Please critique my HS plan

[Daria]

I'm pretty sure that we've made the decisions to 1) Pull DS16 from PS next year and homeschool using a combination of DE and online classes 2) Give him an extra year before graduating him, to make up for a rocky start due to medical reasons.

 

DS's current goal is a B.F.A. in tech theater.  The goal would be for him to enter with most gen eds taken care of to allow a reduced course load the first couple years.  Of course, he could easily change his mind and do something totally different, so I'd like a program that has the potential to lead to an A.A., or transfer to a variety of other degrees. 

 

Will have by the end of the year (from PS or online classes)

 

English: Advanced English*, Honors English 9, Honors English 10, AP Language A (first half)

 

Math: Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2

 

Science: Honors Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, Astronomy

 

Social Science: Honors US History, Honors World History, Honors Government

 

Languages: Arabic 1, Spanish 1

 

Health and P.E.:  1 full year each of Health and Weightlifting

 

Electives: Intro to Engineering, Theater 1

 

*This is what our PS calls a HS level English class, taken in 8th grade in the PS.  

 

 

Here's what I'm thinking of for next year

 

Summer session 

 

AP Language B online (second half)

 

P.E. or health credit at Community College (to get his feet wet)

 

20 hour a week theater internship 

 

 

Fall session

 

Math for College Readiness (online FLVS)

 

Spanish 2A either online or with AO LIfepacs OR ASL 1 online

 

English 101 (at CC)

 

Stagecraft or Intro to Drawing (at CC)

 

1 credit PE class (at CC)

 

Theater Internship (will be listed as a credit class)

 

 

Winter Session

 

Social Science Distribution (at CC) 

 

 

Spring Session

 

AP Macroeconomics online

 

Spanish 2B, or ASL 2

 

English 102 (at CC)

 

Stagecraft or Intro to Drawing (at CC)

 

Performance Production (1 credit, at CC)

 

Theater Internship? (Depending on how involved he ends up in the CC theater)

 

 

And for his super senior year

 

AP Microeconomics online

 

AP Stats online

 

Maybe more foreign language, maybe not

 

2 Science Distributions

 

Communication Distribution

 

200 level tech theater classes -- or if he's changed interests, classes in whatever he's interested in

 

Maybe more internship

 

 

Does that sound like a reasonable plan?

Edited March 1, 2016 by Daria

[Brad S]

Nothing immediately strikes me as unreasonable.

[Erica in OR]

Is there a specific reason for having another P.E. credit in the fall session? Otherwise, it seems like overkill, with the weightlifting and potential summer P.E. With two other CC courses in that same session that would might require significant time (English writing and if he goes with the drawing class), plus foreign language, I'd opt to have more time than another P.E. credit on the transcript.

 

Erica in OR

 

 

[Daria]

Is there a specific reason for having another P.E. credit in the fall session? Otherwise, it seems like overkill, with the weightlifting and potential summer P.E. With two other CC courses in that same session that would might require significant time (English writing and if he goes with the drawing class), plus foreign language, I'd opt to have more time than another P.E. credit on the transcript.

 

Erica in OR

He loves sports as much as theater. The only thing he is sad about with leaving PS is that he won't be on a team, so he's hoping that taking a P.E. Class, probably more weightlifting, will let him make some friends to workout with.

 

I do worry that it will be too much. I figure that if it looks that way we can draw out the math and the Spanish and skip Econ.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Daria

[KarenNC]

He loves sports as much as theater. The only thing he is sad about with leaving PS is that he won't be on a team, so he's hoping that taking a P.E. Class, probably more weightlifting, will let him make some friends to workout with.

 

I do worry that it will be too much. I figure that if it looks that way we can draw out the math and the Spanish and skip Econ.

 

Would he have access to the fitness center at the community college? If so, perhaps he could set a fairly regular time to go workout without taking a class, in hopes of running into other folks who come at similar times.

 

Have you double checked that all of the classes will be available to him through dual enrollment? I realize it's different in different areas. Here, there is a specific list of classes available for dual enrollment which doesn't include things like theater and PE. Students can't go off this list, even in summer and full pay, until they finish the prescribed track of course options. Students would also have to be designated junior or senior, no supersenior year option.

 

I'm a bit surprised there is a summer second half online of an AP English class, since the test is only available in the spring.

 

If he's passionate about theater, I'm sure you already know that any theater involvement takes a ton of time, and this seems a heavy courseload for someone who also wants to spend a lot of time with theater (perhaps in two settings, since it sounds like the internship is not at the CC?).

 

As always, check a few colleges in which he might be interested to see their admission requirements and whether the courses he takes will transfer as general ed rather than electives. Doesn't mean don't take them if they don't, but it should be a conscious choice.

 

You might also want to check into the option of some CLEP tests for courses he's taking at home or has already taken, assuming that the CC and the destination college accepts them. You could check this FB page for some info (she also has state-specific pages) https://www.facebook.com/HomeschoolingforCollegeCredit/. That might help with some credit options without having to take another class.

Edited March 1, 2016 by KarenNC

[Daria]

Thanks, this is super helpful!

 

Would he have access to the fitness center at the community college? If so, perhaps he could set a fairly regular time to go workout without taking a class, in hopes of running into other folks who come at similar times.

 

He'd have access to the gym, but he is, as I like to say, a shy extrovert.  So, he loves other people but isn't great at seeking them out.  I think the structure of a group all working out at the same time would be good, am I overlooking some part of a CC 1 credit weightlifting class that would be harder than I expect?  Will there be weightlifting papers or tests or something that I'm not anticipating?  I've never taken a college PE classes.

 

Have you double checked that all of the classes will be available to him through dual enrollment? I realize it's different in different areas. Here, there is a specific list of classes available for dual enrollment which doesn't include things like theater and PE. Students can't go off this list, even in summer and full pay, until they finish the prescribed track of course options. Students would also have to be designated junior or senior, no supersenior year option.

 

As far as rules, the rules in our state are very unfriendly in some ways.  For example, DE homeschooled students pay the same tuition as everyone else, and PS kids can't use DE credits to meet any graduation requirements other than "elective".  But on the other hand, it appears that he can take any non-remedial class where he's met the prerequisites.  My guess is that he won't pass into college math on the Accuplacer, which rules out about 1/2 the courses, but otherwise he can take anything that isn't full when he registers.  

 

I'm a bit surprised there is a summer second half online of an AP English class, since the test is only available in the spring.

 

He's taking it through Florida Virtual, so it's asynchronous.  They let him slow down when he was really struggling earlier this year, so the end date is pushed back to July.  

 

If he's passionate about theater, I'm sure you already know that any theater involvement takes a ton of time, and this seems a heavy courseload for someone who also wants to spend a lot of time with theater (perhaps in two settings, since it sounds like the internship is not at the CC?).

 

Theater first semester probably won't be at the CC.  I want the transition to be gradual, so he'll probably stay at the theater where he's been for the past few years.  Once he's gotten some connections at CC we'll see about having him do all his theater at the college.  

It's a huge school, 60,000 students I think, so I'm figuring there will be lots of sections of things like English 101.  I'm hoping that means he can figure out a schedule where he's got English and whatever art he takes on the same days, and can be at the theater for whole days on other days.  The other two classes, language and math, would be asynchronous  so he could fit them around the CC classes and theater, and let them ebb and flow (e.g. take exam week off, take tech week for a play off).  

 

As always, check a few colleges in which he might be interested to see their admission requirements and whether the courses he takes will transfer as general ed rather than electives. Doesn't mean don't take them if they don't, but it should be a conscious choice.

 

Looking at different course options, it's hard to know where he'll end up college wise, but looking at a few of his likely favorites everything he's planning to take this year will either transfer and meet a requirement, or as an elective.  Drawing would be an elective, but if he's going to make it through conservatory scenic design courses, he'll need the skills even if he doesn't need the credit.  They might make him repeat Stagecraft, but again, I think that's OK as he'll have the skills to do well the second time.  

 

You might also want to check into the option of some CLEP tests for courses he's taking at home or has already taken, assuming that the CC and the destination college accepts them. You could check this FB page for some info (she also has state-specific pages) https://www.facebook.com/HomeschoolingforCollegeCredit/. That might help with some credit options without having to take another class.

 

Thanks, I'll look into that.

 

You guys are making me worried that it's too much of a load.  Maybe I need to find the easiest Spanish possible, and rethink Econ, although we won't need to make that choice until January.  

 

Does anyone have a sense of how much work to expect in a class like Intro to Drawing for a kid who is not an artist?  He'll need the drawing skills for his chosen major, but he is very much a technician, not an artist.  Long term, he wants to hang lights and build scenery, and manage the budget and the scene shop, not design the set.

[Erica in OR]

Does anyone have a sense of how much work to expect in a class like Intro to Drawing for a kid who is not an artist?  He'll need the drawing skills for his chosen major, but he is very much a technician, not an artist.  Long term, he wants to hang lights and build scenery, and manage the budget and the scene shop, not design the set.

 

I took a Intro to Drawing (3 credit/1 semester) at a major university when I was an undergraduate, with no previous art background. The time needed outside of class was extensive to do multiple major projects (they might have just seemed major since I had no experience). Maybe he could talk to the instructor ahead of time, to see discuss the syllabus and possible time commitment?

 

Erica in OR

[Mom22ns]

Thanks, this is super helpful!

 

 

You guys are making me worried that it's too much of a load.  Maybe I need to find the easiest Spanish possible, and rethink Econ, although we won't need to make that choice until January.  

 

Does anyone have a sense of how much work to expect in a class like Intro to Drawing for a kid who is not an artist?  He'll need the drawing skills for his chosen major, but he is very much a technician, not an artist.  Long term, he wants to hang lights and build scenery, and manage the budget and the scene shop, not design the set.

 

I don't know your child, but that is a heavy load. For fall, you have 4 CC classes which makes him a full time student, plus 2 online classes which could easily mean he is taking the equivalent of 18 college credits! Most college students can't manage that, let alone a high school junior. That doesn't mean yours can't. But neither of mine could. You might consider actually homeschooling a few classes so that he has more flexibility in his schedule if the load proves too heavy.

 

The only class I would rethink is the math for college readiness. Why not do Pre-Calc or College Algebra instead? He could do it at home with Lial's instead of online with FLVS. If his future college will accept it, he could take the CLEP afterwards and between that and AP Stats, he might not have to take math as a college student. If he does, I think it would still be a good solid college prep math.

 

ETA: The workload for drawing at ds's college is completely instructor dependent. He took it with a professor that only gave homework if she had to cancel a class, otherwise all work was done in class. According to reviews of one of the other drawing professors, from him you could expect 4-8 hrs of homework per week in addition to the 6 hours/week of class time, all for 3 credits. :svengo:

Edited March 2, 2016 by Momto2Ns

[Daria]

I don't know your child, but that is a heavy load. For fall, you have 4 CC classes which makes him a full time student, plus 2 online classes which could easily mean he is taking the equivalent of 18 college credits! Most college students can't manage that, let alone a high school junior. That doesn't mean yours can't. But neither of mine could. You might consider actually homeschooling a few classes so that he has more flexibility in his schedule if the load proves too heavy.

 

The only class I would rethink is the math for college readiness. Why not do Pre-Calc or College Algebra instead? He could do it at home with Lial's instead of online with FLVS. If his future college will accept it, he could take the CLEP afterwards and between that and AP Stats, he might not have to take math as a college student. If he does, I think it would still be a good solid college prep math.

 

ETA: The workload for drawing at ds's college is completely instructor dependent. He took it with a professor that only gave homework if she had to cancel a class, otherwise all work was done in class. According to reviews of one of the other drawing professors, from him you could expect 4-8 hrs of homework per week in addition to the 6 hours/week of class time, all for 3 credits. :svengo:

 

The language and the math would be at home with high school level curriculum.  The math class is, as I understand it, a class that's specifically designed for kids that have completed Algebra 2 but aren't ready for PreCalc, so I'm hoping it's an easier choice.  For Spanish, I'm leaning towards the Alpha Omega LifePac curriculum, because it seems easy and relatively straight forward.

 

He'll have 7 college credits (3 for art, 3 for English, 1 for PE)  and 2 HS classes in the fall, plus the internship.  We'll document for credit for the internship through NARHS, only because most of the theaters will only let kids work or volunteer in the daytime if they're earning credit.  But it would be for HS level credit, not college credit.  

 

Does that sound more manageable?

[Mom22ns]

Does that sound more manageable?

 

Yes, it does. :)

[Daria]

OK, I think I have another option.  It looks like he can register for Introduction to Drawing for either credit or noncredit.  If it's noncredit, it doesn't go on the CC transcript, although I assume I could document it for NARHS if he does well, and I want to document it as a class.

 

If he can't get into Stagecraft, that might make the following schedule for fall:

 

English 101 (at CC, 3 Credits)

Weightlifting (at CC, 1 Credit)

 

Drawing (at CC, no credit)

 

Math for College Readiness (FLVS, HS level)

 

Spanish 2 (Lifepac?  I'm looking for easy and probably cheap here)

 

Theater Internship (10 hours?)

 

Probably some recreational dance, martial arts, or parkour classes.  

 

Does that sound reasonable?

[Matryoshka]

ETA: The workload for drawing at ds's college is completely instructor dependent. He took it with a professor that only gave homework if she had to cancel a class, otherwise all work was done in class. According to reviews of one of the other drawing professors, from him you could expect 4-8 hrs of homework per week in addition to the 6 hours/week of class time, all for 3 credits. :svengo:

 

Gah, don't scare me - dd's taking Drawing as a summer course, so she'll have 2 hours of class 4x a week for a month.  I was figuring with that intense schedule, they'd get most of the drawing done in class.  This is a CC class, not a university one.  Drawing 1 + Drawing 2 (two courses) transfers to one Basic Drawing class at a local State U.

 

I took some kind of a drawing class in college (the kind with a nude model and still lifes), and I don't ever remember having to draw outside of class...

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Do you plan to have him take the AP English Language exam at any point?  I'm guessing that he's not taking it this May, since he didn't finish the course.  What do the English 101 and English 102 courses cover?  Will he find that the transfer credit he would get for English 101 would be the same credit he would get for the AP English Language exam score?

 

If he does the AP English Language course over the summer, will he be in a good position to take the exam in May 2017?  

 

If he's not going to take the AP Exam, would it be better to shift to a non AP oriented English half credit to finish out his junior year English?  He could do a semester worth of literature or drama.  Given his interest in stage work, it might be an opportunity to do a specific comparison of written works and dramatizations.  Read the book, watch the movie, write about the choices made in the production.  Read a play, watch a couple productions, write about the staging decisions and what added and detracted from the work.  

[Daria]

Do you plan to have him take the AP English Language exam at any point?  I'm guessing that he's not taking it this May, since he didn't finish the course.  What do the English 101 and English 102 courses cover?  Will he find that the transfer credit he would get for English 101 would be the same credit he would get for the AP English Language exam score?

 

If he does the AP English Language course over the summer, will he be in a good position to take the exam in May 2017?  

 

If he's not going to take the AP Exam, would it be better to shift to a non AP oriented English half credit to finish out his junior year English?  He could do a semester worth of literature or drama.  Given his interest in stage work, it might be an opportunity to do a specific comparison of written works and dramatizations.  Read the book, watch the movie, write about the choices made in the production.  Read a play, watch a couple productions, write about the staging decisions and what added and detracted from the work.  

 

I don't plan to have him take the exam.  For this kid, I want the transition to college to be gradual, with a lot of success up front.  So, if English 101 is a repeat of AP Language, that's fine with me!  

 

We'll probably stick with the AP Language class for a variety of reasons.  One is that it's got a fantastic teacher, and she likes him and has offered to write his college recommendation.  Another is that he'll probably start the class before the end of the year, and I want to keep the option of returning to public open until we see how the CC course goes this summer.  Our PS is very limited in what they will count for credit, and it took a lot of negotiation to get them to agree to this particular course. 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I don't plan to have him take the exam.  For this kid, I want the transition to college to be gradual, with a lot of success up front.  So, if English 101 is a repeat of AP Language, that's fine with me!  

 

We'll probably stick with the AP Language class for a variety of reasons.  One is that it's got a fantastic teacher, and she likes him and has offered to write his college recommendation.  Another is that he'll probably start the class before the end of the year, and I want to keep the option of returning to public open until we see how the CC course goes this summer.  Our PS is very limited in what they will count for credit, and it took a lot of negotiation to get them to agree to this particular course. 

 

Makes sense.

[Daria]

So, DS has just thrown a wrench in the plan.

 

We sat down on Monday and had a long talk.  He told me he liked the plan, and that he was happy to give up football if it meant he'd be at college all day.

 

Today, he came home from school "Coach (Football coach) talked to me today.  He is so proud of me for going out for track!  He thinks I'll get fast enough to play fullback next year!  Wouldn't that be great?" 

 

It was like the conversation never happened.  

 

So, we'll see.  If he stays in PS he can do some DE, but only electives.  He can't use any DE classes to meet graduation requirements.   So, no English.  Plus, if he's playing a sport, and taking 2 classes in the building, the classes he could choose between would be quite limited.