SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING DEPARTMENT:

Individual Planning -- Provide activities that help students plan, monitor, and manage their own learning and their personal and career development;

Group Guidance Activities --Small groups from both inside and outside of the classroom help students to identify interests or needs;

Career/College Planning -- Provide resources and services to assist students in making post-secondary, educational and/or occupational transitions;

Parental Outreach -- Provide information regarding educational and/or occupational opportunities for students;

Team work/Staff -- Guidance and counseling services should be the shared responsibilities of not only the certified counselor, but also parents, teachers, administrators, other school personnel, community resource persons, and where appropriate, other students;

Resource -- Act as a resource to help the school evaluate its program as it relates to the educational goals of all students.
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NOTE TO PARENTS: BUILDING A MASTER SCHEDULE

Did you know that students drive the scheduling process? It’s true. The courses we offer and the number of times each course is offered depends on the student. That is why each year we ask students to think carefully about the courses they choose. So, just how does this really work? The scheduling process begins each year with students selecting the courses they want and need to take in the upcoming year. Since there are eight blocks which need to be filled, all students must sign up for a minimum of eight credits. In addition, students are asked to give us two more credits of course choices because it is not always possible for a student to schedule all of his or her first choice classes.

Next, all student course selections are entered into the computer and a course tally is run to find out how many students signed up for each course. The number of sections offered for each course is determined by the total number of students wishing to take this course. Thus, there will be more sections of a course requested by a lot of students. On the other hand, a course requested by only a very few students might not be offered at all. These decisions are based upon the number of available staff in a particular area and on the maximum class size.

Armed with all this information about course tallies, teacher availability, and class size, a master schedule is built. This is the most time consuming task in the scheduling process. The goal is to develop a master schedule which will enable the majority of students to take every course for which they are registered. Once a master schedule is built, it is tested by
using actual student requests. Knowing that some class combinations are harder to schedule than others, a cross section of student schedules are developed. Usually some problems surface at this point and the master schedule is changed to accommodate the needs of the students. This test – refine – test process may occur many times before the master schedule is finalized. The master schedule is deemed finished when it meets the needs of the most students possible.

So, why don’t students get every class they want? Because it is virtually impossible to develop such a perfect schedule which could accommodate over 1600 students. For example, students who choose several classes where only one section is offered may find that one class conflicts with another. This is unavoidable if the schedule is to meet the needs of the vast majority. This is why it is vital to have some second choice options available.

ACADEMIC LEVELS

CREDITS FOR CLASS STANDING

Class standing is determined by the number of credits a student has at the end of a school year.

Sophomore: 5 credits minimum
Junior: 11 credits minimum
Senior: 18 credits minimum

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INDEPENDENT STUDY

Independent study is an option for junior and senior students who have demonstrated an ability to do advanced work and who desire to investigate academic topics beyond the scope of learning experiences offered in the program of studies at Spaulding High School. No more than one independent study may be taken per semester. The deadlines for initiating and completing regularly scheduled courses are applicable to independent studies. Students considering independent study should first consult with their guidance counselor to receive initial permission. Students seeking credit for college course should see their guidance counselor.

ADD/DROP POLICY

The administration has made every effort to create optimal schedules for students, and the guidance counselors are available throughout the spring and summer to make necessary changes. Once a course has started, students may not initiate schedule changes. Schedule changes are not always possible due to teacher and room availability, scheduling conflicts and available seats. In addition, all students will benefit from a balanced master schedule, which is characterized by evenly distributing class sizes throughout the day. This will allow more students to take advantage of the benefits of smaller class sizes and more individualized attention from teachers. Once our master schedule is built it is very difficult to make changes without negatively impacting other students and teachers. Therefore, schedule changes will not be made unless one or more of the following criteria is evident:
1. The student is enrolled in a course with a teacher, with whom they have previously failed the course.
2. The student has not earned the appropriate grade in a prerequisite course.
3. The student has not been enrolled in the appropriate level of a course.
Spaulding High Schools administration will not grant a schedule change without a meeting that includes a principal, parent, teacher and counselor, to determine if the change is absolutely necessary. In the event that a student is allowed to withdraw after a class has begun, academic records will reflect either a “W” or a “WF”, dependent upon whether the student was passing (W) or failing (WF) the course at the time of the withdrawal.

In the event a schedule change is made, it is the student’s responsibility to make arrangements with the teacher to make up work that was assigned before the class was added. It is also the responsibility of the student to return all school property such as textbooks or uniforms to the teachers who issued them.

Students must continue to attend all classes while in the process of attempting a schedule change, because attendance records will follow them to their new class. If the schedule change is denied and a student has missed several days, they could be in jeopardy of receiving an administrative failure or accumulating a large amount of make-up work.
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