High school planning
Sarah Diatta
Academic Counselor
Guidance staff
Mrs. Brenda Stone
Academic Counselor
10th & 12th
Mrs. Sarah Diatta
Academic Counselor
9th & 11th
Mrs. Lisa Castillo
Academic Counselor
Credit Recovery
Ms. Alanna Callaway
Freshman Advisor
AP of Instruction
Ms. Teryn Kogura
College Advisor
UC Berkeley DCAC
Mrs. Joan Albers
College & Career Technician
College & Career Center
What is a four-year plan?
 Document that lists a specific sequence of courses that a
student intends to follow over the period of four years.
 It should be student driven.
 It is a tentative document that is meant to be adjusted
from year to year as a student’s interest and/or goals
change.
Why is it important?
 It gives students an opportunity to think about
and set academic goals.
 Ensures that a student graduates on time.
 Ensures that university admissions requirements
are met.
The Ideal Plan
 Takes in to account the student’s end goal.
 Is challenging, but not unrealistic.
 Consider previous grades
 Extra-curricular obligations
 Ability to achieve balance
 Matches his/her interests.
 Has been created thoughtfully.
 Is reviewed at least once a year and adjusted if
needed.
Naviance course planner
Scan your plan
Balancing Workload
 It is important that your student have a good work/life
balance to ensure their health and happiness.
 Having too many AP and honors classes can create
unhealthy stress levels.
 Incidence of cheating out of desperation occurs when
students are under too much stress.
 When selecting classes, help your student balance
academics, extra-curricular activities, and family time.
Transcript
 Official copy of a student’s academic record.
 Includes all courses, grades and credits earned.
 Follows a student to every high school he/she attends.
 A class that is retaken is added to the transcript the
year it is taken. The original grade remains. It does not
get “replaced.”
 Universities see the entire transcript.
Graduation requirements
A-G Requirements
 Course requirements that must be met in order to be
eligible to attend a UC or CSU.
 SJUSD graduation requirements EXCEED the a-g
requirements.
 See handout
 Grade of C or better is required for eligibility.
 Check https://doorways.ucop.edu for the list of a-g
classes offered at Leland.
SJUSD Course Catalog
 www.sjusd.org/pdf/student/hs_english.pdf
 Course descriptions
 Schools that offer that course
 Grade level of students that should enroll in the course
 Graduation requirement met by the course
 University a-g requirement met by the course
 Course prerequisites
Things to Keep in Mind
 Prerequisites and co-requisites for courses must be
met.
 Certain classes are taken certain years.
 Students may not take two science classes in one
year.
 Taking a year long course over the summer, may not
adequately prepare a student for an AP course.
 Outside courses must earn a letter grade in order to
receive credit.
Things to Keep in Mind
 If a course is taken over the summer to meet a
prerequisite, the desired Leland course will not be added
to the student’s Fall schedule until an official transcript
for the summer course is received.
 Students should only take an AP course in a subject that
they genuinely have an interest in. AP courses are
college-level, very demanding and time consuming.
Things to Keep in Mind
 Once students have registered for courses, they have
committed to stay in the class a full year.
 Schedule changes will only be considered the first three
days of school.
 Meeting a prerequisite does not guarantee admission to a
course. All courses are subject to change based on
funding, enrollment, and/or available staffing.
Options: Academic Courses
Accelerated, Honors, and AP classes often require summer work
 College Prep
 Courses that have been approved by UC as rigorous
enough to prepare students for college.
 Accelerated Courses
 Students will study the same things as in regular classes
but at a faster pace and in more detail.
 Honors courses
 Same curriculum as regular classes but are tailored for
high achieving students – covering additional topics or
some topics in greater depth.
 Student earn an extra GPA point.
Options: Academic Courses
Accelerated, Honors, and AP classes often require summer work
 Advanced Placement (AP)
 Provide motivated and academically prepared students
with the opportunity to study and learn at the college
level
 Cover the information, skills and assignments found in
the corresponding college courses
 Student earn an extra GPA point
 Students can potentially earn college credit
 SJUSD does not weight GPA
Options: Academic Courses
 On campus community college courses
 Japanese, Chinese, American Sign Language,
Differential Equations, Multivariable Calculus.
 One semester college course equals one year of High
School credit.
 Student must submit an official transcript from San
Jose City College to Leland High School in order to
receive credit.
Course Selection Timeline
• February
• Course pathway presentations given during tutorial.
• Students will be given a course selection sheet that
lists all the options in the different subject areas.
• March
• Students will register for their classes using their
completed paper course selection sheets and lock in
their class choices. First & alternate choices.
• If first choice class is not available, students will
likely be locked into their alternate choice.
English
English 1-2
English 3-4 or
Accelerated English 3-4
English 5-6 or Honors English 5-6 or
AP English Language 5-6
Expository Reading and Writing Course or
AP English Literature
UC Geometry requirement
 To satisfy the mathematics (“c”) subject area requirement
for University of California, students applying for freshmen
admission must complete one yearlong course in
geometry.
 The omission of a yearlong Geometry course cannot be
validated by advanced-level math courses (e.g., Algebra
II, Pre-Calculus, or Calculus).
 Check with an Academic Counselor before enrolling in
summer Geometry programs to ensure the that the
program is a-g “UC approved.”
Science
3 years of science to graduate
Two of the three years students must take a lab science
At least one must be a biological science
At least one must be a chemical science
Biological Lab
Sciences Courses
Physical Lab
Science Courses
Biology
Honors Biology
AP Biology
Physiology
Zoology
AP Environmental Science
Chemistry
Honors Chemistry
Conceptual Physics
Physics
Honors Physics
AP Physics 1
AP Physics 2
Disclaimer: Online science classes are not a-g “UC
approved” because SJUSD cannot allow teachers to
supervise lab activities outside of the regular school day.
Project Lead The Way
Engineering Courses
Introduction to Engineering Design
(Visual/Performing Art Credit)
Principles of Engineering
(Elective Credit)
Digital Electronics
(Elective Credit)
World Languages
2 years required
Spanish
Spanish 1-2
Spanish 3-4
French
French 1-2
French 3-4
Spanish 5-6
Spanish 5-6 Honors
AP Spanish
French 5-6
AP French
SJCC Courses
1 year of a SJCC course counts as 2 years of high school credit
Students must dual enroll and take a placement test through SJCC
Chinese 1-2
American Sign Language 1-2
Japanese 1-2
Japanese 3/4
Physical Education
Two Years Required
PE Course 1 (9th grade)
In addition to earning PE credits, freshmen also earn their
Safety/First Aid and Health certificates (both graduation requirements) in
PE Course 1
PE Course 2 (10th grade) or Athletics
Students can take PE Course 2—a year long course like PE Course 1—or
they can earn 5 PE credits for each after school athletic team they play on
for a total of 10 credits.
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Intro to Computer Science Principles
9th & 10th grade ONLY
Must be concurrently enrolled in Algebra 2 or higher
AP Computer Science - 11th & 12th grade ONLY
Must be concurrently enrolled in Pre-Calculus or higher
Elective Credit for both courses
Electives
30 credits required
 Electives can be any class that has not been taken
yet. Recommended courses are:
 4th year of Math
 4th year of Science
 3rd or 4th year of Foreign Language
 Any extra courses taken above and beyond the
course requirements will count toward electives.
D/F grades
 If your student earned an F grade in Fall semester, they
are at-risk of not graduating until they make up the grade
by attending summer school or taking an approved
online course.
 If your student earned a D grade in Fall semester, they
should still attend Summer School to validate the grade
for college eligibility.
Character/Soft skills
 Communication skills
 Teamwork and collaboration
 Adaptability/Flexibility
 Problem Solving skills
 Accept Criticism
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Strong work ethic
Positive attitude
Self-motivated
Time Management
Works well under
pressure
 Self-confidence
 Comfort with technology
Important: Character is just as important as grades! Counselor
recommenders will rate character and report behavior records
and incidence of cheating on their recommendation letters.
SJUSD Love and Logic
Parenting Class
New academic counseling website
www.sjusd.org/leland/academic_counseling