We want every Lamar Texan to feel connected to our campus through academics and extracurricular activities.  Our neighborhood concept is designed to give students access to their core teachers throughout the day and direct access to their Academic Dean, Assistant Principal, and clerk.  This also ensures that our teacher teams are in constant communication with each other and the leadership team.  Our students, parents, and staff are essential in creating the right path and plan for each student.  With that being said “Big School Opportunities” means we have lots of options and that can be confusing!  This section gives you an overview of your options to graduation at Lamar and beyond.  Lamar offers a variety of State Endorsements, CTE pathways, three IB programs, plus fine arts and athletics and making them all work together requires planning from the beginning. 

Our students choose a CTE pathway in 9^th grade.  If students are on a CTE specific transfer, then they will follow that pathway throughout their 4 years.  Students may not change pathways and are encouraged to carefully consider which pathway is the right fit for them. Students and parents are encouraged to reach out to their neighborhood Academic Dean anytime throughout the school year with questions or concerns, but the primary planning meeting for the next school year will take place in the spring during the Student-led Conference.  Students take the lead in this conference discussing their strengths and their areas for growth, featuring prominent pieces of work with their parent and Academic Dean as well as planning their courses for the following year.

Lamar is an International Baccalaureate World School and all of our students are IB learners.  All students in 9^th and 10^th grades are in the Middle Years Programme (MYP) and then choose between the IB Career-related Programme (IBCP) and the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) for grades 11 and 12.  While the official decision between IBCP and IBDP does not happen until 10^th grade, students who think they’re interested in the IB Diploma Programme should let their Academic Dean know in 9^th grade as course planning is especially key. 

Lamar offers two levels of rigor in core courses and several electives.  The “recommended” level is considered “on level” for the specific grade.  We also offer advanced level courses which increase the depth and pace of the content.  In grades 9 and 10 these courses are referred to as Pre DP, Pre IB, or in a few cases, AP/Pre AP.  In 11^th  and 12^th grades the courses are referred to as “DP” or “IB”.