Student Resources

Course Catalog & Master Schedule

The East Mountain course catalog is available to assist students and their families in planning for and requesting class schedules.

Students will receive a class schedule upon completion of registration. Schedule change requests must be made during the first three days of the term.

Every attempt will be made to create a schedule for each student to support their academic success at East Mountain and to further their personal goals.

Graduation Requirements

EM School Meal Program

We are excited to continue our FREE breakfast and lunch program this school year!

Although meals are free for our students, we are still required by the NMPED and National School Lunch Program to collect applications from every family. The application will be sent out during the first week of school and collected through the advocacy class.

EM has partnered with Genuine to provide high-quality, healthy meals. 

All students and staff will be issued lanyards with school IDs this year to be worn at all times. ID’s will be required for every meal taken by a student. Please note that there will no longer be a snack bar with food items for sale. The only food options available on campus will be the free meals through our catering company.

Compliance Documents

USDA Nondiscrimination Statement

USDA Assistance Tagline Translations

East Mountain School Wellness Policy

Honor Code & Handbook

Below you will find the most updated version of the EM Student Handbook. Students and families should familiarize themselves with the policies and procedures included.

​To view the student handbook, please click the button below: 

Our Academic Philosophy 

East Mountain is a college preparatory school that seeks to engage, challenge, and inspire each student to achieve excellence. This simple statement means we are committed to the following philosophical tenets:

• Each student’s academic growth is important and will be measured.
• Each student is capable of attending college and will be prepared for a college of best fit for that student’s wants and needs.
• Each student will receive an education that will prepare him or her for future success.
• Each student will receive the support and encouragement needed to achieve at a high level
• Each teacher plays a role as a teacher, mentor, advocate, tutor, and grader and is concerned that each student succeeds.
• Each course in the curriculum is part of a coherent whole that provides a well-rounded education based on a student’s need to master a core curriculum and apply it to real problems using 21st-century skills.
• We help all students navigate their path to college, career, and beyond. We know that the future poses many complex challenges, but our faculty is committed to instilling a sense of creative problem-solving in all students.

In Our Students’ Words

“My high school partners with a local college and offers dual credit that allows students to get a head start on their college classes. All the teachers are involved and will reach out to help all the students.”

Student, Class of 2018

Academic Honor Code

An essential part of education is developing a sense of honor, responsibility, and ethical principles that extend to all facets of life. Self-esteem and self-respect grow from meeting challenges with honesty and individual effort. Our students can earn respect for themselves and their academic work only through academic integrity and ethical conduct.

All EM students sign the following pledge at the beginning of the school year, accepting full responsibility for upholding the Academic Honor Code and its importance:

As a student citizen of East Mountain:

• I will not lie, cheat, or steal in my academic work.
• I will oppose all forms of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism.
• I will give prompt notification to a faculty member or principal when I observe academic dishonesty in any situation.
• I will give careful attention to crediting sources from books, periodicals, or the internet.
• I will not use technology to represent work as my own when it is not.
• I will not share information from a test, quiz, or essay with other students.
• I will refuse to allow other students to copy my work.
• I will support honesty and responsibility as the foundations of the EM tradition of excellence.

If a student violates the Honor Code, the teacher will make an administrative referral. Additional penalties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Loss of National Honor Society membership
• Loss of eligibility for admission into National Honor Society
• Loss of Student Government officer position and/or membership
• Loss of Valedictorian or Salutatorian status and medal
• Loss of other privileges, positions, or opportunities requiring trustworthiness and responsibility

Definition of Cheating

Cheating includes any attempt to defraud, deceive, or mislead a teacher in arriving at an accurate assessment of student achievement.

Cheating includes, but is not limited to, the following:

1. Looking at a test, quiz, or exam of another student while taking an assessment
2. Attempting to communicate information in any way during an in-class assessment
3. Having cheat sheets, or information written on the body, phone, iPod, or other personal objects
4. Using programmed calculators or other electronic devices unless expressly permitted by the teacher
5. Looking at quiz, test, or exam materials prior to their administration
6. Failing to give credit for the ideas, words, or works of others
7. Giving or receiving information regarding an assessment, project, or assignment to another student who is scheduled to take the same or similar evaluation
8. Submitting work through the use of technology that is not created by the student, including but not limited to file sharing (submitting the same work (including work previously submitted by the same student but this time for a different class or assignment) with different header), copying files to and from disks and websites, translation websites, problem solving websites, or purchasing solutions or works from others

Homework

Homework is assigned as a means of reinforcing classroom instruction and is often used as an indicator of student comprehension or progress.

Honor Code Violations of Homework:

1. Copying or paraphrasing all or part of another’s homework
2. Allowing another to copy or paraphrase your work
3. Receiving help on assignments that have been identified by the teacher as work to be done solely by you, including reading
4. Using the Internet or purchased summaries of reading assignments instead of reading the assigned homework (Reading does not improve without reading.)
5. Reusing assignments turned in for a previous teacher or class
6. Using translation websites or problem problem-solving websites, or any or sources that perform work for the student

Tests

Obtaining help or giving help prior to or during a test or quiz is considered cheating.

Honor Code Violations of Tests:

1. Passing test questions or answers to students in your class or in another class
2. Receiving test questions or answers from students in your class or in another class
3. Copying someone else’s answers
4. Possessing or using “crib” or cheat sheets on the body or on personal objects
5. Obtaining a copy of the test or quiz before it is administered (on paper or electronically)
6. Attempting to gain an unfair advantage before or during a test, such as looking at another student’s work, turning around, leaving books or notes open, signaling, deliberately and repeatedly choosing to miss classes through unexcused absences, lateness to school, or early dismissal to avoid taking a test or handing in an assignment. There must be direct communication between the teacher, student, and the parent before a student can reschedule a test that was missed.
7. Modifying electronic test materials so they will not score properly

Research Papers, Inquiry Projects, and Essays

Plagiarism is the act of stealing, using, and passing off another person’s ideas or words as your own writing or ideas. Properly document the sources of information used for your research paper and essays so that you will not be guilty of plagiarism. CliffsNotes and Spark Notes, and their look-alikes, are not considered to be scholarly resources of significant merit and should not be quoted or paraphrased in essays or other written assignments. In addition, using materials from these sources (or any others) without proper citation constitutes plagiarism which is an Honor Code offense. If you need extra help in understanding or writing about a work of literature, please see your teacher.

Honor Code Violations of Research Papers, Inquiry Projects, and Essays:

1. Copying phrases, sentences, or paragraphs without using quotation marks and without giving proper documentation of the source
2. Paraphrasing or summarizing ideas without giving proper documentation of the source
3. Asking someone or paying someone to write a research paper for you
4. Selling or giving an assignment to students who submit it as their own
5. Downloading from the Internet a research paper or article in its entirety or in part to submit as your own
6. Submitting another student’s research paper as your own work
7. Lab Reports
8. While you may work in the lab with a partner and each of you will have the same data, the remaining sections of the lab report should be your own work. This includes any computations, graphs, diagrams, and conclusion questions.

Honor Code Violations of Lab Reports:

1. Attempting to corrupt another student’s data
2. Presenting another student’s work (computations, graphs, diagrams, answers to conclusion questions) as your own
3. Misrepresenting laboratory data

Calculator Use

Calculators may be used in class only with the permission of the instructor.

1. Honor Code Violations of Calculator Use
2. Sharing a calculator during a test or quiz
3. Using any calculator in class not approved by the teacher
4. Storing test information in calculators
5. Using test information (including formulas and equations) that has been stored in a calculator

Student Responsibilities to Avoid Cheating

1. Ask permission to use a cover sheet during quizzes and tests.
2. Ask teachers to specify if student work is to be done cooperatively or individually, if there is any doubt.
3. Remove all materials fromthe desktop except for test materials.
4. Zip book bags closed. Make sure all books are closed. Put away any loose papers.
5. Take careful notes when doing research in order to avoid plagiarism. Don’t forget that any idea not your own must be properly documented, even if you are using paraphrased sentences rather than direct quotations.
6. Respect yourself. Take pride in your work and your work ethic.

Discovery Projects

Discover Something New….About yourself. About each other. About New Mexico.

Twice a year, East Mountain pauses regular classes so students can explore hands-on experiences that help them discover their strengths, build relationships across the school, and connect deeply to New Mexico’s culture, landscape, and future. Cohorted by grade level.

1.     Identity: Students learn what they like, what they’re good at, and what kind of person they are becoming.
2.     Belonging: Students discover each other in a different setting.
3.     Place: Students experience New Mexico as a source of story, challenge, beauty, and possibility.

Cohort-Based Pathways

Fall Discovery: October 5-8, 2026

Buses will run at their normal times Monday-Thursday.
Athletics will continue as scheduled.

6th grade:
Monday, October 5 | NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, October 6 | 8:05 AM–3:00 PM
Wednesday, October 7 | 8:05 AM–6:00 PM (Dinner Included)
Thursday, October 8 | 8:05 AM–11:00 AM (Team Cooking/Breakfast; early release)

9th-11th grades:
Full school days Monday-Thursday | 8:15 AM–3:05 PM

12th grade:
Monday, October 5 | Optional field trips
Tuesday, October 6 | Breakfast, mandatory Senior Workshop & Career Fair
Wednesday, October 7 | Optional field trips
Thursday, October 8 | Mandatory Senior Workshop & lunch

October 9: No school – Fall Break
October 12: No school – Indigenous Peoples’ Day

9th Grade – Discover New Mexico: Where do we come from? (history, culture, land)
Students will engage in a hands-on cultural learning experience that connects history, tradition, creativity, and community. They will visit the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and the Pueblo of Acoma, learn to make blue corn tostadas, and hear a first-hand account from a community member who attended a boarding school. Students will also explore Wildlife West, create Native American-inspired art, and record a short video message for their 12th-grade selves, capturing their reflections, hopes, and experiences along the way.

11th Grade – Discover Purpose: What do I want to contribute?
Students will explore a wide range of pathways for life after high school through college and university visits, trade school tours, job-shadowing experiences, and community service. College tours will include Highland, Luna Community College, New Mexico Tech, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), and CNM, where students can explore trades, health careers, culinary arts, and cosmetology. Students will also have the opportunity to job shadow at New Mexico Gas Company and give back through volunteer experiences with the Friends of the Sandias wood-cutting program, ABQ BioPark horticulture, Roadrunner Food Bank, Joy Junction, and an Adopt-a-Highway cleanup in the East Mountains. HERE are descriptions of each activity.

Performing Arts

​At East Mountain, the performing arts are an important part of how students develop creativity, confidence, collaboration, and a strong personal voice. Across music, speech and debate, and theater, students are not simply learning performance skills; they are creating, interpreting, communicating, and producing original work.

Music

East Mountain’s high school music program is built around a distinctive Recording Arts model that emphasizes composition, music theory, improvisation, performance, and recording.

Rather than organizing the program primarily around a traditional band or orchestra model, students work with a wide range of acoustic and electric instruments while learning how music is constructed. Students build a foundation in theory and composition, develop their skills as performers and creators, and ultimately learn to arrange, record, engineer, and produce original music.

By the senior level, students apply those skills through a capstone experience in which they write, perform, record, and produce original music for an annual album. The goal is to develop students not only as performers, but as composers, producers, collaborators, and lifelong musicians.

At the middle school level, students have additional opportunities to explore music through enrichment offerings including guitar, orchestra, and choir. These experiences give younger students multiple entry points into music while building the skills and confidence that can prepare them for more advanced creative work in high school.

Speech and Debate

Speech and Debate has been a defining part of East Mountain for nearly two decades and has developed into one of the school’s most accomplished programs.

East Mountain students have qualified for the National Speech & Debate Tournament for more than 18 consecutive years, with more than 100 students advancing to the national tournament over the history of the program. East Mountain competitors have reached multiple national final rounds, earned national recognition, competed among the final teams in national debate competitions, and helped establish the school as one of New Mexico’s leading speech and debate programs.

Students participate in a wide variety of speech and debate events that develop research, critical thinking, argumentation, performance, and public-speaking skills. While competitive success is an important part of the program’s history, its larger purpose is helping students become confident communicators who can think carefully, advocate effectively, and engage thoughtfully with complex ideas.

Speech and Debate opportunities also extend into the middle school, creating an earlier pathway for students to begin developing those skills and participate in the broader East Mountain program.

Theater and Drama

East Mountain’s theater program gives high school students opportunities to explore performance, storytelling, and theatrical production through both individual skill development and collaborative productions.

Students learn the craft of bringing a story from page to stage, developing skills in acting, interpretation, character development, communication, and ensemble work. Theater also gives students opportunities to contribute beyond performing, including the many creative and technical elements required to produce a successful show.

At the middle school level, Drama introduces younger students to theatrical performance in an accessible and highly collaborative environment. Students build confidence, creativity, and communication skills while learning the fundamentals of acting, improvisation, character, and stage performance.

Together, the middle and high school programs create a pathway for students to discover theater early, develop their skills over time, and become increasingly confident performers and creators.

Clubs & Activities

​At EM, we believe that joining clubs is one of the best ways to develop leadership skills. It’s a great way to expand your social circle, learn new abilities, and impress colleges and employers.
If you do not find a club that you are looking for, you can always start your own club! Talk to Mr. Smith to find out more!

Some of our clubs include:

• Anime Club
• Chess Club
• Diversity Club
• English Expo
• FRC
• Girls Who Code
• Interact Club
• MESA
• Model UN
• National Honor Society
• National STEM Honor Society
• SAGA
• The Howl Writing Club
• Speech & Debate
• Student Council
• Youth & Government