Guidance Department - Course Selection and Scheduling

9/4/2010

Tutorial for Power School Course Request process

COURSE SELECTION PROCESS

· The Guidance Counselors will present course selection information and demonstrate the online selection process during the week of January 25 in English classes. The counselors will post appointment calendars on their doors for students who wish to seek counselors' input regarding graduation requirements or college/career recommendations related to scheduling.

· Students will be directed to complete the process as follows:

Please take the time to choose courses that are the best match for you...your interests, your abilities and your goals! Gather information from your teachers, counselor, parents and administrators as you build your academic program for next year. Please consult the Online Course Catalog (2010-2011 edition available Jan. 20) for course descriptions as well as grade and/or course prerequisites. Careful selections now will mean fewer problems once the 2010-2011 academic year begins.

STUDENTS should direct any questions about the scheduling process, graduation requirements and colleges' course recommendations to their counselors.

1. Sign on to Power School with your parent, using the student or parent log in. Course registration is accessible from both.

2. Go to Course Registration. Choose your courses (35 credits) from the drop down menu based on prerequisite courses and achievement in those courses. Graduation requirements, college recommendations and prerequisites are noted. It is your responsibility to know if you are eligible to take the courses that you are requesting.

3. After completing the online course selection, press the "submit" button (by February 14). Course requests may be viewed from the student and the parent portal.

Classroom teachers will meet with each of their students to discuss and input their course recommendations into Power School during the week of February 15. Students and parents will be able to view course recommendations during the week of February 15-19. STUDENTS should direct any questions about subject or level recommendations to their teachers.

It is our philosophy that teacher recommendations are very valuable to the course selection process and that they are usually very accurate. In order to be successful in courses not recommended by a teacher, students will need to display attributes which they have not yet demonstrated. Although students may be permitted to "waive-in' to a course, they shough do so cautiously.

If you do not meet a course prerequisite, you may not override the recommendation.
If a student is not recommended for a course, the classroom teacher will explain the placement rubric for the student and conference with him/her regarding an alternate recommendation. Teachers may change a recommendation (up or down) through the end of Marking Period 3 (April 13).
If you wish to override your teacher's recommendation for a course (for which you meet the prerequisites), you must submit the appropriately completed and signed waiver form to your counselor, your schedule will be adjusted to reflect the waived-in course.
If you wish to take an AP Science course for which your current teacher cannot recommend you because he or she needs additional course and grade information, download the appropriate recommendation form here , complete it, and see Mrs. Swift. It will be forwarded to Dr. Righi for approval. If the course is not recommended and you still wish to take it, you must complete a waiver for that course. Complete, signed forms must be returned to your counselor.

DEADLINES

Current students must submit their 2010-2011 on line course requests by Sunday, February 14, 2010 (You have access to your Power School account 24/7).

Teachers will meet with students during the week of February 15, 2010 to discuss/ input the course recommendation.

Counselors will schedule appointments with all students to review their choices, verify pre-requisites, and review any waiver forms beginning the week of February 22. After that verification appointment, a student will not be able to add or change a course request. A student must make an appointment with his/her counselor to do so.
Course requests that do not have your teacher's recommendation will not be adjusted without signed waiver forms.
Waivers must be submitted by April 13, 2010.
No course or level changes are permitted after April 13, 2010.

COURSE CHANGES

The school master schedule is built upon careful and deliberate on-time course selections made by students. During the course selection process, every effort should be made by students, parents and teachers to insure that the courses selected are appropriate for the students.

Course requests submitted after the due date will be scheduled subject to seat availability.

Alternate course selections for electives should also be selected carefully. In the event that an original elective choice or a particular combination of courses cannot be scheduled, alternatives will be utilized in the scheduling process. Substitutions for alternates cannot be made a fter the deadline.

Since course requests, teacher recommendations and waivers submitted will all be viewable on line, parents and students will not receive or sign a copy of the finalized course requests. You must make sure that courses listed as of April 13 reflect your choices, as the course requests listed as of that date are considered final and will not be changed.

Any changes made after the master schedule is built adversely affect the enrollment balances of classes. Therefore, NO CHANGES ARE PERMITTED AFTER APRIL 13. 2010, except if:

There is an error or omission in data entry
A student's schedule is missing a graduation requirement

LEVEL CHANGES (None permitted between April 13, 2010 and 7th school day)

Please keep in mind the following guidelines to which your counselor must strictly adhere:

No level changes will be made during the first 7 school days of the school year . This will allow teachers to review summer assignments, and students can discuss their perceived difficulties with the teacher.
- After the seventh day a student has 10 school days to change the level of a course before the original course becomes a permanent part of the student's transcript. Level changes will be made on a space-available basis only, in the requested course and any other course in the student's schedule that may be affected. No other course substitutions or level changes will be permitted to facilitate the requested level change.
- It will be the student's responsibility to make up any work missed for the new course including summer assignments, since the grade from the previous course will not carry.
After the 17th school day, students will only be permitted to "level down', and a "withdraw pass" (WP) or a "withdraw fail" (WF) will appear in conjunction with the original course on the transcript.

- The student's original course grade will carry to the new class and will be averaged into their quarter average based on the percentage of time spent in the class. The student will not make up work missed for the new class at the lower level, but will be responsible for any missed material on subsequent exams

- Students may not request a course level change after the end of the first marking period.