At Clearwater Central Catholic High School, we know that a well-run academic program is what sets our students up for success in their future endeavors. Our teachers all work together when planning, and they base their curriculums off “understanding by design.” This means that, before each lesson, they have clearly laid out what the students will be able to accomplish as a result of this lesson. They make sure to design each lesson with this goal in mind, and create assessment tools to measure how well the students have mastered the information.

We aim to teach in such a way that allows our students to succeed, which is why we use the Common Core Standards that have been widely adopted by most Catholic school systems throughout the country. Our Dean for Learning and Achievement, Ms Lauren Spatola, has been assigned the task of documenting how well these standards are working, and is very pleased with the results so far.

Our academic program offers a variety of instructional resources and methods that meet our students’ various learning needs to encourage creativity and critical thinking. At CCCHS, we also have many different elective class options that provide flexibility, field work, and hands-on experience.

For further evidence on how successful our academic program is, consider these facts:

  • A majority of our upperclassmen are enrolled in the Full IB Diploma Program, and the majority of them earn the IB Diploma – automatically awarding both college credit and the Florida Bright Futures Academic Scholarship.
  • Our students’ SAT and ACT scores are consistently higher than both the state and national averages.
  • Each year, 100% of our seniors are accepted and attend college, and more than half of them receive scholarships, which collectively amounts to over $27 million!

School Counseling

Our School Counseling program is engrained into our mission and vision here at Clearwater Central Catholic High School. We are a community rooted in Christ, and we are dedicated to inspiring one another to use our minds for truth, hearts for love, and hands for service. Our main goal is to develop faith-filled leaders who embody respect, both for themselves and for others, who value service, and who are inspired to excellence, both in and out of the classroom.

Our program helps students develop their individuality by providing services that improve personal, social, spiritual, and educational skills. Some of these skills include self-knowledge, self-acceptance, self-management, problem-solving, decision-making, communication, career planning, and educational and interpersonal skills.

Objectives of our School Counseling include:

  • Assessing God’s gift within each person
  • Achieving maximum unique potential academic success
  • Exploring occupations and careers that complement their giftedness
  • Identify college majors associated with various career options
  • Researching colleges that offer those majors
  • Obtaining college admission requirements

We believe that, with the right guidance and support, our students will develop a deep faith and extensive knowledge which will allow them to succeed after graduation.

Honors/Advanced Placement Courses

The Honors and Advanced Placement offerings at CCCHS allow for intensive study that extends beyond the typical college preparatory courses. Our programs prepare students to gain acceptance into the country’s most prestigious colleges. Honors courses are offered in almost every subject area, and each is designed to meet the needs of above-average students.

The typical Honors schedule will have students taking Honor and Advanced Placement courses during their freshman and sophomore years, then advancing to more Advanced Placement and IB Diploma Program classes for their junior and senior years. The AP classes will be concluded by the College Board subject test, administered in May, which scores students on a scale of 1-5. Any score above a 3 is considered a passing score, and earns that student college credit for the course. More than 75% of CCCHS students that take AP exams score a 3 or higher!

Some of the Advanced Placement courses we offer at Clearwater Central Catholic High School include:

  • English Language & Composition
  • Human Geography
  • US Government
  • US History
Students are recommended for Advanced Placement classes based on grades, teacher recommendations, and placement test scores.
In addition, students have recently tested in the following AP courses:
  • Calculus AB/BC
  • Computer Science
  • Physics
  • Psychology
  • Statistics

CCC – An International Baccalaureate School

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma School at CCCHS involves a challenging two-year curriculum aimed at students ages 16 to 19. An IB Diploma is recognized widely by the world’s top universities. Students can apply for the full Diploma Program at the end of their sophomore year and, if accepted, will begin taking IB classes their junior year. An IB educational approach focuses heavily on teaching students to ask challenging questions, how to learn efficiently, develop a strong sense of their own identity, and develop the ability to communicate with and understand people of different countries and cultures. Earning an IB Diploma carries with it on average the award of 30 college credits, and the automatic award of the Florida Bright Futures Academic Scholarship – paying full tuition at any Florida state college or university.

In addition, every 11th and 12th grade student at CCC takes at least 2-3 IB courses. Varied in level and challenge, these courses which are open to all include English Language and Literature, Mathematics (ranging from the most basic to the highest math track we offer) and Sciences. These students all see an increased GPA as a result of these courses as well as the chance to earn 3-6 college credits per course.

There are 6 main subject areas in IB — 

with these CCC course offerings:

  • English
              • Language and Literature
              • Literature
  • Language Acquisition
              • Spanish
              • French (online)
              • Mandarin (online)
  • Individuals and Societies
              • Business Management
              • History
              • World Religions
  • Science
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Computer Science
    • Design Technology
    • Environmental Systems and Societies
    • Marine Science
    • Physics
  • Mathematics
    • Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches
    • Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation
  • Arts
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts

For the full Diploma there are also 3 core requirements:

Extended Essay
Theory of Knowledge
Creativity, Action, Service

At Clearwater Central Catholic High School, our first graduation to include IB graduates was in May 2008; since then we have had over 400 students graduate with the International Baccalaureate Diploma!

Clearwater Central Catholic High School Academics

We know that teaching was at the heart of Jesus’ ministry, which is why we strive to give our students every opportunity to learn about whatever interests them. Judging by the accomplishments of our alumni, we are confident that our academic program gives our students the tools they need to succeed.