ISOLDE

1. Read ALL of this page very carefully and completely including the information in the headings below. Email questions to the Director of Independent Learning.
   
   

2. The content of your ISOLDE coursework must be significantly different from any course Barlow offers. You cannot use ISOLDE to take courses that appear in Barlow's Program of Studies, even when the class is not being offered or when the course is oversubscribed.
   
   

3. Students must complete this online ISOLDE application.
   
   

4. Once a student has received permission from an ISOLDE director to proceed with their studies, the student and their parent or guardian must within a week review and email to a director a signed digital copy of the ISOLDE contract, certifying their acceptance of all course requirements emailed to the Director of Independent Learning or a hard copy delivered in person.
   
   

5. If your ISOLDE program is an Advanced Placement course, you will also need to complete a separate AP contract. By signing up for an AP course, you are obliged to take the AP exam in the spring, so please contact Mr. Kellogg to let him know what you're taking so he can order the right test for you.
   
   

6. Credit will only be offered if the online application is completed and approved by the ISOLDE director prior to taking the course and the required contract(s) are submitted.
   
   

7. You may be asked to submit additional information and to meet with counselors, teachers, and administrators and to attend an orientation before final approval to your application is given.
   
   

8. Students seeking to use ISOLDE to satisfy graduation requirements must consult with the relevant department chair for approval, Ms. Staron for humanities courses or Ms. McTague for STEM courses. Arrange this through your counselors.
   
   

9. Successfully completed approved AP and Honors courses automatically qualify for a weighted grade.
   
   

10. Students seeking a weighted grade for non-AP and non-honors independent study, online learning, or dual enrollment courses must prove to the relevant department chair that the proposed syllabus demands depth, pace, and student independence of the most closely related honors-weighted Barlow offering. Conversely, the student can seek to prove that the syllabus demands both rigor and a quantity of work that is the relative equivalent to the most analogous weighted Barlow offering. This can be arranged through your counselor or directly with Ms. Staron for humanities courses or Ms. McTague for STEM courses. Requests to receive a weighed grade must be delivered to the department chair no later than the second week of the course.
    
    

11. Students may only take one ISOLDE course per semester including during the summer.
    
    

12. For all ISOLDE programs, families will be responsible for tuition, books, materials, testing costs, transportation, and any other expenses incurred through Independent Study, Online Learning, and Dual Enrollment coursework.
    
    

13. Deadlines to submit marks in person to Mr. Smith for ISOLDE courses are Monday, January 6, 2025 for fall courses and Tuesday, May 27, 2025 for classes taken in the spring. Anyone taking an approved summer class should report their mark to the director first thing in the fall. See the ISOLDE contract and watch your er9 email for details and updates. If you sign up for an ISOLDE course and want to withdraw without penalty, your deadline is Monday, October 7, 2024. See the sections on Online Learning and Dual Enrollment for more information on grade reporting.

14. If you are a senior applying early to college who wants a Q1 mark for ISOLDE work to appear on their transcript, you must report it in the manner described above. More importantly, you should have the proportion of work completed to where they should be in the class. If  it's a one-semester class, you should have a minimum of half of the course completed. If it's a full-year course, it should have done at least a quarter of it.  In other words, if you're taking a one-semester course with 9 units and you've only done 3, I will not report your average as a quarter grade. Remember, you can't just email me a screenshot, you need to come to A107, open your grade portal and let me see what you've done in detail. For online learning, dual enrollment, and in-person college courses, you can't just email me a screenshot, you need to come to A107, open your grade portal and let me see what you've done in detail.

15. Your ISOLDE coursework will be added to your official schedule on PowerSchool in the early weeks of the semester after you have completed the following:

    • Filled out the ISOLDE online application form

    • Turned in a signed ISOLDE contract to the director. And if it applies, an AP contract, too.

    • Replied to an email from the director, confirming the information submitted in your application.
      
      

16. Don't stop here! If you are serious about taking a course through ISOLDE, please read the remaining sections about Independent Study, Online Learning, and Dual Enrollment for critical information.

Since you plan to study something that is outside of the curriculum available at Barlow, online, or at our local colleges, you will have to create your own syllabus, compose weekly journals, and decide what your final product will be. You should consult with your prospective faculty advisor when drafting your syllabus. Mr. Smith along with your counselor can help you find an advisor if you don't have one in mind.

This syllabus includes the following elements:

1. Purpose: Inquiry question & statement of intent

2. Curriculum: A bibliography of proposed readings. You can create your own or borrow from or adapt an existing curriculum in consultation with your advisor.

3. Work: A list and descriptions of what assessments and products of the work will be. Creating a rubric together with your advisor with descriptors for grades is encouraged.

4. Approval: The signature of your faculty advisor or an email sent to the Director of Independent Learning.

Here is a link to a model independent study syllabus

Weekly Journals:

In addition to the assessments, students in Independent study are required to write dated weekly journals completed BY SUNDAY night in a google doc shared with both their advisor and Mr. Smith, with the most recent entry at the TOP of the doc. Journals should demonstrate evidence of ...

• Developing a new understanding of inquiry questions: consider how this week's progress helps to shape, guide, and sharpen an element or elements of understanding stated in the initial inquiry questions. 2-3 page multi-paragraph variations on the Barlow's CSI writing model are highly recommended. This rubric is similarly instructive.

• Considering progress towards final product: explore how this week's progress develops an understanding or actualization of the final product, performance, or exhibition and what has been learned in the process.

• Reflecting on interests and awareness: synthesize how this week's learning and progress define and shape your own understanding of your interests, goals, personality, and direction in your project.

• Contemplating newness in approach and process: here's where your research can play an integral role in your understanding, development, learning, and approach. Remember, you can read an article, read the internet, read the library, watch a video, etc. Just post the link, and integrate the new learning into your process.

Here are some things to DO:

• Think outside the box. Approach your learning in new ways and from different perspectives.

• Be honest, be candid: explore and grapple with failure, ambiguity, expectations. Tell the truth.

• Consider the role of others in your own reflection: engage in conversations with peers, parents, teachers – see what they have to say and how you can reassess your own understanding.

• Consider the bigger picture: the implications, the subtleties, the peripheral, the overall experience of what your project entails.

• PROVE EVERYTHING! Use citations followed by quotes and other evidence to support every claim you make about anything you don't have direct knowledge of.

Here are some things to AVOID:

• Avoid reporting along with making the 20 common problems in student writing. Click the link and read the document to learn more.

• Don't categorize, itemize, and recount.

• Summarize only minimally: Only note what's happened during the week in order to explore what have LEARNED from your work and experiences.

Use these exemplars to as models to inspire you:

• A model independent study journal entry for STEM

• A model independent study journal entry for humanities

• A model independent study journal entry for the arts

• A model independent study final project for humanities

• A model independent study journal for Legal History of the United States

• A model final project for Legal History of the United States

• A model independent study journal for Theory and Practice of Public Policy

• A model independent study journal for Media Studies

• A model independent study journal for AP European History

Not all online programs are the same, so they must be screened before we can approve you getting credit for taking them. The market is constantly changing, so before signing up, it is important to communicate with your school counselor and the Director of Independent Learning to ensure your program matches your needs and interests. 

Therefore, please consult with Director of Independent Learning if you want..

1. Advice for an online course to take.

2. Recommendations for an online program through which to take a course or pursue an interest.

3. You have found a course and have a program in mind, but you're not sure whether or not it will be approved.

Generally speaking, we will only approve online courses when:

1. There is a teacher of record who assigns work and awards grades

2. The curriculum is available to be reviewed by Barlow staff

3. The rigor of the work is commensurate with a Barlow course

4. The institution offering the program is accredited and the course is a for-credit offering.

5. The content is significantly different from any course Barlow offers. 

6. You cannot use online learning to take courses that appear in Barlow's Program of Studies, even when the class is not being offered or when the course is oversubscribed. Exceptions can only be granted through administrative review through a vice principal.

Students choosing online learning are responsible for:

1. Fulfilling all of the general requirements for ISOLDE listed above. Please carefully read them all.

2. Reading, filling out, and submitting Barlow's ISOLDE application form and emailing a signed electronic copy of the ISOLDE contract to the Director of Independent Learning. If the course is Advanced Placement, you need to email a signed electronic copy of the AP contract, too.

3. Signing up and enrolling directly with the online course provider.  Barlow cannot do this for you.

4. Checking in with their guidance counselors once a month to discuss progress.

5. Providing access to an official transcript of course completion including relevant grades to the Director of Independent Learning by specified deadlines. No, you cannot just email a screenshot, instead you must visit A107 with a laptop during break, log into your grade portal and show all your grades. Failure to submit your marks on time can result in failing the course, delays of transcripts, an incomplete, or no credit being awarded. 

6. Watching your er9 email for updates on deadlines. Therefore in courses with flexible deadlines, it is crucial for you to factor your instructor's schedule into your plans for when to complete work, giving them ample time to be able to report it on time. 

Barlow juniors or seniors with a 3.0 or better GPA can choose to broaden their opportunities beyond Barlow's curriculum with various early college programs offering both in-person and online coursework. Enrolled students can earn dual credit for their course work. First, students will earn one elective credit per course towards their high school graduation. Secondly, students will also earn three transferable college credits per course that may speed up and lower the cost of completing a post-secondary degree. Tuition for some programs is even free.

Early College Program courses can only be used toward elective credits and may not replicate/duplicate any classes (required or elective) offered at Barlow. Students can speak to their school counselor to see if this program is right for them, and they must also submit an application to the Director of Independent Studies and Online Learning.

High School Partnership

Joel Barlow High School has created agreements with Southern Connecticut State University, Sacred Heart University, Housatonic Community College., and Norwalk Community College encourage eligible high school juniors and seniors to enroll in college-level full-credit courses with no cost for tuition under the High School Partnership Program.

To be eligible for community college courses through our high school partnership program, students and parents must submit the following to the partner community college:

• An application directly to HCC for Easton or Redding students or NCC for Redding students

• A recommendation from their high school counselor

• Current immunization records

• A current Barlow transcript proving a minimum 3.0 GPA

• SAT minimum scores of 530 in math and 25 in reading subset or a placement test

• Completion of any prerequisite courses associated with the particular course you are seeking to take.

Interested students should contact their school counselor and the Director of Independent Studies and Online Learning.

Housatonic Community College:

Earl Graham, Director of Admissions (for Easton & Redding students)

Norwalk Community College:

William Chagnon, Director of Admissions (for Redding students)

Click here to search for dual enrollment courses that fit your interests and your schedule. (The site is flaky, keep clicking "ok" and it will eventually give you what you want.) Note that some courses are offered partially or fully online.

Taste of College:
The Taste of College Program is a special admissions category to encourage currently enrolled high school juniors and seniors who show exceptional academic accomplishments to participate in college level-courses. Students will receive three college credits after successful completion of the course. High school seniors must be recommended by their high school counselor. Course offerings vary each semester. A special reduced tuition per course is in effect for this program, with a maximum of two courses permitted during the summer. Students admitted under the Taste of College Program are responsible for the cost of their tuition, course texts, and transportation.

Interested students should contact their school counselor and the Director of Independent Studies and Online Learning. 

Southern Connecticut State University:
Starting in 2021, our new partnership allows qualified Barlow students to get free tuition for some courses offered through the Early College Program at SCSU during the summer, fall, and spring. Check out their website and email them here if you have questions about their offerings. 

Sacred Heart University:
Sacred Heart in Fairfield offers a Taste of College program. Contact Kevin Blake, Director of Undergraduate Admissions, at 203-257-1670 or blakek3@sacredheart.edu to learn more about the Taste of College Admissions process. In addition, students may be able to earn elective high school credits through the many summer programs and classes offered by accredited colleges and universities. The Director of Independent Studies and Online Learning can review the coursework and answer any questions you have about obtaining credit.

Students choosing dual enrollment are responsible for:

1. Fulfilling all of the general requirements for ISOLDE listed above. Please carefully read them all.

2. Filling out Barlow's ISOLDE application form and emailing a signed electronic copy of the ISOLDE contract to the Director of Independent Learning.

3. Signing up and enrolling directly for your course with the college. Barlow cannot do this for you.

4. Checking in with their guidance counselors once a month to discuss progress.

5. Providing access an official transcript of course completion including relevant grades to the Director of Independent Learning by specified deadlines. No, you cannot just email a screenshot. Failure to submit your marks on time can result in failing the course, delays of transcripts, an incomplete, or no credit being awarded. 

6. Watching your er9 email for updates on deadlines. Therefore in courses with flexible deadlines, it is crucial for you to factor your instructor's schedule into your plans for when to complete work, giving them ample time to be able to report it on time. 

7. Tuition for Dual Enrollment courses through NCC and HCC are free, but families will be responsible for the cost of books, course materials, testing costs, transportation, registration fees, and any other expenses incurred through Dual Enrollment coursework.

Please see your counselor or email or visit Mr. Smith in A107 if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Randall Smith

Director of Independent Learning, Social Studies Teacher, Debate Coach