COURSE SELECTION PROCESS
Picking your courses for the upcoming year requires planning and thought. The Counseling Center wants you to meet all your graduation requirements by the end of your 4 years at MCHS and to take courses that are a good match for you!
Current 8th graders will document their course requests with their Career Coach at MCJH through a series of classroom lessons as detailed below.
Current students in grades 9-11 will begin the course selection process in February with their homeroom teacher. The Counseling Center will review requests for corrections and parents/guardians approve final student course requests. The course selection process is broken down below.
Having a hard time selecting courses? Revisit your career interest survey and career exploration results in Virtual Job Shadow to tie requests to interests and career goals. Haven't completed a career assessment? Contact the Career Coach for log-on credentials to Virtual Job Shadow.
If you have ANY questions or concerns during the process, contact your grade-specific School Counselor. We are here to help you successfully navigate this process.
- GRADE 8 COURSE SELECTION PROCESS -
Step 1 - Pre-Work
The Career Coach will work through rotation classes during 8th grade year to lay the groundwork to select courses in high school based upon career goals. Through classroom lessons students will complete a career interest assessment, explore careers, start a career list, review graduation requirements, discuss topics relevant to transition to MCHS (honors, block schedule, TCAT, cumulative GPA, EPSO, etc.), create a postsecondary plan and set goals, and explore programs of study offered in high school. Note, almost every time a lesson occurs, students will be provided something to take home. For example a list of Elective Focus Areas, 4 Year Graduation Plan, Graduation Requirements, etc. This content is consolidated in the Transition to High School Guide for Incoming Freshmen.
Step 2 - Parent Night
During the fall, the Career Coach and MCHS School Counselors will host an informational Parent Night for the parents/guardians of 8th graders. The intent is to prepare parents/guardians for the transition to high school and educate them on the course selection process that will occur during 8th grade. The date will be communicated through the Macon App, MCJH Facebook page, and MC Career Coach Facebook page, along with other local radio and newspapers.
Step 3 - Select Courses (1st Draft)
In class, around December, students will select courses and an Elective Focus Area with the guidance of the Career Coach. Students will be required to pick at least one Elective Focus Area in addition to one alternate EFA. Taking at least three courses in a Program of Study to complete an EFA is a graduation requirement. The list of Programs of Study offered the upcoming school year and available courses are available below in the Advising Materials section of this page and are subject to change. As new offerings are available, the information will be communicated through the rotation class, the 8th Grade Career Coach Google Classroom or directly to students to which it is pertinent. Course selections will not be sent home until they are reviewed for errors and corrected in small group counseling.
Note: Students who want to sign up for Advanced Placement (AP) classes must attend EPSO Night on 2/1/24 6p and complete a separate registration process.
Step 4 - Small Group Counseling
From January to early March the Career Coach will meet with small groups of students through rotation class to edit, correct and make requested changes to course selection requests. Students will bring a copy of the corrected list home for parent review. If changes are desired, please have the student make notes on their course request list and contact the Career Coach to revise.
Step 5 - Parent/Guardian Approval & Freshman Orientation Night
In February, a letter was mailed to 8th-grade parents/guardians communicating when Freshman Orientation at MCHS will be held--March 18 at 6:00 pm in the MCHS Gymnasium.
Parents/guardians and students were required to attend in person. A copy of course selections was provided for approval, and revision if needed, by parent or guardian. That program for the event included a short presentation by School Counseling about graduation requirements and course selection rules. Students also had the chance to explore extracurricular clubs and sports in which they may wish to participate. Click here to view the slide show from this meeting.
Parents are required to review and approve student course selections. If students are not planning to attend college, parents may also waive the student graduation requirement for Fine Arts and Foreign Language when they approve student course selections.
Parents will need to review and indicate approval of student course selections by April 26 Parents may click here for instructions on how to review student course requests in Skyward and link to the approval form. Note: Failure to submit approval implies agreement with student choices.
Email skywardhelpdesk@maconcountyschools.org if you have issues accessing Skyward.
Step 6 - Scheduling
During the summer course requests will be scheduled. Schedules will be provided to the student after the start of the new school year.
- GRADES 9--11 COURSE SELECTION PROCESS -
Step 1 - Review Progress Made Towards Graduation Requirements
Review Graduation Checklist to identify outstanding graduation requirements that should be included in a student's course requests. This document should be provided in the folder given to you by your homeroom teacher. If you see a discrepancy, contact your counselor. During this presentation, you will begin filling out a paper Course Selection list that will be used later to enter course requests into Skyward.
Step 2 - Understand Grade-Specific Course Selection Rules & Document Course Requests
Your teacher should review the slides with grade-specific course selection guidelines with you during homeroom as part of the process, so you are clear on course selection rules specific to your grade. Be sure to document required courses first and then courses needed to progress towards Elective Focus Area. Reference the Course Description document for details about course content and pre-requisite coursework. Make sure credits add up to 8 and then pick 3 alternates. Include 1, 2, or 3 next to alternates to indicate the order of priority.
Step 3 - Enter Course Selections into Skyward
Homeroom teachers will work with students to enter course selections into Skyward. Remember, these are requests and not a guarantee you will get a seat in the class. Note, any course listed could be scheduled, and if you requested the class, you WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO DROP THE COURSE after April 26.
Step 4 - Counselor Review of Selections
Your counselor will review your selections and may contact you to make corrections as needed. Note, the last day to make changes is April 26.
Step 5 - Parent/Guardian Approval
Parents are required to review and approve student course selections. If students are not planning to attend college, parents may also waive the student graduation requirement for Fine Arts and Foreign Language when they approve student course selections.
Parents will need to review and indicate approval of student course selections by April 26. Parents may click here for instructions on how to review student course requests in Skyward and link to the approval form. Note: Failure to submit approval implies agreement with student choices.
Email skywardhelpdesk@maconcountyschools.org if you have issues accessing Skyward.
- ADVISING MATERIALS -
- SPECIAL COURSE OFFERINGS -
AP ACCESS FOR ALL -- Deadline: March 22
In April 2021, the Tennessee Department of Education launched the AP Access for All program, announcing that Niswonger Foundation was selected to develop and support the program.
Funded through a $10M grant from the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSR) Fund and Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund, the AP Access for ALL program was designed to help more students earn college credit while in high school. The program provides students across the state access to AP courses virtually, ultimately eliminating financial barriers and supporting student enrollment in Advanced Placement(AP) coursework not currently offered at their home high school.
Offered through the College Board, AP gives students the chance to tackle college-level work while they're still in high school—whether they're learning online or in the classroom. And through taking AP Exams, students can earn college credit and placement.
APAA courses available to grades 9-12. For more information, such as Course Information click -->here.
DUAL ENROLLMENT -- Deadline March 22
Dual Enrollment (DE) is a postsecondary course, taught by faculty from the postsecondary institution (Volunteer State Community College or Cumberland University). Dual Enrollment courses are only offered online at MCHS.
Advanced Computer Applications is a Dual Enrollment class through TCAT-Hartsville but at MCHS.
If you attend Tri-County Extension Campus in RBS, you are a Dual Enrollment student through TCAT-Hartsville.
Juniors and Seniors--If you would like to take any other Dual Enrollment classes to earn college credit through Volunteer State Community College, you may do so this summer and/or next year. More DE information is available in Counseling Center.
You must have a 19 ACT in the subject area AND a 3.0 GPA. To see if you’re eligible, contact Mrs. Owens immediately if you’re interested.
Click the application buttons to get started.
EARLY GRADUATION -- Deadline: December of Junior Year
Early Graduation allows seniors who have met graduation requirements at the end of the fall semester of their senior year to graduate early. Students must submit an application through their school counselor to request early graduation by January of junior year to be considered. Requests are forwarded to the MCBOE for approval.
Early graduates are not eligible to participate in athletics after he/she has graduated from a secondary school. Early graduation will result in forfeiture of spring activities (for example, school trips, activities, conventions, etc.). Students can attend prom and may choose to participate in graduation activities in the spring at the end of the 2nd term.
SERVICE LEARNING -- Deadline: February 19
Service Learning is a form of experiential learning where students develop knowledge and critical thinking skills while addressing genuine community needs. The Service Learning course is designed to provide a comprehensive service-learning approach focused on ethical, social and intellectual skill development.
Available only to seniors who are not behind in credits and who aren’t attendance or discipline problems. Other criteria may apply. You cannot take both SL and WBL in the same semester.
Can be taken as a course one or both semesters.
Application process in spring of junior year; See Mrs. Brewer in room 217.
SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE -- Deadline: February 19
A Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) is a structured experiential and work-based learning opportunity in school-based agriculture, food, and natural resources programs to extend beyond the classroom that takes place in a setting outside of regular school hours in order to develop an individual student’s industry and career-based competencies. Individual LEAs can choose whether or not to offer credit, provided participating students demonstrate mastery of the standards outlined below. SAEs allow students to experience the diversity of agriculture and natural resources industries and to gain exposure to agricultural-related career pathways. SAEs require a documented formal project scope, accurate recordkeeping, and student advisor supervision.
½ credit each year, up to a maximum of 2 credits per student
Application process in spring; See Mrs. Alexis White in Room 122.
WORK BASED LEARNING -- Deadline: February 19
Work-Based learning (WBL) is a proactive approach to bridging the gap between high school and high-demand, high-skill careers in Tennessee. Students build on classroom-based instruction to develop employability skills that prepare them for success in postsecondary education and future careers. WBL assignments may be paid or unpaid engagement.
Available only to seniors who are not behind in credits and who aren’t attendance or discipline problems. Other criteria may apply. You cannot take both SL and WBL in the same semester.
Can be taken as a course one or both semesters.
Application process in spring of junior year; See Mrs. Curtis in room 211.