WARREN HIGH SCHOOL

COURSE DESCRIPTION

2008 - 2009

Introduction:

The purpose of this page is to inform students and parents of the scheduling process, give academic policies, graduation requirements, and course descriptions.  You will find most courses are offered for this 2007- 2008 school year.

Each student will be asked to register for the course he/she wishes to take.  A master schedule will be built based on these course request.  Any student, who wishes to take a course that is not offered or who is in conflict with the courses that are offered, will be asked to change their schedule.  Every effort will be made to fill all students needs but it must be realized that some students will have to make alternative choices.

It is very important that students make wise, informed decisions concerning their course of study.  Parents, teachers, and the counselor should be consulted during this selection process.  The choices you make now may have a major impact on your future career decisions.  Your final selection for courses will be made this spring.  There will be no class changes made without written parental permission and then permission from the principal and guidance counselor.

Weighted Grade Point Average

All high school students will have their grade point averages figured by that following methods. Classes have been assigned a numerical value of 3 or 5 depending upon the difficulty of the class.  The following guidelines are used to determine the weighted level of each class:

 

3 - All classes except those listed as a 5 weight

5 - Advanced classes

The following classes are weighted as a 5:

 

College Prep English           Prep Chemistry

Spanish 3, 4                       Anatomy

Algebra 2                           Physics

Geometry                           Math - Visual Basics

Senior Math                       Math - HTML

Statistics                            Accounting Semester 2

Biology 1, 2

 

The weighted factor will be used in determining grade point averages.  The following scale indicates the grade values that will be used in figuring the GPA:

Grade point average will be figured by totaling the numerical value of the grade received in each class and dividing by the number of classes taken.  The highest GPA to the lowest will determine class rank.   On an average 10% of the highest ranked students will be considered the Top Students.  Students who have earned all A’s in their classes and have taken one more than half of the 5 weighted classes will also be considered Top Students.

A 3-digit number follows all courses in this booklet.  The first number determines the grade level of the course: 1 = Freshman, 2 = Sophomore, 3 = Junior, 4 = Senior.  The second number determines the length of the course: 0 = all year, 1 = one semester.  The third number determines the weight level of the course:  3 = lowest level though 5 = highest level.

Key:  Course 103

1 = Open to Freshmen and up

0 = Course goes all year

3 = Course assigned a weight of 3 (Required academic)

 

Part 1 - Graduation Requirements

All students will be required to earn a total of 28 - 29 credits; Class of 2010 and 2012 - 29 credits.

1. 25 credits shall be in academic subjects and 4 credits in physical education to total 29 credits.  Students are required to take and pass physical education all four years unless as a junior and senior they are eligible to wave physical education.  Students must earn two credits in physical education prior to their junior year in order for them to be eligible to waive physical education.  A maximum of 4 physical education credits will apply towards graduation.  This change will be effective for incoming ninth grade students and sophomores for the 2007 - 2008 school year.

2. The 25 academic credit must include the following:

a. 4 credits in English - Eng. 1, 2, 3, 4 or College Prep will be required.

b.  2 1/2 credits in Social Studies -     U.S. History, a semester of American Government, and a credit of World History or Geography during the freshman or sophomore year.

c. 3 credits in Science, 1 credit required freshman year, sophomores select Biology, Life Science or an elective science.

d. 3 credits in Mathematics, 1 credit required freshman year, consumer mathematics is required the senior year, plus additional electives.

e. 1/2 credit in Health

f. 1/4 credit in Driver Education

g. 1/4 credit in Library Science.

h. 1 credit selected from either music, art, foreign language, or vocational education.

i. 10 1/2 additional credit in elective courses

 

   3.     Prospective graduates must have taken the Prairie State Achievement Examination to be eligible for graduation.

Correspondence Courses

Students may elect to take correspondence courses in order to make up a credit deficiency or for enrichment purposes.  Students who choose courses for enrichment will not be limited in the number of courses taken but selections may not replace courses offered at Warren Jr-Sr High School.  Enrichment classes are limited to junior and senior year.  Students needing to make up credit deficiencies will be allowed to register for a maximum of four (4) 1/2 credit courses.  The guidance counselor must approve all correspondence courses.  Students who elect to take a correspondence course or courses will be responsible for all expenses.  Registration for summer school classes at Freeport High School or courses taken at Highland Community College for high school credit will be accepted for credit as well, toward the 2 credit maximum.

Illinois Virtual High School

The Illinois Board of Education has established an on-line educational program for the students of Illinois.  Students will be able to register for on-line courses through their local high school. The purpose of the courses will be two-fold: 1- for remediation of lost credits and 2- as enrichment classes.  Classes are completed independently either at home or at school.  For the fall, over 60 courses will be available.  Students will still be required to register for all required courses at Warren High School; however, should a required class be failed the student could elect to make up the class either through correspondence or the Virtual Classroom, which will be included in the 2 credit maximum. Students will be required to pay the cost of the class prior to registration. Students taking the class for enrichment purposes will be reimbursed the full cost of the class if they receive a grade of C or higher. Students will register for the classes through Mrs. Leitzen. 

College Preparatory Curriculum

All colleges vary widely in requirements and admissions procedures.  Students should consult the individual college catalogs and talk with their counselor about admission requirements and procedures.  Many colleges are increasing or have already increased their admissions requirements which means that students will be best served if they have taken the following suggested curriculum which has been mandated by the Public Act 86-0954 for the state of Illinois.  Students should consult individual college catalogs for exact requirements.

1.   4 years of English

2.   3 years of Social Studies

3.   3 years of Mathematics (Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry)

4.   3years of Science (lab oriented)

5.   2 years of a foreign language, music, or art or vocational education

 

The Act allows institutions some flexibility in applying these requirements.  Specifically, "up to 2 of the 15 units of coursework required...may be distributed by deducting no more that one unit each from the categories of Social Studies, Mathematics, Sciences, and electives and completing those 3 units in any of the 5 categories of coursework."

Part 2 - Academic Policies

Class Load

All students must be enrolled in at least seven academic courses plus physical education each semester.  Development of the Master Schedule will be based on the seven classes selected.  Because the Master Schedule is determined from this registration, changes must be kept to a minimum to avoid major changes in class size.

Juniors and seniors who are participating in an extracurricular sport may request to drop P.E. to pick up an additional class.  Parental permission will be required.

Drop/ Add and Class Withdrawal

Once the master schedule is set, schedule changes need to be kept to a minimum.  Should a schedule change be necessary, students will have 10 school days (beginning with the first full day of classes) to complete the desired change.  Beyond the 10-day limit, students may be withdrawn from a class, however, permission from parents, counselor, and principal will be required.  Students may also be removed from a class by teacher request.  Class withdrawals will be noted on the students permanent records as WP (withdraw passing)  and WF (withdraw failing).

Once the master schedule is completed and students have received their schedule for the coming year, they will have the remainder of the school year as well as the beginning of the school year to change their schedule.  The guidance counselor is also available for one week beyond the end of the school year to change schedules. Students should be aware that even though a class may be full a the end of the initial registration, room may open u p later due to a schedule change; students should check with the counselor on class availability and be put on a dated waiting list.

Driver Education

House Bill 418 (Public Act 88-188) - Dictates that in order for a public or private school student to be eligible for enrolment in Divers Education, he/she must have received a passing grade in at least 8 courses during the previous 2 semesters.  The change also applies to commercial driving schools, who must verify with the high school that the student has met this requirement before enrolling him/her in their commercial school.  The Act gives the local superintendent of schools (with respect to a student attending public high school in the district) or chief school administrator (with respect to a student attending a non-public high school in the district) the authority to waive this requirement if he/she deems it to be in the best interest of the student.

Illinois Consumer Education Proficiency Test

The Illinois Consumer Education Proficiency Test is offered twice yearly to any student in grades 9 though 12.  The test is given early in October and late in January.  The test may be taken only once during the school year.  Students who pass the exam can be exempted from taking Consumer Math as a senior, which may allow for an additional course selection during their senior year.

Early Graduation

It is the general policy of this community that students be encouraged to develop an academic plan to take full advantage of their four-year high school program.

 Any student who will have met all the requirements for graduation by the end of the seventh semester may petition the Board of Education requesting approval for early graduation.  The request must be submitted to the Board by December 1st.  Each request will be heard by the Board of Education and considered on its individual merits.

 The student must state his/her reasons for desiring early graduation and outline his/her plans for the ensuing semester. The student’s parents, the high school principal, counselor, the superintendent of schools and the Board of Education, must approve the request

Classification of Students

For the purpose of classifying and identifying students, the following minimum credit guidelines have been established:

Juniors through Seniors - 28 credits  Juniors through Freshman  - 29 credits

Grade classifications, as determined at the beginning of the year, will not change due to credits earned at the conclusion of the first semester.