General Information
PLAN OF STUDY
It is the mission of Person High School to produce students who are educated, engaged, and equipped to be successful and productive today and in the future. As part of that mission, we work with our students to create individualized Plans of Study based on academic goals, areas of interest, and post-secondary goals. Person High School offers a wide range of academic plans to meet the needs of all students and their post-secondary plans. Students are encouraged to complete pathways of study in order to gain credentials toward areas of interest. Pathways of choice will be incorporated into each student's individualized Plan of Study. Each Plan of Study is all about the learner!
NUMBER OF CLASSES REQUIRED FOR PROMOTION AND GRADUATION
The total number of units required for promotion and graduation is listed below. Students who transfer may have adjusted promotion and graduation units. See a School Counselor if you need help determining your requirements.
Students must earn 6 credits (courses) to be a sophomore
Students must earn 13 credits (courses) to be a junior
Students must earn 20 credits (courses) to be a senior
Students must earn 28 credits (courses) to graduate.
FUTURE READY GRADUATIONS REQUIREMENTS
For Ninth Graders Entering in 2012-13 through 2019-2020
English - 4 Credits I, II, III, IV or a designated combination of 4 courses
Mathematics - 4 Credits NC Math 1, 2, 3 and a 4th Math Course to be aligned with the student’s post high school plans. A student, in rare instances, may be able to take an alternative math course sequence as outlined under State Board of Education policy. Please see your school counselor for more details.
Science - 3 Credits A physical science course(Physical Science, Chemistry, or Physics), Biology, Environmental Science
Social Studies - 4 Credits World History, Civics and Economics, American History I and II OR AP US History and an additional social studies course
World Languages Not required for high school graduation. A two-credit minimum is required for admission to a university in the UNC system.
Health & Physical Education - 1 Credit Health/Physical Education
Electives Or Other Requirements** - 6 Credits required
2 elective credits of any combination from either:
Career and Technical Education (CTE)
Arts Education
World Languages
4 elective credits strongly recommended (four course concentration) from one of the following:
Career and Technical Education (CTE)
JROTC
Arts Education (e.g. dance, music, theater arts, visual arts)
Any other subject area (e.g. social studies, science, mathematics, English)
**Person County Schools requires students to complete an additional 6 elective credits beyond North Carolina’s Future Ready Core requirements
FUTURE READY GRADUATIONS REQUIREMENTS
For Ninth Graders Entering in 2020-2021
English - 4 Credits I, II, III, IV or a designated combination of 4 courses
Mathematics - 4 Credits NC Math 1, 2, 3 and a 4th Math Course to be aligned with the student’s post high school plans. A student, in rare instances, may be able to take an alternative math course sequence as outlined under State Board of Education policy. Please see your school counselor for more details.
Science - 3 Credits A physical science course(Physical Science, Chemistry, or Physics), Biology, Environmental Science
Social Studies - 4 Credits World History, Civics and Economics, American History I OR AP US History and an additional social studies course
World Languages Not required for high school graduation. A two-credit minimum is required for admission to a university in the UNC system.
Health & Physical Education - 1 Credit Health/Physical Education
Electives Or Other Requirements** - 6 Credits required
2 elective credits of any combination from either:
Career and Technical Education (CTE)
Arts Education
World Languages
4 elective credits strongly recommended (four course concentration) from one of the following:
Career and Technical Education (CTE)
JROTC
Arts Education (e.g. dance, music, theater arts, visual arts)
Any other subject area (e.g. social studies, science, mathematics, English)
**Person County Schools requires students to complete an additional 6 elective credits beyond North Carolina’s Future Ready Core requirements
JANUARY GRADUATES
Some students will meet their graduation requirements by the end of first semester senior year. If a student is interested, they must complete the application during their registration meeting at the beginning of the school year. Although these students are no longer enrolled in classes at PHS, they are eligible to participate in the June graduation. All students participating in the PHS graduation ceremony must attend the required practices and adhere to the dress code for the graduation ceremony. January graduates must complete a graduation application in September of the senior year.
CLASS RANK
Class rank is determined by weighting grades according to guidelines outlined by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI).
GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA)
The GPA is the total quality points earned divided by the total number of attempted credits. The resulting number is rounded off to three decimal places. Both weighted and un-weighted GPAs are calculated by NCDPI formulas and reported on student transcripts.
WEIGHTED COURSES
The State Board of Education modified the transition plan for the new grade point averaging process effective in 2015. Freshmen entering high school in 2015 will be using a ten-point grading scale as well as a new weighting system that will allow one extra quality point for all PCC College Transfer and AP courses, for a maximum of five quality points for a course. Honors classes will carry 0.5 additional weight for a maximum of 4.5 quality points for a course. Beginning in 2015, all upperclassmen, including grades 10-12, will use the former weighting system, but will transition to a 10-point grading scale. Final grades should be recorded numerically rather than by letter, effective in 2015.
QUALIFYING COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Many classes have qualifying requirements, which are listed in the course descriptions. Parents of students who wish to enroll in an honors course but do not meet the criteria may appeal the decision of teachers by completing the steps below:
Provide a letter of recommendation from a teacher prior to enrollment in the honors course.
Sign a waiver document which states that the parent and student understand and commit to meeting the rigorous demands of an honors course.
INTERSCHOLASTIC/ATHLETIC ELIGIBILITY
In order to be eligible to compete on an athletic team, students must have passed 3 of 4 courses from the previous term and be present 85% (77 days per semester) of the time. Fall sports athletes must have passed 3 courses in the spring, and spring sports athletes must have passed 3 in the fall. Students must meet local promotion standards. Seniors with academic release must be enrolled in at least 2 classes during the semester of athletic competition.
TRANSCRIPTS
Students applying to North Carolina colleges are expected to self-submit their transcript electronically through CFNC.org to the college. Students who are applying to out of state colleges or who need a transcript for a scholarship may request a transcript from the Guidance office. At least two weeks’ notice must be given for transcripts to be processed. Official transcripts must have an official school seal and remain in a sealed envelope.
SCHOLARS PROGRAM
To be considered as a North Carolina Scholar, students must earn an un-weighted 3.50 GPA or higher and meet the NC Scholars Program standards, which are listed below. To be considered as a Person County Scholar, students must earn an un-weighted 3.00-3.49 GPA and meet the NC Scholars Program standards, which are listed below:
Subject Area - Required Classes - Number of Credits Required
English - English I,II, III, IV - 4
Math - Math 1, Math 2, Math 3, and a 4th Math Course to be aligned with the student’s post secondary high school plans - 4
Science - Biology, Earth Science, Chemistry or Physics - 3
Social Studies - World History, Civics, American History I and II - 4
Physical Education - Health and Physical Education - 1
World Language - 2 credits in the same world language (i.e. Spanish I and II) - 2
Electives - Elective credits that constitute a concentration recommended from one of the following: CTE, JROTC, Arts, Second Language, any other subject area - 4
Higher Level Classes - 3 higher level courses taken during junior and/or senior year which carry a 4.5 or 5 weight - 3
ACADEMICALLY INTELLECTUALLY GIFTED PROGRAM COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Grade 9 - Total 2 or more weighted classes
Grade 10 - Total 2 or more weighted classes
Grade 11 - Total 3 or more weighted classes
Grade 12 - Total 3 or more weighted classes
Progress of a “C” or better recommended in all weighted classes
UNC SYSTEM MINIMUM ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
The following courses are minimum course requirements for the sixteen schools in the University of North Carolina System:
4 English Courses
4 Math Courses (Math 1, 2, and 3, plus one additional math course for which Math 3 is a prerequisite)
3 Science Courses including
at least one unit in a life or biological science (for example, biology),
at least one unit in physical science (for example, physical science, chemistry, physics), and
at least one laboratory course (all science courses taught at PHS are laboratory courses)
2 Social Studies Courses (including U.S. History)
2 Language Courses other than English (must be in the same language)
*It is also recommended that a math and a third credit of a world language be taken in the senior year.
Additional UNC System Minimum Admissions Requirements
Minimum weighted GPA 2.5
Minimum SAT critical reading + math: 800 (before March 2016), 880 (March 2016 and later) or Minimum ACT Composite of 17
ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) COURSES
The AP program is a standardized measure of a student’s knowledge base in specific content areas. It is also intended to provide high school students with an opportunity to experience a college level curriculum. Research strongly supports the hypothesis that a college-like experience in high school leads to greater success in college. AP courses are weighted into students’ Grade Point Average (GPA). College Board, which administers the AP program, requires participating schools around the country to provide certification opportunities for teachers and reviews the course syllabus for each course and specifies the cost, dates and times of the exams. Person County Schools requires that all students enrolled in an AP course also take the AP test for that course. Students will follow the AP policies established by the Person County Board of Education and guidelines of Person High School.
ROCKET SEMINAR
Rocket Seminar will provide 40-minutes per day of “just-in-time” guidance and instruction on topics highly relevant to adolescents for building strong academic habits and personal character, as well as highly-structured flexible time for individual enrichment, academic support, and leadership building. Rocket Seminar will include some structured lessons on a variety of topics in addition to individualized opportunities as the year progresses. Students who need Credit Recovery or have PCC classes during Rocket Seminar may be excused from Rocket Seminar OR given the opportunity to complete the work for credit.
CREDIT RECOVERY
The term “credit recovery” will be used to refer to a block of instruction that is less than the entirety of the Standard Course of Study for that course. Credit recovery delivers a subset of the Standard Course of Study or blueprint of the original course in order to specifically address deficiencies in a student’s mastery of the course and target specific components of a course necessary for completion. The length of credit recovery courses shall be dictated by the skills and knowledge the student needs to recover and not be a fixed length of seat time. When credit recovery is exercised, the original record of the course being completed and failed will remain on the transcript. The LEA shall allow a pass (P) or a fail (F) for each credit recovery course. The mark will not affect the student’s GPA. A student wishing to modify his or her GPA shall repeat a course for credit and not seek a credit recovery solution. A local school board may not limit the number of credit recovery courses taken by a student prior to graduation. Students who have a proficient score on the EOC "may" test if the LEA/charter school decides that it is appropriate for the student to test in this content area upon completion of the credit recovery course. The EOC test associated with credit recovery should be administered no later than 30 days upon the completion of the credit recovery course.
REPEATING A COURSE FOR CREDIT
Repeating a course for credit shall be governed by the following definitions and parameters: The term “repeating a course for credit” will be used to refer to a high school course repeated via any delivery method when the entire Standard Course of Study for that course is being taught to the student for a second time. Students are permitted to repeat a course for credit when they have failed a course. Local boards of education may develop policies that define specific circumstances when students other than those who fail a course may repeat a course for credit. Students repeating a course for credit shall receive a grade and take the associated End-of-Course (EOC) assessment. Those students who have already scored at Level 3, 4, or 5 on the associated EOC assessment may elect to either retake the EOC or use the previous passing EOC score as at least 20% of their final grade. If the student retakes the EOC, the higher of the two scores will be used in the calculation of the final grade. Beginning with students entering the ninth grade in 2015-16, upon completion of the repeated course, the new course grade shall replace the previous grade for the course. This policy applies to courses taken in the 2015-16 year and beyond.
CREDIT BY DEMONSTRATED MASTERY (CDM)
Beginning with the 2014-15 school year, Credit by Demonstrated Mastery is available for all NC students in grades 9-12 for high school courses and in grades 6-8 for high school courses offered in middle school. This program allows any student to demonstrate mastery of course content and earn credit toward graduation. To earn credit, students must pass Phase I and Phase II of assessments. Phase I requires students to take the course final exam, which is the NC End-of-Course (EOC) or CTE test if applicable, or a locally approved exam if no state test is available. Students must score a Level IV on an EOC or earn a 90/A on the CTE test or local exam to pass Phase I. If students pass Phase I, they are allowed to begin Phase II, which is to create an artifact that demonstrates deep understanding and application of course content. Students must apply by February 10 for fall semester credit and September 5 for spring semester credit. For an application, see a counselor or find posted on the PHS website. For more information, visit the NCDPI CDM Wiki Page: http://cdm.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/home
ACADEMIC RELEASE PERIOD (Seniors Only)
Students can request a release period for, online classes, employment, or internship purposes based on the following guidelines:
Students must have a minimum of 24 credit hours.
Students must be in good academic standing.
Students must not have discipline referrals from the previous semester.
Students should abide by all school rules at all times.
Students who participate in any sports activity must pass three classes to be eligible to participate in the following semester sports activity.