ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) &
HONORS COURSE OVERVIEW
OVERTON HIGH SCHOOL
FEBRUARY 15, 2011
2011-2012
ACADEMIC PLAN
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
School for the Creative and Performing Arts
B R E T T
L A W S O N ,
P R I N C I P A L
Brett Lawson, Principal
Jenifer Kelley, AP Coordinator
Greg Billings, Asst. Principal
CAPA & University Academy
Ashley Tipton, Prof. Counselor
CAPA & University Academy
Michael Sizemore, Asst. Principal
Freshman Academy
Glenda Seymour, Prof. Counselor
Freshman Academy
Steven Broadway, Asst. Principal
Professional Academy
Brooke Morgan, Prof. Counselor
Professional Academy
Advanced Academics
consists of Advanced Placement and Honors courses.
These high level courses give students a
taste of college level classes and help
them develop the skills to
succeed. Advanced Placement and
honors classes allow students to develop
both academic and personal abilities in a
supportive environment before facing
the demands of college life.
If your sights are set on college and you enjoy
challenging classes, AP classes may be just right for you.
AP STUDENT BENIFIT
AP students have the opportunity to earn both high school credits
and college credits. Taking the end-of-course AP exam is required
for students to earn the AP designation on their transcript. Based
on their scores on the AP exam, AP students may also earn college
credit(s) which are accepted at 3600 colleges and universities.
AP students:
 Get noticed in the college admissions process.
 90% of 4-year U.S. colleges and universities grant credit or
advanced placement for qualifying AP exam scores.
 Demonstrate readiness for rigorous, college level work.
 Learn from highly qualified, motivational teachers.
 Develop skills, such as writing, speaking, and problem-solving,
needed to earn top grades in college courses.
 Possibly qualify for a college scholarship.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP)
COURSE OFFERING
BIOLOGY
CHEMISTRY
CALCULUS (AB)
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & COMPOSITION (11th Grade)
ENGLISH LITURATURE & COMPOSITION (12th Grade)
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - U.S.
HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
PSYCHOLOGY
SPANISH LANGUAGE
STATISTICS
U.S. HISTORY
WORLD HISTORY
Creative and Performing Arts (Optional Enrollment ONLY)
MUSIC THEORY
STUDIO ART 2-D DESIGN
STUDIO ART DRAWING
STUDIO ART 3-D DESIGN
AP COURSE REQUIREMENTS
 Select an application for the AP course of your
choice.
 Students must have proof of completion of prerequisite courses.

Pre-requisites vary by course
 Students must complete summer assignments.
 All AP students must complete the AP Exam
 The AP examination is administered by the College
MCS
GRADING
POLICY
4.600
ADVANCED
PLACEMENT POLICY
Entrance Examination Board. An AP course
places emphasis on advanced subject matter content
which is comparable to a college level course.
 College level textbooks, study assignments, and
course requirements are to be utilized. The primary
goal is to enable students to score appropriately on
the College Board AP examination and earn college
credit at participating colleges.
 All students enrolled in an AP course must
take the AP exam. At the beginning of the school
year, students should make appropriate financial
arrangements at their school to cover the examination
fees for the course(s) in which they enroll.
 Fee reductions for needy students can be
arranged with Educational Testing Services.
 Students are not exempt from exams in AP courses
because of the courses’ college format. Completion of
the AP exam does not exempt students from that
course’s final semester examination.
AP and the Cost of College
Mrs. Kelley
AP Coordinator
Please refer to your handout.
HONORS STUDENT BENEFIT
Honors classes are designed:
 To help students develop high level thinking skills.
 To expose them to the rigor of college courses, and
 To give them a foundation for Advanced Placement
classes, dual enrollment classes, and/or postsecondary education (college/university).
HONORS
COURSE OFFERING
ADVANCED COMPUTER PROGRAMING I
AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY
ALGEBRA I
ALGEBRA II
ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY I
BIOLOGY I
CALCULUS
CHEMISTRY
ENGLISH I
ENGLISH II
ENGLISH III
ENGLISH IV
ETYMOLOGY & MYTHOLOGY
FACING HISTORY & CONTEMPORARY
ISSUES
PHYSICAL SCIENCE
PHYSICS
PRE-AP ENGLISH II
PRE-CALCULUS
COMPUTER PROGRAMING I & II
SOCIOLOGY
SPANISH I
SPANISH II
SPANISH III
U.S. HISTORY
UNIFIED GEOMETRY
WORLD GEOGRAPHY
WORLD HISTORY
HONORS
COURSE OFFERING (cont.)
Creative and Performing Arts (Optional Enrollment ONLY)
CLASS PIANO I, II, III, & IV
CREATIVE WRITING I & II
DANCE I, II, III, & IV
MUSIC THEORY & HARMONY
ORCHESTRA I, II, III, & IV
PHOTOGRAPHY
SENIOR BAND I, II, III, & IV
STAGE BAND I, II, III, & IV
SHOW CHOIR
THEATRE ARTS I, II, III,& IV
VISUAL DESIGN I & II
VOCAL MUSIC I, II, III, & IV
HONORS COURSE REQUIREMENTS
 Select an application to an honors course of your
choice.
 Student must show proof of completion of prerequisite courses.

Pre-requisites vary by course
 Student must complete summer assignments.
 All students must complete the final exam which will
be graded by the teacher.
 Grade Point Average is calculated based on semester
grades for each semester taken.
MCS POLICY
4.600
 Un-weighted GPA – The un-weighted GPA for
students is calculated based on the un-weighted
semester grades for each semester taken.
 State of Tennessee Uniform Grading System
Grade Point Average
(GPA)
Weighted GPA (Hope/Lottery Scholarship GPA) –
The Hope/Lottery Scholarship GPA is calculated by
the district’s student management system and
includes the addition of three (3) percentage points to
the semester grades for honors and national industry
certification courses and the addition of five (5)
percentage points for advanced placement and
international baccalaureate courses that have end-ofcourse national examinations.
 Memphis City Schools Weighted GPA – The MCS
weighted GPA is calculated using the following grade
points assigned to each letter grade for courses in
grades 7-12 and will depend upon course difficulty as
seen on the next slide:
WEIGHTED GPA
Enriched (Level 6)
AP (Level 8)
A = 5 grade points
B = 4 grade points
C = 3 grade points
D = 1 grade point
F = 0 grade points
A = 6 grade points
B = 5 grade points
C = 4 grade points
D = 1 grade point
F = 0 grade points
STANDARD (Lev el 4)
A = 4 grade points
B = 3 grade points C=2 grade points
D = 1 grade points F= 0 grade points
AP AND HONOR STAFF
AP / HONORS COURSE REGISTRATION
 Applications are available tonight and through March





7
Upon completion, the application should be given to
the teacher for recommendation from March 7 – 10
All applications will be reviewed and candidates
selected from March 11-23
Candidates will be notified of acceptance by March 24
The last day to drop an AP or honors class is April 29
Pick up summer assignments May 16-24
NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY
CRITERIA
 To be considered for membership in the National Honor Society a student must be
a sophomore, junior, or senior.
 Candidates for membership in the NHS must have been in attendance at the
school for the equivalent of one semester. Based on the recommendation of the
principal at the student’s previous school, the Faculty Council may waive this
provision for transfer students and students with special circumstances, such as
students of military parents who are required to move with parents who have
transferred in their work.
 To be considered for membership in the NHS a Memphis City Schools student
must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5. No student’s GPA shall be
adjusted from weighted to unweighted or from unweighted to weighted for
eligibility or admission into the NHS. A local chapter may raise the GPA standard
above the district minimum, apply it fairly and consistently to all students, and
include this standard in their locally published selection procedures.
 Faculty Councils at local schools shall also set specific standards for character,
leadership, and service in accordance with the guidelines established by the
NHS/NJHS (must be publicized as above).
NHS Screening, Selection and Admission Process
 The Faculty Council shall establish selection procedures consistent with the
rules and regulations of the NHS, Procedures for screening and selecting
candidates and admitting students to the local chapter must address the
following:
A. Notifying parents and the general student population of the eligibility
and admission criteria and timelines associated with the screening,
selection, and admission process
B. Identifying students who meet the eligibility criteria regarding
cumulative GPA
C. Once scholarship criteria have been met, conducting a review of each
candidate based on character, leadership, and service (and
citizenship for NJHS)
D. Communicating the decision of the Faculty Council to the student and
parents
E. Inviting students for membership in the organization
 Each school shall conduct at least one induction ceremony each school year
to admit the selected candidates.
CONTACTS
 Linda Sklar
416-5338
Division of Optional Schools and
Advanced Academics
 Janet Haire
416-7992
 Susan Edelman
416-3471
Honors Program Coordinator
AP Coordinator
 Brett Lawson, Principal
416-2021
 Greg Billings, Asst. Principal
416-2142
CAPA and University Academies
 Ashley Tipton, Professional Counselor
CAPA and University Academies
416-2031