Veritaserum Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Dd13 was just accepted into a small liberal arts charter school for 8th grade this fall. This school would be a wonderful fit for my almost-15yo, too. As a sibling of an accepted student, my older child has a much, much higher chance of getting in for this fall. We have an appointment to meet with the high school counselor to go over credits. I was told that 12 credits are required in order to be admitted as a sophomore. My older child attended one term at our local public school in fall 2014 for the beginning of 9th grade, but we switched to homeschool in November due to bullying. If she had stayed at the school all year, she would have earned 8 credits. She earned 2 from that first term. In preparation for our meeting with the counselor, I examined all of my older child's hobbies to see what I could count as elective credits. Between core work (accredited and non-accredited) and elective credits, I've cobbled together a total of 10 homeschool credits (not all completed, yet). It just seems like a really high number, considering that only 24 credits are needed to graduate from high school. I'm kind of worried that 12 might be a ludicrous number of credits to be earned in a single school year. Two of the elective credits are for art (pencil and paper drawing as one and digital drawing in Photoshop as another) because dd draws for several hours every day. She's very talented and takes her art seriously. A month ago my older child accepted a position at a different school this fall. They are only asking us for accredited math, English, and a particular history course because those are state requirements for graduation. The rest of the needed credits will be earned while attending the school. This school is a dual enrollment high school located on a university campus. It's a good school, but emotionally I think my older child would do better at the smaller, more nurturing school we are meeting with this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 I would first inquire whether their definition of "credit" is really equivalent to one year of high school, or whether they are counting semester credits, which would make a lot more sense. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Agree with Regentrude, I can't imagine their students are earning 12 full year credits in a single school year unless they award credit differently than most high schools. Find out how credits work at this school. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Is it possible there was some kind of mis-communication and someone gave you the number of credits required for a student entering in 11th grade not 10th? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 I think this may be Utah with their crazy 1/2 year equals one credit as I remember but don't quote me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 For comparison, incoming 9th graders at this school are supposed to already have 7 high school credits. It doesn't make sense to me. Here's what the letter from the school says: "If you are transferring from another school, it is important to remember that your class in high school is based on the credit you have earned. Please note the following general guidelines (although exceptions may be made based on home schooling, travel, illness, IEPs, and other extenuating circumstances): "A student who has earned a minimum of: â— 7 credit hours will be admitted as a freshman. â— 12 credit hours will be admitted as a sophomore â— 18 credit hours will be admitted as a junior â— 22 credit hours will be admitted as a senior "Students must earn a minimum of 28 credit hours in the appropriate core and elective classes to graduate." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Odd. you're going to have to clarify meaning with the school. Do all their 8th graders earn high school credits OR does the 7 credits required for entry as a freshman mean 8th grade level? If so can your dd's 8th grade work count? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Most places a kid entering 9th grade will have a minimum of *0* credits. Some incoming 9th graders have taken the first year of a foreign language, or Algebra I, or maybe one of a few other high school equivalent classes in middle school, but that's definitely not the norm or required. Since they require 7 credits for incoming freshmen, I'd talk to them directly and ask what in the world they consider credits. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Honestly, it seems like it could be a typo or a poor piece of writing. I could make more sense out of that: A student who has earned a MAXIMUM of:â— 7 credit hours will be admitted as a freshman.â— 12 credit hours will be admitted as a sophomoreâ— 18 credit hours will be admitted as a juniorâ— 22 credit hours will be admitted as a senior 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Definitely find out from the school what they mean by "credit". I'd also look into the syllabi for some of the 8th grade and 9th grade classes -- what materials were used, how much was covered, amount of output etc. That would give you a comparison for how to count your homeschool credits. For comparison, incoming 9th graders at this school are supposed to already have 7 high school credits. It doesn't make sense to me.Here's what the letter from the school says:"If you are transferring from another school, it is important to remember that your class in high school is based on the credit you have earned. Please note the following general guidelines (although exceptions may be made based on home schooling, travel, illness, IEPs, and other extenuating circumstances):"A student who has earned a minimum of:◠7 credit hours will be admitted as a freshman.◠12 credit hours will be admitted as a sophomore◠18 credit hours will be admitted as a junior◠22 credit hours will be admitted as a senior"Students must earn a minimum of 28 credit hours in the appropriate core and elective classes to graduate." This is a baffling list to me; I get that these are minimums and that the student likely will do more than the minimum, BUT… it makes no sense of how the student meets the minimum high school credits for each year: 8th grade = 7 credits high school work (to meet the 7 credit min. to be admitted as 9th gr.) 9th grade = 5 credits (for 12 credit min. for 10th grade --> 7+5=12) 10th grade = 6 credits (for 18 credit min. for 11th grade --> 7+5+6=18) 11 grade = 4 credits (for 22 credit min. for 12th grade --> 7+5+6+6+4=22) 12 grade = 6 credits (for 28 credit min. to graduate --> 7+5+6+6+4+6=28) graduate = 28 credits Definitely time to get some specifics on what they mean by "credit", and how much work constitutes a "credit". BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*LC Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 I think they are missing the word under. Under 7 will be freshmen Under 12 will be sophomores Etc Hope it works out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 I think they are missing the word under. Under 7 will be freshmen Under 12 will be sophomores Etc Hope it works out I think it must either be this or 1 credit must be granted per course per semester. Normally, I would call a one semester course 0.5 credit and a full year 1 credit. They might be calling one semester 1 credit and a full year 2 credits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 I looked through the handbook and at one point it list service hour requirements. Each 35 hours of service equals .25 credit, so they seem to be using a typical hours/credits scale. I emailed for clarification. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 You'll have to come back and tell us what you find out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 Ok, the counselor confirmed via email that .25 credit = 35 hours. I was at the middle school to register my 13yo and the middle school director thinks the guidelines are due to a problem they've had with transfer students coming to the high school with situations like claiming to be a junior with a really low number of credits. She said that you can be a 10th grade freshman and once you get more credits you become a sophomore, etc. Grade level and and title are apparently separated at this school. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Did she explain about needing high school credits before becoming a freshman? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 It seems to only apply to transfer students. Their 8th graders only earn high school credits if they are advanced in math or taking a foreign language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Ok, the counselor confirmed via email that .25 credit = 35 hours. I was at the middle school to register my 13yo and the middle school director thinks the guidelines are due to a problem they've had with transfer students coming to the high school with situations like claiming to be a junior with a really low number of credits. She said that you can be a 10th grade freshman and once you get more credits you become a sophomore, etc. Grade level and and title are apparently separated at this school. So to keep people from claiming to be juniors with only a handful of classes they require students to have about a year more than their grade level peers when they transfer in? What is freshman, junior etc in high school if it doesn't correspond to grade level. (Colleges give different standing based on credits, but they also have students graduating earlier than and later than the 4 year point. ) Are you comfortable with the school in other respects? This policy would make me wary that they either didn't have it all together or that they tended to make up policies on the fly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 So to keep people from claiming to be juniors with only a handful of classes they require students to have about a year more than their grade level peers when they transfer in Yeah, their reasoning makes absolutely no sense. If some people were trying to transfer in with too few credits, the answer is to require a certain *normal* number of credits for a certain standing, not *double* the amount of credits that kid needs - or in the case of incoming freshmen, they basically require they have had an entire *year* of high school credits *before* entering as freshmen? That's nuts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 We LOVE the school besides this confusing and strange policy. I've toured both the K-8 and 9-12 school buildings. The school is very similar to an overgrown homeschool in philosophy and culture. My 13yo was registered for a better organized school, but the culture and educational philosophy were not as great a fit. My almost-15yo is currently registered for a very organized school, but this other school would be a much better fit. The organized schools both are more "one size fits all" while this other school allows for more individual adaptation. The confusion certainly bothers me, but the pros considerably outweigh the cons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 Do they allow for 5 year plans? I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 Update: We met with the high school counselor and she looked over the transcript and course descriptions I provided. I ended up awarding 8 credits for our homeschool year with 1 credit planned for this summer. Combined with the 2.0 credits earned at the PS first term, that totals 11. We went through a graduation requirement worksheet and the counselor crossed off things that we've done at home. She said she needs to get final approval from the director of the school, but she didn't think that would be a problem. She said some of our homeschool classes looked similar to classes they've offered at the school. I never got around to asking about the whole 12 credits thing. She didn't bring it up. I wonder if it's just something weird on the registrar's end. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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