The Program of Studies will help students and parents plan high school courses. This is not a process that should be taken lightly or done in a rushed fashion. The courses you take in high school will provide you with the skills and understandings necessary to become a well-educated person, and they will provide the foundation for life beyond high school. In addition to planning a schedule for next year, you should draft a plan for all four years of high school. This draft will help you to see how the courses you take each year will prepare you to graduate from high school, college and career ready.

At both Fairfield Freshman School and Fairfield High School, the academic day is divided into seven class periods. Each period is approximately 45 minutes in length. Most courses are 36 weeks in length (two semesters) and each semester is worth one-half credit. Some courses, such as health and a few electives, are 18 weeks long and are worth one-half credit. Physical Education is an 18-week course, but by Ohio law it is only worth one-fourth credit.

A study period (study hall) can be scheduled in place of a class if parents agree that this is in the student’s best interest or if schedule conflicts make it impossible for a student to take a needed course. The school tries hard to avoid schedule conflicts, but they do occur. Planning ahead can help to minimize the chance of schedule conflicts.

The Academy has an AM and PM session which are each approximately 3 hours in length. Students are assigned to a session and are required to attend on time, daily. Their day begins with an advisory period followed by a rotation schedule into each of the 4 core subject area classrooms. Due to the shortened day, students are expected to work outside of their session time in order to keep pace in core subjects and complete required elective courses so they graduate on time.

Developing an appropriate schedule is the shared responsibility of the home and the school. Students and parents can seek guidance and assistance from teachers and counselors. School counselors are helpful in advising families on topics such as preparation for college, identifying and preparing for other post-high school options, meeting NCAA course requirements for playing college sports, meeting the requirements for a high school vocational program, and selecting an appropriate list of courses for desired careers. No question is too simple. All questions can be directed to counselors, who welcome the opportunity to share information with students and parents.

School counselors are determined by the student’s last name and/or area of specialty.

Fairfield Freshman School

Jessica Neal (A-L)

Nicole Climer (M-Z)

Fairfield High School

Zach Yates (A-B and Academy)

Tracy Ashford (C-F)

Kayla Rodgers (G-I and Butler Tech)

Deanna Owens Nelson  (L-M)

Amanda Schur (P-SD)

Heather Braun (SP-Z)

Caroline Haynes (J, K, N, O, Se-So)

Fairfield Academy

Chrissy Zboril, Dean of Students

Be sure to:

READ the course description before selecting a subject to be sure it fits your needs and interests.

CONSULT with teachers in specific subject areas for more detailed information.

BALANCE your course selections. Allow yourself the freedom to take elective subjects each year. They are a valuable part of your total education.

REMEMBER to make certain you have satisfied the prerequisites for taking a particular course. Any student found in a course for which he or she has not met the prerequisite is subject to removal from the course.

Other Considerations:

CAREER GOAL

It is important that you begin to think about your future plans as you consider your scheduling choices. Fairfield offers many options to give you the best possible preparation for your college or career goals. Choose courses that will help you explore your career choice now to better prepare you for life after high school. Planning ahead will help you to take the best advantage of the offerings available to you.

PREREQUISITES

A prerequisite is a previous course that needs to be successfully completed before the student can enroll in the described course. Parents and students should consult flow charts at the beginning of some specific sections to determine suggested sequences. Students and parents should also pay serious attention to teacher recommendations for future courses and appropriate levels of courses.

FEES

Fear of not being able to pay fees should not keep a student out of an academic course that is needed to help a student reach his or her future goal. The fees listed in this book are reviewed and approved by the Fairfield Board of Education each spring. All fees are subject to change until Board Approval is received. Fees are used for lab supplies, art supplies, workbooks, and other consumable materials used in the class.

Parents who meet federal income guidelines will qualify for partial or complete forgiveness of school fees including academic fees, club participation fees and athletic participation fees.

• CCR (College and Career Ready) – College and Career Ready is defined by the state of Ohio as, “the ability to succeed in entry-level, credit bearing, academic college course work and in workforce training programs.”

• Honors* – These classes do not offer college credit, but are advanced courses that allow students to study a given subject on the deepest level available at the high school level.

• AP (Advanced Placement)* – These courses are college-level classes that provide students with the opportunity to earn college credit in high school, to place into honors classes in college, and/or to obtain admission to highly competitive schools or programs.

• CCP (College Credit Plus)* - These courses allow students to earn both high school and college credit at the same time, upon successful completion of the course. Students may participate in CCP courses located on our campus or courses located off campus

At any point, upon recommendation of the teacher, individual student data and/or student interest, a student can move to advanced courses.

* Students participating in either Honor, AP, or CCP courses will have a weight added to their grade point average. For more information, please see Calculating Weighted Grades 

Students wishing to participate in intercollegiate athletics governed by the NCAA or NAIA must adhere to specific guidelines regarding initial eligibility. Students will need to visit https://web3.ncaa.org/ecwr3/or https://play.mynaia.org/ and register with the Eligibility Center of each governing body as soon as these student athletes believe they wish to participate in intercollegiate athletics. Once you are registered, transcripts will be sent via electronic means periodically throughout the school year. If you need one sent immediately, please see your counselor.

Students and parents need to be aware of NCAA-approved courses when making course selections throughout high school. Whether students take courses at Fairfield, Butler Tech, online or through a university, check the NCAA approval status of the class. This can be done at the links above by looking up the course in this booklet of information or through your counselor.

Students are requested to carefully consider the selection of courses and consult with parents, teachers and counselors as an individual schedule is developed.

Some courses may not be offered because of insufficient enrollment.

It is important that students listen to announcements after scheduling is completed to hear if changes will be made in course offerings. In grades 9-12, students will be allowed to change course requests up to the last full day of attendance in May by meeting with the counselor.

After the last day of school, all schedule changes need to be handled according to the following procedure:

• Schedule changes will be made only if there is a serious reason to do so. A dislike for a course and/or a teacher or a desire to be with friends is not sufficient reason for making a schedule change. If a schedule change is desired, the student and/or parent should discuss the possible change with a counselor. Students must complete the appropriate schedule change request form (found in the Counseling Office or on the high school website). The counselor and/or principal will make the final decision on any requested change.

• Any schedule changes made after the 20th day of a yearlong course or the 20th day of a semester long course the semester will result in a failing grade in the course that is dropped. Students have five days from the start of the school year to add new classes. If students are enrolled at Butler Tech, students have five days from the start of the FCSD school year to come back to the High School. Please note that Advanced Standing courses are subject to different withdrawal dates per the university.    

• Students will have up to five (5) days after the start of the course to request a schedule change.

• A course dropped after twenty (20) days after the start of the semester will result in a “WF” (withdraw fail) for that semester of the course, will be computed into the GPA, and will appear on the transcript.

• A drop will not be permitted for seniors if it results in less than five classes for the year.

• A drop will not be permitted for underclassmen if it results in less than six classes for the year.

• Athletes—In order to be eligible for your sport you must be enrolled in and passing five (5) classes (excluding Physical Education) the preceding quarter of the sport and passing at least five (5) classes during the entire season of the sport.  

*** If students are enrolled at BT, students have 5 days from the start of the FCSD school year to come back to the High School. ***

***Please note that Advanced Standing courses are subject to different withdrawal dates per the university. ***