Suggestions For Good Program Planning

  1. Consult others with your program planning. Your parents, teachers, and school counselor can offer helpful advice. Information gained from aptitude and achievement tests is also useful.

  2. Plan a three to four year sequence in two or more subject areas. Your future career may require emphasis in one or more fields.

  3. Plan for a well-rounded high school experience. Desirable personality characteristics and good work habits are part of learning. Some time for extracurricular activities is desirable, though credit toward a diploma is not earned in this way.

  4. Your past record, your abilities, your interests, and your goals are of primary importance in determining what subjects you should select.

  5. Make the most of every day you are a member of the school. This is YOUR education. YOU receive the ultimate and final benefits which are most numerous and of permanent value.

Credits For Graduation

  1. Students who pass Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II and/or Spanish I in middle school may be given high school credit.

2. Course Load: The minimum credits students must take each year is 6. Seniors in good standing can take a minimum of 5 credits.

3. One credit is earned for a year’s work in a subject meeting daily. No additional credit will be granted to a student who repeats a course for which previous credit has been earned.

4. Grades in Physical Education and Health count towards a student’s GPA. A student who presents a medical certificate indicating that he/she is unable to participate in Physical Education must fulfill the credit requirement through an individualized program.

5. In order for a student to be considered a candidate for graduation, the student must have a minimum of 18 credits at the beginning of Grade 12, with a plan to complete the required number of credits by the end of the year.

6. Grade promotion depends on the number of credits earned. To be a sophomore, 6 credits are needed; to be a junior, 12 credits are required; and to be a senior, 18 credits must be earned.

7. Students who do not receive enough credits to advance to the next grade will be retained in the current grade and will be placed in homerooms according to the grade in which they are retained. Students who are retained will be notified by the end of the second semester. Students who are retained as juniors may advance to senior status at mid-year, if they earn the appropriate amount of credits to graduate that year.

8. The Newington Board of Education Policy; Instruction #6146 was adjusted in the 2012-2013 school year to include Student Success Plans (SSP) as a requirement for all students in grades 6-12. The plans will be student-driven and cover topics in three areas: academic, college / career exploration, and social / emotional / physical development. The purpose is to help students learn more about themselves, their strengths, and areas of interest so that students can set and monitor personal goals related to future planning. Each year, students will work on an aspect of their SSP through developmental guidance classes, in Advisory, and/or with their school counselors. Students will document SSP work in the form of journal reflections, projects, and assessments that will be housed electronically in Naviance.