Scheduling & Open House

COURSE SELECTION

Each student’s program of studies should be thoughtfully planned, giving careful consideration to individual interests, abilities and occupational goals. The course selection process is outlined below:

1. During the winter, each student will make his/her course requests for the following school year.
2. The Program of Studies and other scheduling information will be released prior to the course selection period.  Students and parents/guardians should confer concerning the student’s proposed program of study, including appropriate course levels and desired electives/alternates.
3. The School Counselor will meet with students to discuss and enter the student’s proposed courses for the following year.  Parents/guardians may confer with the counselor concerning the student’s proposed program of study but do not attend the scheduling conference.
4. Students and parents/guardians sign the course request printout provided to the student during the scheduling meeting and return it to the Counseling Department.
5. A student’s course requests, whenever possible, become his/her program of study for the coming year, and staff and room assignments are predicated upon these choices.
6. Students must follow the chosen program approved for the school year.  No elective changes are permitted after the yearly-established winter deadline.

The process for moving between levels cannot be finalized until final grades are in for the year.  As such, the counselor will note any requested level changes on the course selection sheet, but those levels are not considered finalized until early summer.  The level progression of courses is as follows:

 

SCHEDULE CHANGES

Requests for schedule changes will be approved only in cases of unique and significant circumstances. Courses will not be dropped to accommodate a student’s personal preference or convenience.  A student who receives their first choice or alternate electives will remain in the assigned class.  Schedule changes may be requested for the following reasons during the first five days of school:

• Student is not scheduled for a sufficient number of credits (35.00 credits required; 40.00 credits recommended).
• Student’s post-secondary plans have changed (e.g., from vocational planning to college preparatory or vice-versa).

Within the first five days of the semester, a student may choose to add an open elective to replace a scheduled study hall, or drop an elective and add a study hall, presuming another study hall is not already scheduled.

An intra-departmental change may be warranted for students who are failing a course (i.e., a change from an honors/AP to a college prep level, or college prep to conceptual level within the same subject area). This change may be requested two times only during the school year:

• During the first 15 days of school, not including weekends (request must be made by the end of the 15th school day); or
• At the end of the first marking period.

No schedule change will be effected on parental/guardian request only. Input from the teacher may be considered.  When it is determined that the educational needs of the student can best be met by means of a schedule change, approval of the Parent/Guardian, School Counselor, and ultimately, the Principal are required.

Any adjustment in a student’s schedule is contingent upon class enrollment and the availability of another course during the same period as the course dropped or during the period of a study hall.  In cases where a schedule change is made in an academic course level (i.e., honors to regular level) the grade point average calculation will be based on the course where the student completes the semester/year.

The Counseling Department will begin to send official senior transcripts, upon request, after day five of the school year, pending the receipt of the necessary release paperwork.  Changes to senior year course selections after applications/transcripts have been submitted and/or acceptances are received may affect admissions offers by colleges and universities.  If transcripts have been submitted, before making any schedule changes, seniors must contact each school’s admissions office directly to discuss the potential implications, and receive in writing (email) a response indicating that the college has received the change and/or it won’t affect the admissions decision. Note that this is a separate task from the NPHS Counseling Department’s process to have a course dropped, and that any schedule changes will delay the sending or re-sending of transcripts.  Consult your counselor throughout this process.