The Course Selection Process

November marks the beginning of the long, important, and detailed process of course selection for the 2014-2015 school year. Please note: We will again be using Naviance Family Connection to request courses this year.

The steps in the course selection process are as follows:

November

- Teachers review course recommendations for 2015-2016 with each student on his or her class roster and enter these recommendations into Naviance Family Connection.

December

- Teachers’ recommendations are available to student and parents in Naviance Family Connection. The Course Description Book, along with the student transcript and the Naviance Family Connection log-in information will be mailed home. Students are encouraged to ask their teachers if they have questions or do not agree with teacher recommendations. Parents are encouraged to call or e-mail teachers with questions or concerns about course recommendations.

December, January, February

- Students make individualized appointments with counselors. Parents interested in attending the meeting are encouraged to coordinate with their child and then call their child’s school counselor to inform them that they plan to attend. Meeting times are from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Students should come to the course selection meeting familiar with the course recommendations and with planned electives and alternates.

February

- All individual student meetings must be completed.

March

- Teachers review students’ course requests and contact the student/family/counselor with any questions or concerns. A postcard will be mailed home asking students and families to review requests one more time. To change a request, please print out the “signature page,” hand-write the change(s), sign, and mail or give the list personally to the school counselor.

- Counselors review returned course request lists with parent signatures and make changes in Naviance Family Connection.

- All course requests are reviewed and tallied. Decisions regarding class cancellations, number of sections, and staffing are made at this time.

April

- Class cancellations for 2014-2015 are posted to the Rush-Henrietta Senior High School Web site, www.rhnet.org. Students are contacted by their School Counselor if they must choose an alternate class due to cancellations. Otherwise, previously chosen alternate course requests may be used.

April, May

- The master schedule is created by a building administrator.

June

- Counselors meet with students who have conflicts in their schedule. For example, if R-H Singers and AP Art History are offered at the same time, the student must choose to take one class instead of the other. Counselors will notify parents/students of conflicts if an alternate request is unable to fill their child’s schedule.

- Counselors review end-of-year grades and register students for summer school classes and exams. If students do not earn credit in a course during the school year and do not attend summer school, the counselor reviews the student’s schedule and places him/her back in the required courses for 2014-2015. This may change the student’s previous course requests.

August

- Counselors review summer school grades and adjust student schedules accordingly (this includes entering exams that need to be repeated, as well as AIS to support students with exam preparation).

What You Can Expect to Hear During Your Course Selection Meeting

- School Counselors encourage students to take rigorous and challenging courses. Counselors are aware of the expectations regarding college admission/college and career readiness and advise students accordingly.

- School Counselors urge students to retake New York state exams in an effort to strive toward earning a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation. This may mean that a student needs Academic Intervention Services (AIS) to prepare for a New York state exam.

- School counselors discuss the limitations placed on a student’s schedule when they plan to attend the Eastern Monroe Career Center (EMCC).

- School Counselors explain the difficulty and strict course-change policy at Rush-Henrietta. Please be thoughtful and make good choices. Remember, many decisions, including staffing are based on the choices students make.

- School Counselors remind students that Rush-Henrietta students must carry a minimum of 6.5 credits. Therefore, please pick two or three alternate classes you would be comfortable taking if you do not get your first choices.

- School Counselors will approve and lock student course requests at the end of the meeting. Once courses are locked in, only the counselor will be able to make changes. Students and families will still be able to VIEW course requests in Naviance Family Connection.