High School Course Plan

Parents Forum
1

My daughter is an incoming 8th grader. She is starting to plan out her HS classes.

Here is her schedule for this upcoming year:
Algebra 1 Honors-HS credit
Science 8 Advanced
U.S History Advanced
English Language Arts Advanced
Advanced Dance 3
Beginning Spanish

Here is our HS course plan for her:

Summer before 9th grade-
Intro to Public Speaking- DE Course
HOPE- online and no honors

9th grade-
Geometry Honors
Biology Honors
World History Honors- online because her HS doesn’t offer a history course freshman year
English 1 Honors
Spanish 1- no honors available
Dance Techniques 1- no honors available

Summer before 10th grade-
Micro-Computer Applications- DE Course
U.S Government Honors- half credit and online

10th grade-
Algebra 2 Honors
Chemistry Honors
U.S History Honors
English 2 Honors
Spanish 2- online and no honors available
Dance Techniques 2- no honors available
Driver’s Ed and Creative Writing 1- both half credits and no honors available

Summer before 11th grade-
Intro to Psychology- DE Course
Economics with Financial Literacy Honors- half credit and online

11th grade- All DE Courses
College Algebra/Intro to Statistics
Human A&P 1 with Lab/ Human A&P 2 with Lab
Educational Psychology/ Lifespan Development
English Composition 1/ English Composition 2
Intermediate Spanish 1/ Intermediate Spanish 2

Summer before 12th grade-
Intro to Humanities- DE Course
Basic ASL- DE Course

12th grade- All DE Courses
Pre-Calculus Algebra/ Calculus 1
Microbiology with Lab/ General Physics 1 with Lab
Intro to Philosophy/ World Religions
Intro to Shakespeare/ World Cinema
Intermediate ASL/ Advanced ASL

2

It looks fine. Isnt college algebra and precalc the same thing though? If not, then (assuming the college is on a semester system) make it go college algebra, precalc, calc 1, stats so she doesn’t forget the math for calc and can maybe take calc 2 or a calc based stats course. For dual enrollment especially, you have to be flexible bevause vlasses might be full or there might be scheduling issues. Also, is it her idea to do the summer classes, online classes, and dual enrollment? If not, she wont be as motivated to work hard in them and that might become a problem.
I hope she has a great 8th grade year!

3

Thank you @snowfairy137 ! Yes, it is her idea. She has always been extremely motivated. She was a part of the Duke TIP Talent Search and scored a 24 composite on the ACT as a 7th grader and is a semifinalist for the JKCF Young Scholars scholarship. At the CC she will be taking classes at, College Algebra and Pre-Calculus Algebra are two separate courses.

4

I don’t think multiple summer classes every single summer are a good idea, even for a kid who really does enjoy classes. Other life experiences are also valuable, even for the academically inclined. And even motivated students need a break sometimes. A challenging high school program is a lot tougher than middle school and most students need some time to recharge.

Are these DE courses taught at her high school or are they at a cc? If at the cc, are there no appropriate courses at her hs? Is she planning on attending your state University? In general, AP credits are better accepted by private colleges.

Algebra 1 Honors-HS credit
Science 8 Advanced
U.S History Advanced
English Language Arts Advanced
Advanced Dance 3
Beginning Spanish

Since she is evidently a capable student, let me ask whether there is any possibility of starting hs courses as an 8th grader. For instance, I see Beginning Spanish, but after a year of that, she’s only going to start in Spanish 1 in 9th grade? That seems like a waste of time. Our kids go into Spanish 2 if they started Spanish in middle school, and they get Spanish 1 credit for the middle school work. Can she take Spanish 1 in middle school?

Here is our HS course plan for her:

Summer before 9th grade-
Intro to Public Speaking- DE Course
HOPE- online and no honors

I don’t know what HOPE is?

You should be aware that DE classes will become part of her college record. Have you thought about how she is going to get to and from all these dual enrollment classes? If you are driving, that’s a major time commitment from you as well.

9th grade-
Geometry Honors
Biology Honors
World History Honors- online because her HS doesn’t offer a history course freshman year
Really? What do the other students do?

English 1 Honors
Spanish 1- no honors available
Dance Techniques 1- no honors available

Summer before 10th grade-
Micro-Computer Applications- DE Course
U.S Government Honors- half credit and online

10th grade-
Algebra 2 Honors
Chemistry Honors
U.S History Honors
English 2 Honors
Spanish 2- online and no honors available
Really, her hs has all those honors classes but doesn’t offer Spanish2?

Dance Techniques 2- no honors available
Driver’s Ed and Creative Writing 1- both half credits and no honors available

Summer before 11th grade-
Intro to Psychology- DE Course
Economics with Financial Literacy Honors- half credit and online

11th grade- All DE Courses
College Algebra/Intro to Statistics
Human A&P 1 with Lab/ Human A&P 2 with Lab
Educational Psychology/ Lifespan Development
English Composition 1/ English Composition 2
Intermediate Spanish 1/ Intermediate Spanish 2

Summer before 12th grade-
Intro to Humanities- DE Course
Basic ASL- DE Course

12th grade- All DE Courses
Pre-Calculus Algebra/ Calculus 1
Microbiology with Lab/ General Physics 1 with Lab
Intro to Philosophy/ World Religions
Intro to Shakespeare/ World Cinema
Intermediate ASL/ Advanced ASL

For all the DE classes you have planned, she doesn’t seem to be progressing very far in math. Most students would choose to take DE statistics class in order to get calculus based statistics, which the one you list evidently is not. You should find out what this college algebra class covers. There is no course called college algebra in the sequence leading up to calculus when you take math in high school. I think it’s a course for college students who didn’t actually learn the math that many hs students complete. Compare the topics with precalculus and with algebra2. Most likely she should take in 11th grade precalculus and calc 1, and then in 12th grade she could take calc2 and either calc based stats or calc 3. But that would be a lot harder also. You didn’t mention what she is interested in, if it’s something like becoming a special ed teacher, which is the best sense I can make of her course choices, then she doesn’t need such advanced math.

Let me also point out that you have her taking 5 college courses per semester. High school students generally take 6-8 yearlong courses–equivalent to 3-4 per semester. You have her taking the equivalent of 10. Maybe she can handle it, it depends a lot on her, and on whether these DE classes are actually much work–some of them look like they will be pretty easy-- and on how much time she spends on ECs in high school. At our school, DE is considered easier than AP, but I think DE varies a lot more in different areas. The process of applying to college also takes a significant amount of time. If she doesn’t need or want as much math as I listed above, she could simply skip the college algebra and have a lighter course load.

If these DE classes are not offered at the hs, you are essentially pulling her out of hs after 2 years which could have a lot of implications for her social life and her ability to participate in hs ECs.

I think it’s a good idea to map out a 4 year hs plan at the time you first start taking hs credit classes (7th or 8th grade). But a lot of this can change so you should focus mostly on whether the upcoming year is the best schedule for her. I wouldn’t agonize too much about what she does in the following years because so much might change. Once she is in hs she may learn things that change her thinking as well.

5

I think once she is 16 she should be looking for other things to do in the summer. Work or volunteer experience is important too.

6

Isn’t HOPE required every year?

7

@mathyone , I’m going to go through this point by point so I don’t miss anything. I will lay it up front that her goal is to graduate HS with her AA. It would allow her to finish a Bachelor’s in Nursing in 2 years, thus minimizing student debt and allow her to start her career sooner.

  1. The DE classes are at the CC, which is 10 minutes from her HS and 10 minutes from our house. She would be taking AP or Honors classes, and we disagree with the way that AP classes are taught, along with test-based credit. You could get an A all year, but score a 2 on the test and not get the credit.
  2. She does plan on attending one of our state universities. We live in Florida and we have excellent nursing programs, which is and has been her passion since she was little.
  3. Her MS requires a year of Spanish before they can start HS credit Spanish. She was unable to take that year of Spanish in 7th grade because of scheduling problems. It would also be more beneficial for her to take the DE Spanish because she will get the college credit and have her foreign language requirement filled for her Bachelor's degree.
  4. HOPE is a Health/P.E class. Dance waives the Personal Fitness portion as well as her Fine Arts requirement.
  5. Her HS is not geared towards top students. If they want a 4th History credit, they must take it online.
  6. They do offer Spanish 2 but she must then choose between Driver's Ed(which is hands-on experience and waives certain parts of her permit test) and Dance(her second passion).
  7. As for her math choices, College Algebra is a class that every college student in Florida must take to get their degree. It is above your basic Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 with college-level work. The Intro to Stats class is a critical pre-req for nursing school.
  8. Full-time dual enrollment is not "essentially pulling her out of HS". She will still be involved in clubs and sports at her HS.
  9. The online summer courses are able to be finished within 1 month if she put in an hour or two every day. The DE Courses are also easier than that of her fall and spring semesters.

PLEASE READ:
I am not trying to be confrontational. I am merely attempting to help further my child’s education.

8

You might want to be careful with making her obtain an AA before applying to colleges. I’m not precisely sure on the rules, but it seems like she could easily be considered a transfer applicant if she had over 30+ hours of college coursework. This could actually hurt her chances at acceptance, as for most schools they don’t really consider the high school coursework or SAT/ACT of the individual applying. Acceptance rates for transfers are also usually lower than those for general admissions.

Also, it’s not necessarily a good thing to graduate early. I know in the case of law school, people that are 22 or under get absolutely killed in admissions to top schools. I’m not sure if med school works the same way, but if your daughter decides she wants to go to medical school her junior or senior year, she could be severely disadvantaged applying to schools as a 19 or 20 year old.

I don’t think anyone here doubts that you’re simply trying to further your daughters education, I think the question is whether or not a lot of this is advisable in the first place. I think, looking at this schedule, that there’s a good chance your daughter will burn out before she ever receives her bachelors.

9

I don’t know how a summer online course can be finished in one month in just an hour or two per day. US government honors is only about 30 hours of work total–instructional time, reading, assignments, tests? You’re saying these aren’t real courses then. So what’s the point of taking them? Why not take driver’s ed over the summer so she can get a real classroom Spanish 2 class?

“College Algebra is a class that every college student in Florida must take to get their degree” This cannot be true. You’re saying that even all students who show up at college with calculus credits are required to go back and take a class that teaches math that they already completed and that college students really should have learned in high school? I am sure what is meant is that students must demonstrate proficiency at the level of college algebra to receive a degree. Not that they must all take this course.

Your daughter is what, 13? And she knows she wants to be a nurse asap? Are you aware how many 18 year olds firmly believe they want to go into the medical field and then change their minds? Yes, kids do change their minds quite a lot. The romanticized ideas of a 5 year old about what nursing is may not match reality.

I think you need to ease up here. She should take time to investigate the health professions and see if this is really the right path for her. And also to learn and think about some alternatives. And enjoy being a kid. Most kids know very little about most professions other than the stereotypical few. It is far more important to get to the right place than to get to the wrong place quickly. Even within the healthcare professions there are many paths. She should make sure she chooses the right one.

Also, she’s only got one semester of physics and no college level chemistry? I don’t know what nursing requirements are but I would hope they include a decent amount of chemistry.

10

Can she do pre-calc/trig in 11th grade and AP or honors calculus in 12th? That’s the usual sequence for academically minded kids around here.

And I agree with others about not scheduling classes every summer.There is nothing wrong with working at the ice cream store or babysitting!

11

Actually, “college” algebra looks like part of high school level precalculus. Presumably, college students in Florida who place into a more advanced math course (due to having taken precalculus or higher in high school) do not need to take it. She can take a more standard math sequence by taking precalculus (either DE or regular high school courses) in the year after algebra 2 and then be ready for calculus 1 in the fall semester after that.

Also, it is way too early to be thinking about specific college majors and careers, since high school students are prone to changing their minds. The US is not like some countries where students need to choose (or be placed into) specific career tracks starting in middle school.

12

At most of the FL state universities students with an AA from FL school have preference over other transfer students.

Edited to add that students who get an AA concurrently with their HS diploma apply as freshmen at UF.
http://admissions.ufl.edu/ugrad/trqualifying.html

13

mathyone is absolutely correct that College Algebra is not a required course. It’s the first class you take after the last remedial course at a CC, so while it’s a College level class, it’s essentially a recap of “advanced” algebra concepts from high school. Luckily I took statistics, since college algebra didn’t even transfer to my university as a math credit for liberal arts majors. If she’s already at a level where she’s doing trig or precalc she does not need to be taking college algebra, it’s so easy. In terms of course level at my CC, Remedial Classes<College Algebra<Trig<Precalc<Cal 1, 2, 3 < Diff. Equations. College Algebra might not even give her any course credit wherever she ends up at University if she’s majoring in something STEM related. It didn’t for me and I’m a Liberal Arts major :/.

14

Our kids are also bright. Our two oldest are rising 11th and 10th graders, and, like yours did the Duke TIP testing and qualified for the summer classes/camps. Rising 10th grader has done it 3 years, rising 11th grader did it 1 year (last summer). In general they liked these programs.

BUT…

They also want to work and make some money during the summers. Rising 11th grader is working this summer instead of taking any particular class. (She does have some summer homework for her regular HS classes, and we’re pushing her, semi-successfully, to do some ACT prep too). Rising 10th grader has indicated that next summer, he’d like to get a job too. (He’s helped me on a major outdoor project this summer and I’ve paid him for that, but it’s not a regular summer job.)

A fully booked (more or less) summer of classes may not be optimal, especially when your kid is old enough to drive and/or work.

15

If college algebra precedes trig and precalc then it’s essentially algebra2, which is required for high school graduation in many states. And in my opinion also remedial since it should have been mastered in high school.

16

I think summer work experience would be particularly appropriate for someone who is planning to start working in a professional career at age 20.

17

Just have to ask…why does she need to take courses EVERY summer. The vast majority of HS students never take a summer course, and somehow they get accepted to great colleges.

I think she should broaden her horizons beyond taking courses all the time. I would suggest she find something else to do in the summers.

18

@mathyone It’s a remedial course in my opinion as well. I think pretty much everything in that course was covered in my high school algebra 2 class. As I said, I got credit for it for my AA, but not for my BA.

19

I wanted to be a nurse as well before hs. That is, until freshman year where I took a biology/anatomy course and absolutely hated it. My whole hs plan that I set out in 8th grade was thrown to the curb. I’ve now drafted a new plan, because I think I’d like to be an engineer now, but who knows. Teenagers minds change all the time.

20

@danfer91 Idk if its the same in flordia, but in Washington state you can graduate high school and community college with an AA at the same time and still be considered a freshman applicant for any college in the country.