1. Four Year Plan Kick Off Meeting

2.  Counselors will meet with each student and parent to develop a four year plan.  These plans can be changed each year during the course verification process.

3.  4 credits – English  4 credits – Math (Alg 2 required for Distinguished achievement)  4 credits – Science  3 credits – Soc St (Wld Geo/AP Human Geo or Wld Hist, US Hist, Govt and Econ)  2 credits – Wld Lang  1 credit – PE  1 credit – Fine Art  0.5 credit – Comm App (Speech) *additional requirements based on chosen Endorsement

4. The five endorsements are: *STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) *Arts and Humanities *Multidisciplinary *Business and Industry *Public Service

5.  Endorsements can be viewed in the Home Access Center under the Career Plan tab. Scroll to the bottom and you will see the section labeled Supplemental Plan.

6. Can we change our Endorsement? YES!! The student and parent must sign a new endorsement commitment form and still have time for completion of requirements under the new endorsement. *If you don’t have one set, we can take care of that in our meeting.

7. STEM Endorsement Students who choose a STEM endorsement will need to take a coherent sequence of credits in a specific area of interest and Algebra 2, Chemistry, and Physics. Options may include: Additional Science Additional Math Computer Science

8. STEM options

9. Students who choose a Business and Industry endorsement will need to take a coherent sequence of 4 or more credits in a specific area of interest: *Ag, Food & Natural Resources *Architecture & Construction *Information Technology & Technology App *Business Mgt & Admin, Finance & Marketing *Culinary Academy (at BNHS only) *Career Prep I & II (in a related field)

11. Students who choose a Public Service endorsement will need to take a coherent sequence of credits in a specific area of interest: *Education and Training *Health Science pathway *Health Science (ABS) at BNHS only *Human Services * Career Prep I and II (in a related field)

13.  Students who choose an Arts and Humanities endorsement will need to take a coherent sequence of credits in a specific area of interest. * Additional Social Studies * Fine Arts * Additional World Languages

15.  Complete four credits from each core area (Eng, Math, Sci, and SS). Must include English 4 and Physics and/or Chemistry.  Complete four AP or dual credit credits from the following depts: Eng, Math, Sci, SS, LOTE and/or Fine Arts.  Complete four advanced courses from within one endorsement or among multiple endorsements. (*denotes advanced applicable CTE courses )

17.  College admissions – Colleges look for students who have completed rigorous coursework (PreAP, AP, Dual Credit).  Students with higher level courses are generally more prepared for college level work.  Are you currently taking courses that challenge you?

18.  A student can earn college credits early through AP courses if the student makes 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, or 5 to receive any college credit.  Credit awarded varies depending on the college/university and may also depend on the student’s major.

19.  Dual credit courses give students the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school.  Typically, a student must be a junior or senior who possesses a minimum of a 3.0 GPA (un-weighted).  Northwest ISD offered 31 dual credit courses for the 2015-16 school year.

20. Class Ranking will include grades earned in courses under the following headings: English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Languages other than English. The Grade Point Average (GPA) used to determine class rank only is calculated on a weighted scale. Advanced Placement (AP) = up to 7 points PreAP/Dual Credit = up to 6 points Regular = up to 5 points

21.  Students in the top 10%* of their graduating class are eligible for automatic admission to any public university in Texas.  To be eligible for this automatic admission, students entering high school in 2014-15 must complete the new Distinguished plan (must have Algebra 2).  *UT Austin – top 7% currently

22.  Individual meetings with student, parents and counselor  Parents will schedule meeting through Sign-up Genius link in the newsletter or on the counseling website. Appointments will be available two weeks at a time from mid October-December.  PLEASE HAVE YOUR PARENT/GUARDIAN ATTEND ONE OF THE KICK OFF PARENT MEETINGS TO HEAR THIS INFORMATION ON EITHER OCT 21 OR NOV 3 AT 6:00 PM IN THE PAC!!!!!!!

23.  Meetings will be for 30 minutes. Please do some pre-planning by going through the district course guide. It can be found on the NISD website. (Information tab, High School Course Selection Guide)  Students and parents will be provided with copies of the 4 Year Plan form and Endorsement Guide in advance. This will enable you to make a rough draft and possibly come up with some questions for your counselor.

26. Students will receive a printout each year of the courses they have chosen in their 4 year plans and will be given an opportunity to change them. Parent signatures will be required. To change an Endorsement, a parent meeting is required.