Grade 9 and 10 Course Selection

Thanks to everyone who attended our course selection presentation on February 1, which focused on our rising sophomores and juniors. We hope you found the information helpful, and please know that we appreciate any questions that may come up. The information below will also be relevant for current grade 11 students.

Some direction in terms of questions:
- For big-picture questions about a student's general program, the guidance counselor is the first line of defense. They will have discussed options with students and will have the best idea of the full complement of courses.
- For questions about specific course recommendations from one course in a sequence/department to the next, get in touch with your child's current teacher.
- For questions about courses in a discipline or the Program of Studies in general, contact a department leader, guidance counselor or administrator.
- For questions about special education services and how they relate to the schedule, contact the Team Chair or your child's liaison.

Some highlights:
- For rising juniors and seniors, we have the option(s) of some Early College courses offered through Quinsigamond Community College. To be eligible for a course, the student must take and successfully attain a passing score on Accuplacer, which is the college placement test. From there, if the course runs at UHS with a UHS teacher teaching said course, the course has a $100 fee to the college for the three credits; if the course runs virtually at UHS with a QCC faculty member teaching the class online, the course has a $250 charge. The three credits the student earns are transferable to any of the Massachusetts state college and universities, and we are working on articulation to ensure that they are transferable to all New England state colleges and universities. Please contact a guidance counselor if you want to explore this option.
- Pending approval of the Program of Studies at next week's School Committee meeting, we will have a few new courses, which are listed in the presentation linked below. Some of these include Principles of Biomedical Science (science/engineering full-year elective); Stress Management (PE), Sport Science/Kinesiology (PE), and Psychology II (social studies).
- We also are finalists in a process for an Innovation Pathway distinction with the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which marries our engineering courses to apprenticeships with the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce. Students who complete our three-year engineering sequence will be prepared for an apprenticeship with engineering and manufacturing companies in the region, which could lead to paid positions and employment, as well as college credit, both as upperclassmen and/or graduates.
- For students considering internships, start with the guidance counselor!

Next steps:
- Students will be discussing course recommendations with teachers over the next week or so.
- Course selection sheets will be distributed to students on Monday, as we meet with students in assemblies.
- Students will meet with guidance counselors to input course selections just before February vacation.
- Counselors will communicate with students and families in the event that a change is needed or a desired course is not running.

The page with all the information about course selection can be found on the high school webpage, under the academic tab with the "scheduling" link, as well as linked here: https://sites.google.com/a/uxbridge.k12.ma.us/the-uxbridge-high-school/scheduling. The Program of Studies link will be updated for the 2018-19 version if and when it is approved.

We very much appreciate the questions that have already come our way, as well as the conversations that we know will occur regarding course selection, programming, and planning in the next several weeks. Please let us know how we can be helpful!