General Information

Required Courses & Electives

In order to strategically prepare for graduation, students will be required to take courses in several designated subjects throughout their high school years. In their freshman year, many of the courses students take will be required courses, with some opportunities for elective choices. Elective courses provide students with more choices and allow for them to focus on areas of interest. As students move on to subsequent years they will have more opportunities for electives courses. School Counselors will explain this to students in more detail as students prepare for their course selection for the upcoming year and for the years beyond. For additional information on required courses and graduation requirements, click here. For additional information regarding academic planning for college and career readiness, click here. For the Student Course Selection Guide Sheets and Registering for classes on PowerSchool instructions, click here.

Course Selection Process &Timeline

In February, the release of the Program of Studies marks the beginning of the course selection process for students. At this time, students and their parents should review the Program of Studies offered at the high school and begin to identify appropriate courses. Students should consider graduation requirements, areas of interest and collegiate expectations in planning their four year course of study. (What's NEW for the 2021-2022 school year? click here to find out)

For middle school Grade 8 students, following an orientation with the high schools, middle school counselors and teachers will offer advice and make recommendations with Grade 8 students for their first year of high school course selections.

Following grade 9-12 orientation sessions, all high school students will participate in a school wide course selection day where their classroom teachers will profile upcoming courses for their respective departments and make recommendations for students’ year of studies.

Students will then enter their course requests into PowerSchool. The School Counseling Department will continue the scheduling process by reviewing students’ choices and working with students and parents to make any necessary adjustments. It is important to note that as the master schedule is developed, some courses may not run due to insufficient enrollment. School Counselors will work with students to request different courses in this case as well as with students who are unable to take some courses due to scheduling conflicts.

Following the build of the master schedule, course requests will be available in the summer. Final schedules, with periods, room numbers and teachers will be available to all students on the first day of school.

Course Changes

After courses have been selected for the upcoming academic year, any necessary changes should be made by the end of the current school year. If changes become necessary over the summer, requests should be made to the school counselor before the start of the school year. Course changes will not be made to change levels or because of a lack of effort on a student’s part. Changes made after the start of school are rare and are made only for academic reasons with the approval of the principal or his/her designee.

Course Withdrawals

Withdrawals from a full-year course after the first marking period or from a semester course after the progress report date may result in a final grade of F. Report cards and transcripts will be marked WF (Withdrawn-Failing) or WP (Withdrawn-Passing). All course withdrawals require approval of the building principal.

Course Load/Credits Per Year

Students must carry a minimum of 6.5 credits during the regular school year. High schools may limit the number of study halls a student has in a semester.

Course Levels

Most offered courses have level indicators. These are:

L1: Level 1 Honors

L2: Level 2 Core/College Prep Enhanced

L3: Level 3 Core/College Prep

ES: Elective Scale

AP: Advanced Placement

The Elective Scale is assigned to courses that are heterogeneously grouped providing learning activities for the widest range of student achievement within a classroom setting. These courses focus on conceptual and experiential activities and independent study. All levels offer a rigorous curriculum aligned to core standards.

Students will have 100% of their final GPA based on this GPA method.

Course Prerequisites

A prerequisite is a requirement necessary for students to enter a specific course. For example, some courses require the completion of a different course within a course sequence before being eligible to take the next course. For all students, placement into classes will be determined by grades in conjunction with standardized and local assessments and teacher recommendations.

Grade Level Promotion Requirements

In order for students to be promoted from one grade to another, they must meet specific promotion requirements.

To be placed as a sophomore, a student must:

◆ have a minimum of 6.5 credits,

◆ have passed English 1, and

◆ have passed 1 year of mathematics.

To be placed as a junior, a student must:

◆ have a minimum of 12.5 credits,

◆ have passed English 2,

◆ have passed 2 years of mathematics,

◆ have passed 1 year of social studies, and

◆ have passed 1 year of science.

To be placed as a senior, a student must:

◆ have a minimum of 18 credits, and

◆ have fulfilled enough of the graduation requirements to allow the student to graduate in June.