Durango High School currently offers two classes in computer science:

AP Computer Science Principles
The AP Computer Science Principles course is designed to be equivalent to a first-semester introductory college computing course. In this course, students will develop computational thinking skills vital for success across all disciplines, such as using computational tools to analyze and study data and working with large data sets to analyze, visualize, and draw conclusions from trends. The course engages students in the creative aspects of the field by allowing them to develop computational artifacts based on their interests. Students will also develop effective communication and collaboration skills by working individually and collaboratively to solve problems, and will discuss and write about the impacts these solutions could have on their community, society, and the world.

(AP Computer Science Principles Course and Exam Description, 2017, p. 4)


AP Computer Science A
AP Computer Science A is a full year course using the Java programming language to learn Object Oriented Programming.

The goals of AP Computer Science A are to:
• design, implement, and analyze solutions to problems.
• use and implement commonly used algorithms.
• use standard data structures.
• develop and select appropriate algorithms and data structures to solve new problems.
• write solutions fluently in an object-oriented paradigm.
• write, run, test, and debug solutions in the Java programming language, utilizing standard Java library classes and interfaces from the AP Java subset.
• read and understand programs consisting of several classes and interacting objects.
• read and understand a description of the design and development process leading to such a program.
• understand the ethical and social implications of computer use.
(AP Computer Science A Course and Exam Description, 2014, pp. 5-6)