Scheduling Process
Scheduling Process
This guide is intended to help students and parents in selecting required courses and electives that comprise a student's individualized program of studies here at Weehawken HS. Students and their parents will meet with their school counselor each Spring to discuss their schedule options for the upcoming school year.
The majority of courses offered by Weehawken HS are open enrollment and without prerequisites. Any exceptions and prerequisites are noted in the course descriptions contained in this course catalog. While the school counselor will help in planning, the responsibility for a student’s final program of studies rests with the student and parent.
Weehawken High School reserves the right to determine which courses will be held based on enrollment, staffing, and/or the operating budget. This applies to all courses and all categories of instruction.
Placement Recommendations
Parents and students are encouraged to select the instructional program they believe to be most appropriate. The Weehawken HS community encourages our students to pursue the most rigorous course of study available. The educational professionals at Weehawken will provide recommendations to assist parents in the scheduling process. Recommendations as to the appropriate academic level for each student are made only after consultation with teachers and a careful review of the student's previous achievement and performance. Alternative considerations to these recommendations should be made with care.
Program Changes
Classes will be established and staffed based on courses requested during scheduling. Students and parents are responsible for promptly reviewing the schedule requests to ensure that students have been appropriately placed. The administration may make changes to the master schedule for the purposes of staffing, room utilization, and course enrollment. After the first day of school, schedule change requests will only be considered for placement errors, and extenuating circumstances, and then only with the recommendation of the teacher, school counselor, and the administration. Any requests based on the above conditions must be in writing from the parent/guardian.
Schedule Restrictions
In some instances, department prerequisites or requirements for certain courses have been established and are explained in the Program of Studies. Students in grade 12 may drop a scheduled study hall to become a Teacher Assistant (TA). The position of Teacher Assistant is offered as a privilege to students in good academic standing. T.A.s who experience academic, attendance, or discipline issues may be removed from the position. Students may not drop a course to become a T.A.; any extenuating circumstances can be discussed with the student’s school counselor.
*Student Schedules will be adjusted for basic skills instruction if necessary by the School Counselor and Administration after receipt of standardized assessment scores.
Withdrawal Pass/Withdrawal Fail Procedure
If a student seeks to be dropped from a course 10 days after the first marking period, there must be a compelling circumstance or rationale. The rationale must be presented to the administration for a final decision concerning the dropping of the course. If a course is dropped with administrative approval, the student’s current status will be reflected on the report card and transcript with a notation of WF (withdrawn failing) or WP (withdrawn passing). A grade of WF will be used in the calculation of the student’s GPA along with the credits attempted. Since the course has been dropped, no credits for the course will be awarded. It must be noted that this will adversely affect the student's GPA as credits earned will equal zero while credits attempted will be the actual credits assigned to the course. Utilizing the mathematical formula for calculating the GPA, credits attempted but not earned will lower the overall GPA.
Recommended Course Requirements: 4-Year College
Four-year colleges generally require a minimum of 16 core academic units and four elective units. One academic unit refers to any full-year course in English, Social Studies, Mathematics, Sciences, and World Languages. Individual colleges make their determination as to what level of instruction constitutes an academic unit for admission, but will normally expect a balanced program including study in each of the disciplines. A typical core pattern is:
English~4 units
Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, and a 4th option~3-4 units
World History/American Studies~3 units
Physics, Biology, Chemistry or Geoscience and a 4th option~3-4 units
Spanish, German, Italian, French, and American Sign Language~3 units
Elective~4 units
The four elective units usually vary according to the intended college major. For example, engineering programs would expect a fourth year of both math and science and some competency in drafting and engineering design; business majors should explore such courses as Accounting, Business Administration, and Business Law.
Recommended Course Requirements: 2-Year College
Public two-year colleges are usually “open” admission and frequently require only graduation from high school. Private two-year colleges vary greatly in their admissions policies from “open” to “selective”. Regardless of the admissions standards at their intended school, students are encouraged to take a college preparation curriculum as specified in the previous section.
Recommended Course Requirements: Trade and Technical Schools
These schools are normally "open" admission. However, students pursuing this option should have achieved a solid background in English, mathematics, and science, if they hope to succeed in programs offered by more highly competitive schools and to pursue positions in a competitive job market. For example, a minimum of one year of Algebra is needed for success in virtually all of these programs. While admission to these schools is normally not highly competitive, the opportunities they present should not be overlooked. Most of the reputable trade and technical schools present graduates with excellent and lucrative employment opportunities. This is also true for the graduates of technical programs from two-year colleges.