Hello, HSAP parents of incoming high school students. Course planning is  underway for incoming 2024/2025 AHS freshman students. In the coming weeks, course planning for incoming 2024/2025 sophomore-seniors will be occurring. 

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Here are some important considerations as you plan for your student's high school years:

1) WHAT IS DUAL ENROLLMENT? 

Understand what dual enrollment is by viewing this slideshow (see slides 1-3, 9-10 which pertain to high school dual enrollment).

2) DIPLOMA FROM AHS:

Dual enrolling in high school will likely mean your student will not receive an AHS diploma. Only completing the graduation requirements found on page 5 of the AHS Course Planning book will ensure a high school diploma. However, this does not impact your student's ability to get into college. 

GRADUATION: 

There is a parent-organized graduation ceremony for Ames area homeschool graduates each spring. This event is not sponsored by HSAP but you can read more about it here.

3) INTEREST PROFILER

8th graders at AMS have completed what is called a Career Cluster Inventory on a program all ACSD student have access to called Naviance. It's a tool which your student will use throughout their high school years to order transcripts, explore colleges and scholarships, etc. For 8th grade students, it is used for exploring interests and careers and subsequently can be used as a tool to  help in 4-year high school planning. We would like all HSAP 8th grade students, regardless of whether students will be full-time HSAP, dual enrolled or full-time AHS,  to complete the Career Interest Profile by December 5 (SEE STEP 1 BELOW).  

4) COMPLETING A 4 YEAR PLAN: 

A 4-year plan is beneficial for students whether homeschooling full-time, dual enrolling, or attending AHS full-time. Find a template here. Not sure where to begin, if your student is considering college, see what the 3 IOWA REGENT schools are requiring here. 

A recommendation is to start by making sure those required classes for college admission are included in the 4-year plan. Those classes can be taken at AHS, DMACC (online, dual-credit (DMACC courses offered at AHS), HSAP, or home. Keep in mind, it's important to consider whether the course needs to be accredited or not. Just because it's on the Regent Plan, does not mean it needs to be accredited for the university to honor it on the homeschool transcript. 

For HSAP high school level courses, we offer mathematics up to Geometry (24/25 school year, only Algebra will be offered), Science Lab, Writing, and Art. 

5) HOW MANY CLASSES CAN MY STUDENT DUAL ENROLL FOR BEFORE BEING CONSIDERED FULL-TIME AT AHS?

A student may dual enroll for up to one less than the maximum course offerings of the school day, which amounts to 7 AHS courses (NOTE: This is a legislative change as of the fall of 2024), or the equivalent of if considering DMACC and ISU coursework (see dual enrollment slideshow). 

6) THE AHS SCHEDULE 

Please consider the AHS Schedule structure when considering dual enrollment, you can find it here.