8 th Grade Parent Orientation Monday, April 7, :00 P.M. AHS Auditorium

Topics Diploma Options Scheduling Core Pathways Career Technical Education Pre-AP Weighted Credit AP College Entrance and Scholarships 4.0 Myth

Diploma Options Alabama High School Diploma Advanced Diploma Honors Diploma 2 Endorsements – Career Tech Endorsement (Can be added to all three diploma options) – Academic Endorsement (Only applies to the standard diploma)

Alabama High School Diploma English- 4 unitsMath- 4 units (A2) Social Studies- 4 unitsScience- 4 units (B,P) Career Preparedness- 1 unit P.E.- 1 unit (Band and JROTC count) Health- ½ unit CTE and/or Foreign Lang. and/or Art- 3 units Electives- 2 ½ units Total- 24 units out of a possible 28

Advanced Diploma All the requirements for the Alabama High School Diploma + 3 AP Courses (1 must be AP English 11) – 70 Avg. or Qualifying Score Alg. 2/trig 2 out of 5 upper level Science Courses (Pre-AP Chemistry, Anatomy/Physiology, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Physics) Foreign Language- 2 Years

Honors Diploma All the requirements for the Advanced Diploma + 2 Additional AP Courses (5 Total) Overall GPA-3.5

Scheduling Forms to turn in by Friday April 18th: – Four year plan – Registration Worksheet Four year plans are NOT set in stone. Students turn one in every school year. Please make course choices that align with your diploma type.

Career Technical Education The move to pathways and credentials – OSHA-Occupational Safety and Health Admin. – NCCER-National Center for Construction Education and Research – NIMS-National Institute for Metalworking Skills – ServSafe – CNA- Certified Nurses Assistant – MOS-Microsoft Office Specialist – PLTW- Project Lead the Way (Pathway to Engineering)

Career Tech (Cont.) 76 Classes and Serve over 1300 students a day. Suitable for all students (workforce, 2-year student, and 4-year student) New courses – JROTC, CNA, Computer Science Principles

Pre-AP Pre-AP is designed to prepare your child for AP Courses. You can still take AP Courses without taking Pre-AP. Provided you meet other prerequisites. Does taking a Pre-AP course force you to take AP? NO, You can take Pre-AP courses and never take an AP class.

Pre-AP or NOT? Long term goals? Other activities? Aptitude? Work ethic? Importance of honoring commitment Don’t underestimate the transition to high school.

Weighted Credit Pre-AP, Advanced 1.1 Weight Example Eng Avg.=3.5 GPA Pre-AP Eng Avg.= 3.2 x 1.1= 3.52 GPA AP Classes 1.2 Weight Example Eng Avg.= 3.5 GPA AP Avg x GPA

1 st Semester Class Avg. for Pre-AP GradeWeightCorresponding GPA (Equivalent to 90) (Equivalent to 89) (Equivalent to 88) (Equivalent to 91) (Equivalent to 86) (Equivalent to 93)

Weighted Courses 1.1 Weight Pre-AP Eng. 9, 10 Pre-AP Biology, Chemistry Pre-AP Geometry Algebra 2/Trig. Pre-Calculus Spanish 2 & 3 Pre-AP Spanish Pre-AP U.S. 1 (New 10 th Gr.) 1.2 Weight AP Biology AP Chemistry AP Calculus AP Statistics AP Eng. 11 AP. Eng. 12 AP Physics AP World History AP Spanish

College Entrance and Scholarships The # 1 thing colleges look for is ACT Score. Some schools will use a sliding scale with ACT and GPA but the ACT is more important in the sliding scale. All students take the ACT the spring of their Junior Year. You can take it sooner. For those wanting to compete for scholarships, we recommend taking the PSAT your sophomore and junior year.

4.0 Myth Student AStudent B GPA Career B’s 23 Career C’s02 Career D’s01 (69) 10 th Grade ACT th Grade ACT2630 No ScholarshipFull Tuition Both are college and career ready!

4 Year Plan made Easy 9 th Grade- 4 Core, P.E., Career, 1 Choice (Span.) – P.E.- Athletic P.E., Life P.E., Band, JROTC – Math- Where do you want them to end up? Pre-AP Geometry leads to Calculus 10 th Grade- 4 Core, Health

Counseling Sessions April th 8am-2pm Tuesday, April 15 th 5-8pm Contact Tanya Beard to set up an appointment