SCHEDULING ORIENTATION Paul Laurence Dunbar High School Parents

SCHEDULING ORIENTATION Paul Laurence Dunbar High School Parents of Incoming Freshman

MATERIALS SENT HOME WITH STUDENTS: ▶ Orientation Parent Letter ▶ Course Directory ▶ PLD Scheduling Information Packet, which includes graduation requirements and schedule card. ▶ Power. Point video available www. pld. fcps. net under the Student Support tab

DATES TO KNOW: ▶ Freshman night will be the week before school starts. You will receive an invitation in late July. ▶ Students who accept an MSTC invitation will have a meeting to discuss scheduling Jan. 30 th. ▶ ALL STUDENTS districted to attend PLD should complete and return a schedule card. If you are accepted to MSTC or another program, we will discard the PLD schedule card when we are notified.

MIDDLE SCHOOL V. S. HIGH SCHOOL MIDDLE SCHOOL: ▶ Classes meet every day ▶ Classes are about 50 minutes each ▶ Students are placed on teams and all students on that team have the same teachers ▶ Most electives change every 9 weeks ▶ Report cards are given every 9 weeks with midterms every 4 ½ weeks ▶ 9 week grades are averaged together at the end of the year to determine pass or fail for the year ▶ Promotion is based on passing a certain number of classes for the year

MIDDLE SCHOOL V. S. HIGH SCHOOL: ➢ Classes are on A day/B day rotating schedule: they meet every other day ➢ Classes are 90 minutes long ➢ Students are placed in classes based on requirements and requests; most electives are multi-grade level ➢ All electives are full-year electives. Choose wisely! ➢ Report cards are given two times per year--at the end of each semester. Parents are notified every 6 weeks to check grades online. ➢ Grades on the report cards are the final grades for that class for that semester. Semester grades are NOT averaged at the end of the year. ➢ Semester grades are posted to transcripts and passing grades earn 1/2 credit. To earn the full credit for the course, you must pass both semesters. ➢ Promotion is based on earning credits; graduation is based on earning credits in specific courses.

KEES MONEY KEES = KENTUCKY EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE SCHOLARSHIP Every public high school student in KY receives money in their scholarship account. The amount of money is based on your yearly KEES GPA and your highest ACT score. You can check your account balance anytime on the website after your freshman year. Check out more information and details on the Ky Higher Education Assistance Authority website: www. kheaa. com This website is a wealth of information for you and your parents regarding college and paying for college, including scholarship information.

How to help your students be successful: ★ ★ ★ ★ A-day/B-day organization Encourage daily homework completion Stay for ESS when needed--this is free tutoring! Do not fall for the myth about standards based grading that you do not have to do homework. Homework and classwork is how you learn and prepare for the summative assessments. If you do not prepare, you will fail. Get to know your teachers and counselor! Visit the College and Career Center and meet the college and career counselor, Pam Bates. Encourage club participation

NINTH GRADE PRINCIPAL: NANCY HILL Your Student Support Team Counselors: Melanie Burch, Callie Donovan, Kelly Krusich, Melissa Long, Kameron Mc. Daniel, Deanna Smith, Kendra Tackett College & Career Coach: Pam Bates Greer Mental Health Specialist: Dontryse School Psychologist: Patrick Ballard Duerson School Social Worker: Steven Registrar: Michelle Ginn Thomas Counseling Secretaries: Erica Mason & Michelle Youth Service Center Coordinator: Shakira Goldsmith. Mason Community Liaison: Diana Fierro

Scheduling Information

CREDITS NEEDED TO GRADUATE English - 4 credits Math - 4 credits Science - 3 credits Social Studies - 3 credits Health/ P. E. – 1 credit Humanities – 1 credit Electives – 10 credits 26 credits = Diploma Note: World Language is NOT required for graduation, but is a Pre -college curriculum requirement.

WWW. PLD. FCPS. NET/GUIDANCE 12

Scheduling is important! Take it seriously!! ➢ Discuss the graduation plan as a family to plan for all 4 years of high school ➢ Always read the course descriptions. Do not go by the name alone--the course may include topics you are not expecting. Remember courses last all year! ➢ Encourage your students to make choices based on interest, not friends ➢ Talk to your students about their schedule choices ➢ This is a good time to start talking about college and use the Pre-College Curriculum as a guide. ➢ Discuss technical fields, Eastside, Locust Trace and Southside Technical Centers have fantastic opportunities. ➢ Discuss time requirements. Don’t overload the schedule.

Career Pathways/CTE courses ▶ When you take 3 or more CTE courses in a specific Career Pathway, you can gain advanced knowledge that can aide you in a chosen career path. ▶ If you complete 3 or 4 courses AND pass the industry certification assessment, you may be able to exit high school with advanced opportunities for employment at a higher rate of pay. ▶ In combination with meeting the benchmarks on the ACT, you may be able to apply these courses or certifications to help you earn college degrees in these areas as well. All Dunbar students must choose at least one CTE course and complete a pathway by the time they graduate.

RED Center ▶ Research and Engineering Design Center ▶ NEW for the 20 -21 SY ▶ Hands on approach and focus on Engineering, Architecture, Robotics, and Computer programming ▶ Academic courses such as Calculus and Physics support work in the RED Center ▶ Opportunities to expand to higher level math and science by applying for courses in the MSTC program exist for students who have completed the prerequisite courses ▶ Opportunity to participate in research, internships, and/or job shadowing

The Basics of Completing the Schedule Card ★ 8 courses selected ★ 5 required courses: English, Math, Science, Government, Health/PE ★ 3 total elective courses selected, including one CTE course ★ 4 alternates must be written in the spaces provided (not checked on the card) ★ Student and Parent signatures, teacher initials required

Complete name and email legibly! Complete 3 career interests Student signs here Write in courses you have marked on your card in the spaces provided. Complete phone information if applicable. Read information carefully and sign where indicated. Both student and parent need to sign! Parent signs here Write in 4 alternates here. Do NOT check these on the card!

Teachers must provide MAP scores where requested and initial where indicated by “TI”. Place an “X” next to each course you want to take. Every student must take English, Math, Science, & Social Studies. Most will take Heath/PE. You may take a World Language.

Choose elective courses carefully-they last all year!! Must choose at least one CTE course. Information regarding PLD’s pathways is in the scheduling packet. Must have a total of 8 “X” marking your classes.

Two technical centers are available to freshman: Locust Trace and Southside. For Southside, you must have attended as an 8 th grader to be eligible to attend as a freshman. You can take one core class at SS. Only freshman are accepted as new students to Locust Trace. If you are interested in any of their programs, you must apply as a freshman; you will not be able to apply later. You can take one core class at LTAC.

Returning the schedule card ❖ ❖ ❖ Once your student has completed the schedule card including all signatures, you will tear out the green insert in the middle of the packet to return to your student’s teacher. Keep the remainder of the packet for your information. Make sure all sections are complete on the front of the card and you have 8 X’s on the courses.

SCHEDULING NOTES • Teachers must make course recommendations. • If parents and teacher do not agree on placement, they must have a conference and sign request to override recommendation form available from the PLD counseling office. • To take an AP course, both students and parents must agree to the statements on the front of the schedule card. • PE summer school is usually offered at Dunbar, Henry Clay, and at least one other high school. If you take PE in summer school, you will take Health in ESchool. Approximate cost for PE is $160. 00 and $125. 00 for Health. Registration info available after spring break. By marking the appropriate space on your schedule card you will be placed on a mailing list to receive the summer PE information.

Questions?