professional development includes common time for teachers to meet in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) ). PLCs most often consist of teams of teachers who share similar course content within their departments; share integrated academic goals within their curriculum; or provide collaborative support to the core academic classes.
Special Features:
- We are an International Baccalaureate (IB) school with forty-five staff members trained by IB.
- For the last twenty-three out of twenty-four years, our French students have been one of the top ten finalist in the National French Exam. One of the French students has always placed in the "A Vous la Parole" Statewide Oral Competition at the University of Minnesota.
- Our Graphic Arts program and students have won state and national awards.
- NJROTC consistently wins several awards in their region for academics and performances.
- Other programs of note are the American Indian Studies Program, AVID, and Check & Connect.