Academics & curriculum

The same Texas diploma. A completely different classroom.

Serenity High students meet the full State of Texas graduation requirements and receive an accredited diploma. What changes is how the work gets delivered — and how fast a student can recover the credits that treatment interrupted.

Ratio: 10:1 student-to-teacher by design
Diploma: Texas high school diploma, TEA accredited
Pathways: Foundation High School Program with endorsements
Dual credit: Collin College
Delivery: Traditional, self-paced, online, dual credit

Four delivery models, one transcript

Because no two students arrive missing the same semester

A sophomore who left for a 90-day program in October is missing a different set of credits than a junior who has been in and out of care for two years. A single fixed schedule cannot serve both. Serenity runs four instructional modes simultaneously, and most students use more than one in a given week.

Traditional instruction

Direct, teacher-led instruction in core content — English, mathematics, science, and social studies — in a room small enough that the teacher can see every student’s work in real time. This is where most new credits are earned.

Self-paced studies

For credit recovery and for students who are ahead in one subject and behind in another. A student can close a half-credit gap in weeks instead of repeating a full year alongside students two grades younger.

Online coursework

State-approved online courses expand what a campus of this size can offer — electives, specific endorsement courses, and scheduling flexibility around clinical appointments and outpatient care.

Dual credit with Collin College

Students ready to carry college-level work earn high school and college credit at the same time through Collin College. For a student who was told a year ago they might not graduate, sitting in a college course is not a small thing.

Graduation requirements

What a Texas diploma requires — and how we get students there

Serenity High students graduate under the Texas Foundation High School Program, the same framework used at every public high school in the state. Endorsement options and course sequences are planned individually with each student and family.

Texas Foundation High School Program requirements and how Serenity High delivers them
Requirement area	Credits	How it is delivered at Serenity
English language arts	4	Teacher-led instruction; writing conferences one-to-one
Mathematics	3–4	Direct instruction plus self-paced remediation where gaps exist
Science	3–4	Core lab science on campus; additional courses online
Social studies	3	Teacher-led, with project and service-learning components
Languages other than English	2	Online and dual-credit options
Physical education & fine arts	2	Campus activities, approved substitutions, online electives
Electives & endorsement	5–7	Online catalog and Collin College dual credit
STAAR end-of-course exams	5 assessments	Targeted small-group preparation and retesting support

Rows of desks and chairs in a large, empty lecture room — A comprehensive campus: 1,500 to 3,000 students

A small classroom with a handful of tables beside tall windows — Serenity: typically under twenty, at a 10:1 ratio

Credit counts reflect the Texas Foundation High School Program with endorsement. Confirm your student’s exact plan with campus staff — requirements vary by graduation cohort and endorsement selection.

Why small works

A 10:1 ratio changes what a teacher can notice

In a class of thirty, a teacher grades work. In a class of six, a teacher watches a student think. That difference matters for any student, but for a teenager in early recovery it is structural: cognitive fog, disrupted sleep, medication changes, and the emotional load of the first sober semester all show up as academic symptoms first.

A student who suddenly cannot hold a paragraph together on Tuesday is not lazy. Something happened Monday night. At Serenity, the person teaching the paragraph is close enough to ask.

Individualized instruction here means a genuinely different plan per student — not the same worksheet with a different due date. It also means the academic and recovery sides of the school share information daily, so a counselor knows which class a student is dreading, and a teacher knows which student had a hard group that morning.

Academic supports built in

One-on-one academic counseling alongside personal counseling — the same staff, the same conversation.
Credit-recovery blocks scheduled daily rather than offered after school.
STAAR EOC preparation in small groups, with retest planning built into the calendar.
Accommodations and 504/IEP services coordinated with McKinney ISD for students who qualify.
Post-graduation planning — college applications, financial aid, workforce credentials, and sober-living transition planning.

A teacher leaning over a desk to work through a problem with a student — In a class of thirty a teacher grades work. In a class of six a teacher watches a student think.

After Serenity High

Graduates move on to Collin College and four-year universities, to certificate and trade programs, and directly into work. Many carry dual-credit hours with them. Staff help students plan the transition deliberately — including the recovery piece, because a campus with no sober community is a known risk point for a young person in their first year out.

Life on campus →

Credit questions

Bring us the transcript. We will tell you the truth about the timeline.

Whether your student is a semester behind or a year and a half behind, the first useful thing anyone can do is map it precisely.

Talk to campus staff Admissions