Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Graduation Requirements

When picking out your classes it is helpful to start with the end goal in mind - Graduation! It is important to be aware of the graduation requirements as you plan your course selection.  And if you can't remember what classes you have already completed, please check out your transcript on Infinite Campus - it has now been updated with your 1st semester grades!  (You can find it in the Reports section.)

Here are the academic courses that students must complete toward your graduation requirements:- 4 credits of English (Speech is no longer required to be one of these classes, but it is still an option)
- 4 credits of Math
- 3 credits of Science
- 3 credits of Social Studies (which includes 1/2 a credit of Government)
- 1/2 a credit of Physical Education (2 classes, each worth 1/4 credit)
- 1/2 a credit of Health
- 5 credits of Electives
- All students must have had a year's worth of fine art coursework between grades 7 - 12

- All students must also complete a Financial Literacy course
- 20 total credits

A few notes to help you understand some of the details of these requirements:

-  The senior English classes must meet a combination of Reading and Writing courses.  You can take a year-long class called Contemporary Voices that will meet both the reading and writing requirements or you can select two semester courses to meet the requirement.  The reading classes include Science Fiction, Great Books and African-American Literature.  The writing classes include Senior Composition, Advanced Composition, Creative Writing, Journalism, Advanced Journalism, Speech, Comm Tech, and Advanced Comm Tech.

-  If you plan on utilizing the PE waiver, the 1/2 credit of PE will not be required, but another elective credit in any subject area will be required.

-  A year equivalency of fine art is required between grades 7 - 12.  This means that, for example, students who took a semester of art in middle school will need 1 more semester of art during high school to fulfill this requirement.  Fine art classes include art, music, or theater classes.  Also, for what it is worth, students who take classes at the DACC or are in the PLTW program are exempt from the fine art graduation requirement.

-  The Financial Literacy course requirement can be met through a variety of different classes in different areas.  Personal Financial Management (business class), Financial Algebra (math class), and Economics & Financial Literacy and the IB History classes (social studies classes) all meet this requirement.  Current juniors (soon to be seniors) who took US History during their Sophomore Year have already fulfilled this requirement as a component of your US History class.

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