Burlington High School offers a comprehensive and challenging college preparatory program with an emphasis on academic excellence and intellectual curiosity, as laid out in our Program of Studies.
Burlington’s designation as a refugee resettlement city means that students from all over the world interact with native Vermont students who themselves come from a broad range of socio-economic backgrounds. The result is a uniquely and interestingly diverse high school population of 1,050.
Curriculum
The BHS and BTC campus offers more than 160 course offerings, including college preparatory and AP/honors courses, hands-on learning, technical education, flexible-pathways, and English-learner programs.
- Students may earn credit through community learning, workplace internships, and peer tutor programs as well as through reading, remedial skills, and support programs such as ASPIRE and the Student Support Center.
- The Burlington Technical Center, located on the BHS campus, and the nearby Center for Technology in Essex, offer rigorous career pathway classes resulting in dual enrollment with high school.
- Our innovative “Burlington City and Lake Semester” course offers students a chance to gather off-campus and use the city as our classroom, exploring the people, places, problems and possibilities of our community. Our curriculum focuses on the following themes: Sense of Place, Community and Identity, Civic Engagement, Social Justice, and Sustainability
- Honors level achievement is designated by an asterisk (*) on student transcripts. Grades are unweighted.
- Advanced Placement courses are offered in Biology, Calculus, Chemistry, English Literature and Composition, French, Music Theory, Spanish, Statistics, Studio Art, U.S. Government and Politics, U.S. History, Environmental Studies, and World History.
- Qualified students may enroll concurrently in college and university courses.
- Support classes for the more than 140 students learning English for Speakers of Other Languages and for students with learning challenges are also available.
Faculty and Accreditation
Burlington High School is accredited by the New England Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and the Vermont Department of Education. Among its professional faculty and administrative staff of about 100, most have pursued graduate study, and nearly 78% hold a Master’s Degree or higher. Faculty members are active in regional and national professional organizations.
