East Limestone High School 9th Grade Orientation Class of 2021 Parent/Student Meeting March 23, 2017

Goals of PLAN 2020 Increase the graduation rate Help students obtain industry credentials Lowered college remediation class rates Decrease the gap of graduation rates from selected subgroups Improve attendance rates

College and Career Readiness Indicators Every Child a Graduate, Every Child Prepared Benchmark Score on any section of the ACT (Reading,22; English, 18; Mathematics, 22; Science,23) Qualifying score on an AP or IB exam (3,4,5) Approved transcripted college or postsecondary credit while in high school Approved industry credential (2 consecutive years in the SAME CTE course and PASS the credentials assessment) Benchmark level on ACT WorkKeys (** Silver level) Military enlistment These indicators will gauge the annual progress of education in Alabama through the year 2020.

National Career Readiness Certificate Bronze - scores at least a level 3 in each of the three core areas and has the necessary foundational skills for 16 percent of the jobs in the WorkKeys database **Silver - scores at least a level 4 in each of the three core areas and has the necessary foundational skills for 67 percent of the jobs in the WorkKeys database Gold - scores at least a level 5 in each of the three core areas and has the necessary foundational skills for 93 percent of the jobs in the WorkKeys database Platinum - scores at least a level 6 in each of the three core areas and has the necessary foundational skills for 99 percent of the jobs in the WorkKeys database

Graduation Requirements for the Alabama High School Diploma 1) A student must earn 24 Carnegie units (credits). 2) Successful completion of an online experience, through an ACCESS course or by participating in an online experience embedded into courses that fulfill this requirement. (English 10 – 12 and Career Preparedness)

In January 2013 the Alabama State Department of Education approved the one diploma option, the ALABAMA HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA for all students beginning with the ninth-grade class of 2013 – 2014. There are no state endorsements to this diploma. For these students this diploma option replaces all variations of the prior diploma. The purpose for this change is to allow more flexibility for students to address their individual interest and plans for college and career.

ALABAMA HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA AREAS OF STUDY REQUIREMENTS CREDITS English Language Arts English 9, 10, 11, and 12 or any AP/IB/postsecondary equivalent option of these courses 4 Mathematics Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II w/ Trig or Algebra II, or their equivalent. Additional course(s) to complete the four credits in mathematics must be chosen from the Alabama Course of Study: Mathematics or CTE/AP/IB/postsecondary equivalent courses. Science Biology and a physical science The third and fourth science credits may be used to meet both the science and CTE course requirement and must be chosen from the Alabama Course of Study: Science or CTE/AP/IB/postsecondary equivalent courses Social Studies World History, U.S. History x 2, and Government/Economics or AP/IB/postsecondary equivalent courses. Physical Education LIFE (Personal Fitness) One JROTC credit may be used to meet this requirement 1 Health Education Alabama Course of Study: Health Education 0.5 Career Preparedness Career Preparedness Course (Career and Academic Planning, Computer Applications, Financial Literacy) CTE and/or Foreign Language and/or Arts Education Students choosing CTE, Arts Education, and/or Foreign Language are encouraged to complete two courses in sequence. 3 Electives 2.5 Total Credits Required for Graduation 24 (Refer to graphic on slid This one approach to the Alabama High School Diploma removes the need for endorsements or the Alabama Occupational Diploma. The focus will be on the coursework taken that necessitates a clearly articulated and individualized four-year high school plan built for each student based on the results from the EXPLORE academic and career interest assessment and middle school coursework.

Limestone County Honors Seal Beginning with the 2013-2014 Ninth Grade Class (Class of 2017 and Beyond) The Limestone County Schools Honor Seal was created to recognize those students willing to challenge themselves by enrolling in more rigorous coursework. To earn this seal affixed to the Alabama High School Diploma, a student must successfully complete all state requirements and the following additional requirements: Complete a minimum of 12 Advanced/AP/Dual Enrollment Courses Graduate with a minimum weighted grade average of 3.5

Credits Students must earn 24 credits before graduation. Each full year course counts for one credit. Each ½ year, or semester course, counts for ½ credit. Students must pass the course in order to receive the credit. Students who are on the East campus all day may earn 7 credits per year. Students who attend the Career/Technical Center may earn 6 credits per year.

The Career Technical Center is available ½ day for students in grades 10-12. Students must pre-register in order to attend the CTC. Only 9 credits can be earned at the CTC which includes any credits earned in history or skills lab. All students attending the CTC will take the appropriate grade level history course there.

Credits Continued ELHS all day – 4 years 7 x 4 = 28 credits Tech Option * ELHS 9th – 7 credits * Tech 3 x 6 = 18 credits * 7 + 18 = 25 credits

High School Facts / Issues GPA- stands for Grade Point Average. This is very important for college admissions and scholarships. GPA is a 4 point scale and is based on a student’s grade in a class. Advanced courses carry a higher weight because they are more difficult. (Example: A in standard course, 4 points; A in honors course, 4.5 points, A in Dual Enrollment or AP class , 5 points)

Class Ranking The Grade Point Average (GPA) will be used when determining student class rankings. If there is a tie using the GPA, then and only then will the numerical average (carried out to the appropriate number of decimal places) be used in order to break the tie.

High School Facts / Issues Transcript – this is a record of a student’s high school academic career. It includes each course taken and the grade earned in that course. This starts in the 9th grade and continues through graduation. This is the document sent to colleges, scholarship organizations, employers, etc., to verify a student’s high school record.

Secondary Promotion Requirements As a 9th grader, a student must have passed all 8th grade requirements. In an effort to encourage student to graduate on time, within a four year period, high school students in grades 9-12 will be placed in a 9th grade homeroom their first year, 10th grade the second year, 11th grade the third year, and 12th grade their fourth year. Students are expected to make reasonable progress by passing courses in logical and sequential order. For a student to be considered a candidate for graduation during the 12th year, they must be able to complete the state required 24 Carnegie Units and all other state and local requirements. Students not meeting all requirements for graduation at the end of the fourth year will be retained in the 12th grade.

Cohort Status We begin a cohort by selecting all first time ninth grade students and then tracking those students as they move through the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades and adding any students who transfer into the cohort and removing any students who transfer out. The fact that a student is retained at any point does not change their cohort.

No Pass/No Play Athletics and other extra-curricular activities are valued parts of our schools. Students must maintain high academic standards in order to participate in these activities. High School - Students entering grades 10-12 must have passed 6 subjects that total 6 Carnegie units of credit with a minimum composite numerical average of 70 (must include the four core: English, Math, Science and Social Studies)

Four Year Plan Each 8th grader will complete a 4-year plan. This document will project possible courses for the student to take during his or her high school career. This plan should reflect courses designed to prepare a student for his or her college/career goal. These plans will be reviewed yearly and adjusted as students’ narrow their education/career goals. Done through the Alabama Career Information Network www.al.kuder.com

Required Courses

9th Grade Courses - English Honors English *Any student may take either course; honors course requires department/teacher approval *GPA on Honors English will be weighted.

9th Grade Courses - Math Algebra IA Algebra I, Honors Honors Geometry –(must have passed Algebra I in 8th grade) * GPA is weighted for Algebra I, Honors and Honors Geometry

Math Pathways Standard maths Advanced maths Algebra IA Algebra I Algebra IB Honors Geometry Geometry Algebra II/ Trig Algebra II w/Finance or Analytical Math or Algebra II Pre-Calculus AP/Calculus

9th Grade Courses – Science Biology Honors Biology (department/teacher approval) Students may take either course GPA for Honors Biology will be weighted

9th Grade Courses – Social Studies 9th Grade World History Honors 9th World History – (department approval) Any student may take either course (department approval) GPA for Honors 9th Grade World History will be weighted.

Required Electives **Health –½ credit **Career Preparedness A – 1/2 credit **Life PE –1 credit We like to schedule these electives for students in the 9th grade so that in grades 10-12, they will be ready to attend the Career Technical Center to earn CTE credits if they so choose.

When tests are given: Replacing ACT Explore and PLAN with ACT Aspire 10th Grade – ACT Aspire 11th Grade – ACT with Writing 12th Grade – ACT WorkKeys

Questions? E-mail me at debbie.poland@lcsk12.org Call me at 256-233-6660, ext. 30108

Final Thoughts Pre-registration will be done in your child’s English class. Please look over the white sheet they bring home, going over their class choices. Changes may be made if necessary before you sign. Sign the sheet and return it to their English teacher