Map out a plan for your 4 years at Lightridge. What are your goals? For next year? For high school? For college or work?

Then choose your courses for 9th grade based off of what you think you can handle, what you are interested in, and what lines up with your ultimate goals.

1. Am I required to take a study hall?

Yes and No. In LCPS, you can only take 7 classes in high school. With 8 blocks of instruction offered at Lightridge High School, that leaves one block for a study hall. However, if you are an AOS or AET student, you will not have room in your schedule for a study hall.

2. Can I take a Virtual Loudoun course?

Maybe. Every high school in Loudoun County are given a specific number of spots for Fall and Spring. It is up to us to determine which students take priority in receiving those spots. Typically the spots will go to students needing a course for graduation, students who need to make up a credit, Academies of Loudoun students who need to take a course due to limited space in their schedule, and other special circumstances. The last students to be considered are students who want to take a VL course because they want to add additional electives into their schedule.

Any student can register to take a Summer Virtual Loudoun course as long as they have not maxed out on summer credits. LCPS limits summer high school credits to 3 TOTAL throughout high school for all students.

3. Is taking all honors a good option for rising 9th graders?

This really depends on the student and should be decided individually based on each child. If your student can handle all honors and receive A's and B's that is great, but we also want to consider their mental health and what else the student is involved in besides just school and class. We encourage students to consider the subjects they love, are interested in or are good at, as being a good fit for honors classes.

4. What does "self-contained" mean for some classes?

These are courses designated for some of our students who have an IEP (Individualized Education Plan).

5. Can my 9th grader take two language classes i.e. French and Latin?

Absolutely! As long as there is room in their schedule.

6. What are English electives for students who need remediation?

If the student has an IEP, you can ask their case manager about taking Reading Strategies. If they do not have an IEP, they can take 21st Century Literacies.

7. Is pre-ap a college level course or preparing for one?

No it is not a college level class, it is an honors course. AP (Advanced Placement) and DE (Dual Enrollment) are college level classes offered in high school. Those are typically available in junior and senior year.

8. My child has been taking a world language for 2 years. Can she stop taking the world language in 9th grade and then pick it up again in 10th grade at the 3rd level?

This is not something we typically recommend as the student will have an entire year gap in the course which is a building block class. Our students have a hard enough time refreshing their memory after the summer months, having an entire year in between has not been proven as successful in our professional experience.

9. Can students test out of the world language requirement?

Yes and No. Students can receive up to 2 years of a credit of world language if they are a native speaker. More information can be found under "Credit Through Testing" on this website. The test is only offered once a year in the fall.

10. Can my student take a summer course?

LCPS offers summer courses through Virtual Loudoun. A student can take up to 3 classes for advancement during the summer in their high school career. Information can be found on the Virtual Loudoun website.

11. If my student wants to start with advanced art as an elective, who does a portfolio review with her?

Please reach out to our art teacher, Jim Haller.

12. If my child selects chorus, can he/she still audition for the plays, or does he/she have to be in theater?

All of our productions have open audition for the entire Lightridge community.

13. If I start with an elective in 9th grade to I have to stay with that elective all 4 years?

No. Course selections are done every year so each year you can make a choice as to what electives you would like to take. You do have to have a sequential elective before you graduate so at some point there must be two sequential years within the same content area. More information about sequential electives can be found in the Program of Studies.

Will be updated as more questions come our way!