Steps to Graduate from Decatur ISD for Incoming 9th Grade January, 2018 Do you have a plan and a pathway?
Agenda: ● Requirements for graduation. ● Endorsements. ● Next steps and new resources available to help. ● Student Q & A.
Requirements to Graduate graduate
STAAR/EOC Exams Other Graduation Requirements • English 1 US Grade Grade Grade English 2 • Algebra 1 History 10 9 11 • Biology
Graduation Requirements: Foundation High School Plan with and Endorsement/Distinguished Plan=26 credits English Language Arts- 4 credits • Math- 4 credits- including Alg 2 • Science- 4 credits- including Chem &/or • Physics + 1 advanced Science Social Studies-4 credits • PE- 1 credit • Language Other Than English- 2 credits • Fine Arts- 1 credit • Electives-6 credits •
Distinguished Level of Achievement • Must meet all Foundation High School Program requirements • Must meet all the requirements for an Endorsement • Math- one of the advanced mathematics courses must include Algebra 2 Example of math sequence: • Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, PreCalculus
Automatic College Admission ❏ Students in the top 10% of their graduating class are eligible for automatic admission to any public university in Texas. (UT Austin- top 6%) ❏ To be eligible for automatic admission, students entering high school in 2014-15 and thereafter must complete the Distinguished Level of Achievement ❏
Performance Acknowledgements At least 12 hours of college academic courses, including those ● taken for dual credit as part of the Texas core curriculum, and advanced technical credit courses, including locally articulated courses, with a grade of the equivalent of 3.0 or higher on a scale of 4.0 Bilingualism: completion of a minimum of three credits in the same ● language in a language other than English with a minimum GPA of the equivalent of 80 on a scale of 100 or 3 or higher on Spanish AP Test A score of 3 or above on a College Board Advanced Placement ● examination High score on PSAT ● Industry or business certification ●
Physical Education-1.0 required credit • Athletics class (by sport) • Band, Color Guard - provides 1.0 fine art credit AND 1.0 PE credit • Cheerleading I/ Drill Team- provides 1.0 PE credit the first year (Note- After year 1, additional years will count as a local credit) • PE class • O ff campus PE Athletic Training no longer counts as a PE credit
Athletics Options Baseball (Athletic period for returning baseball players only) • Basketball • Cross Country • Football (Practices begin first week of August) • Golf (Must tryout in spring) • Soccer (We have an o ff season period) • Softball • Swimming (Tryouts in May) • Volleyball (Tryouts/practice begin August 1 st ) • Before or After School Options: Tennis • Track • • Powerlifting
Fine Arts- 1.0 credit required • Art • Band (includes Color Guard) • Choir • Floral Design • Theater
Earning Credits A student earns a credit (1.0) when he/she • successfully completes a year-long course. Passing requires a minimum of a 70 and being in attendance 90% of the time. A student earns a .5 credit by successfully completing • a semester-long course. Students must earn a specific number of credits to be • promoted from one grade to the next: 6 credits= Sophomore (Grade 10) 12 credits= Junior (Grade 11) 18 credits= Senior (Grade 12 )
Advanced Placement (AP) Courses Students can earn college • credits early through AP courses if you make qualifying scores on the AP exams in May (in high school). Highest score possible is a 5. Typically, students need to make a 3, 4, or 5 to receive any college credit. Credit awarded varies depending on the college/ university and may also depend on the student’s major.
Dual Credit Classes: ● Offered beginning Junior year. ● Offered through Weatherford College on the DHS campus. Tuition is required but at a reduced rate. Must enroll both places and complete all requirements. ● Both high school and college credit is earned but college credit may not transfer to all colleges. Early Collegiate Academy is no longer offered for incoming Freshmen.
Benefits of Advanced Courses College admissions- Colleges look for students who have • completed rigorous coursework (PreAP, Honors, AP, Dual Credit) While in high school, students will have the opportunity to • earn college credit through AP courses and Dual Credit college courses. Students with higher level courses are • generally more prepared for college level work and more likely than their peers to complete a college degree on time.
How many advanced courses should you take? Consider: • Your academic strengths • Teacher, parent, and/or counselor input • Reviewing past grades and test performances • Personal goals • Extra-curricular activities Most importantly...your motivation, e ff ort & attitude!
Class Ranking • Class ranking will include grades earned in the following areas: English, Math, Science, Social Studies and Foreign Language • The Grade Point Average (GPA) used to determine class rank only is calculated on a weighted scale. Advanced Placement/Dual Credit/ Pre-AP/Honors= up to 5 points Regular= up to 4 points
Grade Advanced Regular GPA 98–100 A+ 5.00 4.00 Weighted 94–97 A 4.75 3.75 Scale : 90–93 A- 4.50 3.50 Includes 4 core 88–89 B+ 4.25 3.25 classes + foreign 84–87 B 4.00 3.00 language 80–83 B- 3.75 2.75 78–79 C+ 3.50 2.50 75–77 C 3.25 2.25 70–74 C- 3.00 2.00 Below 70 F 0 0
To graduate in Texas: You must choose an “ ENDORSEMENT ” linked to your future college and career goals. Decatur ISD offers 5 “ ENDORSEMENT ” areas linked to Career Pathways to help you meet your graduation requirements. The 5 “ENDORSEMENT” areas are: 1) STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) 2) Public Services 3) Business and Industry 4) Arts and Humanities 5) Multidisciplinary
What is an ENDORSEMENT? A coherent sequence of electives in a specific area of interest. There are FIVE endorsements: -Arts and Humanities -Business and Industry -Multidisciplinary Studies -Public Services • -STEM
Are you interested in… • Engineering and Robotics • Science • Mathematics ➢ If you choose one of these Pathways, you would earn a STEM Endorsement
Are you interested in… • Health Science • Education and Training ➢ If you choose one of these Pathways, you would earn a PUBLIC SERVICE Endorsement
Are you interested in… • Ag Food & Natural • Transportation, Resources Distribution and Logistics • Animal Science • Culinary • Horticulture • Technology • Arts A/V & • Journalism Communications ➢ If you choose one of these Pathways, you would earn a ➢ BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY Endorsement
Are you interested in… • Social Studies • Spanish • Visual Arts • Fine Arts ➢ If you choose one of these Pathways, you would earn a ➢ ARTS & HUMANITIES Endorsement
Are you interested in… • AVID • 26 credits = 4 courses in 4 core areas – Distinguished Level of Achievement • 26 credits = 12 hours dual credit and/or AP – Performance Acknowledgement ➢ If you choose one of these Pathways, you would earn a Multidisciplinary Endorsement
Now what do I do? • You will choose an Endorsement. If you graduate from Decatur High with the Distinguished plan you will achieve the Multidisciplinary Endorsement . • You may have more than 1 Endorsement so you may want to choose a second Endorsement based on your career interest. • Your choice of Pathway helps to determine your 9 th grade classes.
What has been done? ● Students were given a presentation on this information during Science class on Jan. 23. They recieved 4 yr plan forms (yellow) and 9th grade schedule request forms (blue). They also received the endorsement and pathway handout as a resource. ● Students began to fill out their 4 year plan. Next Step...
Complete your Personal Graduation Plan – Students are expected to have their signed four year plan turned in by February 15.
Complete your Course Request Form – Students request classes at school through Skyward on February 6 in Social Studies class using their course request form. Any changes need to be made by Feb. 15.
Course Requests Please be aware that courses requested are not guaranteed to be offered. The courses DHS offers will depend on number of requests and staffing. It is important that you include alternate elective choices.
New Resources for Students and Parents ● Academic Guide - preview ● Course Guide- preview ● Endorsement Guide- link Are available online for students and parents to access from DHS counseling page. Coffee with the counselor Jan 30, 8-10 am at both MMS and DHS.
Timeline ● DHS counselors will be in History classes on February 6 to enter course requests in Skyward. ● Changes may be made in Skyward until Feb. 15. Please have Personal 4 yr. Plan completed and turned in to Science teacher by Feb. 15. ● Call or email with any questions. ● On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays Mrs. McCain will be available to answer questions during 5th period at MMS.
Recommend
More recommend
