Steps to Graduate from Decatur ISD for Incoming 9th Grade January, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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
• Algebra 1
• Biology

Grade 9 English 2 Grade 10 US History Grade 11

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

• f 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
• Off 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 offseason period)
• Softball
• Swimming (Tryouts in May)
• Volleyball (Tryouts/practice begin August 1st)

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,

• r 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
• n 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

• ffered 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

• n 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, effort & 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

GPA Weighted Scale:

Includes 4 core classes + foreign language

Grade Advanced Regular 98–100 A+ 5.00 4.00 94–97 A 4.75 3.75 90–93 A- 4.50 3.50 88–89 B+ 4.25 3.25 84–87 B 4.00 3.00 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

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

To graduate in Texas:

You must choose an “ENDORSEMENT” linked to your future college and career goals.

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

Resources

• Animal Science
• Horticulture
• Arts A/V &

Communications

• Transportation,

Distribution and Logistics

• Culinary
• Technology
• Journalism

➢ 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

• n your career interest.
• Your choice of Pathway helps to determine your 9th

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

• n 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.

Please contact us with any questions:

Diane Russell DHS Counselor Students last name A-L

diane.russell@decaturisd.us

Deidre Parish

Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction

deidre.parish@decaturisd.us

Lauren Smith DHS Counselor Students last name M-Z

lauren.smith@decaturisd.us

Devon McCain MMS/DHS Counselor

devon.mccain@decaturisd.us

Q&A with Students