NYS Regents courses in the summer?

College Majors Music Major
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<p>Hi all,
The reason I'm asking this question in the Music Major Forum is because nobody else seems to know the answer and you guys can probably relate!</p>

<p>DD's school year is packed with music lessons, music, a little more music-- did I mention music? :) And of course everything else that goes along with HS. We were wondering if there's a way to take online courses that let you sit for the NYS Regents exam and count toward the Advanced Regents diploma during the summer? It would certainly free up some much needed time during the school year for either more music, other electives, etc. As it is now,as a Freshmen, she takes her core 4 subjects, French II, Wind Ensemble, Choir and Gym. There's no more room in the schedule, and if she wishes to take Music Theory I & II, Health which is required at some point, Photography, Leadership, Psychology.... You get my point there is no time! She wants to take Algebra II/ Trig outside of school, and perhaps another Math class, giving her 4 years of HS math and then being done with it (for now.) She's an "A" math student but doesn't like it to be honest and says it consumes way to much of her time. Even if she later decided Math was her thing, I'm comfortable with 4 years of HS math and done. I've noticed none of the CC's around here offer what the Regents requires, and our local HS summer school only offers classes for kids that have failed, not that wish to get ahead. Any suggestions? Thanks!</p>

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<p>I think the better question is to ask you. Why is your daughter bothering with the advanced regents program? I can tell you my son took the regular regents program. He scored above 90 on all his regents exams and is getting a regents diploma with honors. He is a high honor roll student and has had no problems with colleges even blinking an eye when they are told he has over a 90 average. He has known for a long time he was going to pursue music. We made sure that it was possible. Why take a workload that isn’t going to benefit your child? My son spent time taking lessons, attending workshops, master classes, NY summer school for the arts, and even the international percussion convention. It has ALL paid off. He is auditioning for his dream schools Curtis, Eastman and Ithaca and he’s never once regretted the academic route he’s chosen. You’ll see him play Sunday. He is the timpanist with the SYO. </p>

<p>Oh to answer your question. No I don’t believe there are any online routes to taking a test in NY. You have to do the time in the classroom.</p>

<p>You should really seek me out at a Sunday rehearsal. I’ve lived what you’re going through the last 4 years. I could probably answer a lot of questions you have. </p>

<p>Jim</p>

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<p>I know that it is difficult to fit everything in, especially if your daughter also wants to take photography, psychology, etc. There is no way to take all the electives she would like, take all the music she wants, and also meet the requirements for an advanced regents diploma. She will have to prioritize. </p>

<p>I do know the algebra/trig regents course covers a lot of material. I don’t know what the rules are regarding substituting CC classes for the high school class. If you get approval from the guidance department to go that route, you would need to make sure all the topics are covered. For example, probability and statistics are covered in the NY state curriculum. I don’t know that this would be standard material in a CC course. As an aside, I think the lab sciences would be difficult to duplicate, as there are required labs that get handed in throughout the year and a lab portion of the regents exam.</p>

<p>I felt strongly that my son should try to earn the advanced regents diploma, and he was on a path to do that. However, his senior year he decided to take a couple of classes at a local college. Because of scheduling conflicts, there was no way for him to take the 4th year lab science. So, I had to let that go. It truly made no difference for him. </p>

<p>Also, your daughter might be able to take health as a summer class. I know that is a pain to fit in. Son didn’t take it till his senior year.</p>

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<p>One thing I learned as my kids grew up, that I could extrapolate to all of them (for the most part, I had to re-learn parenting with each kid, as the were all so different!) is that whereas the elementary and middle-school years are a time for reaching out and expanding interests, high school seems to be a time for pruning and prioritizing because it’s impossible to be a specialist in everything. This reality always made me sad, and it was frustrating to my kids, who were open and curious about everything. While I don’t think it should be this way-- adolescence seems too early to me to have to make these decisions-- we found that it was necessary to make practical concessions, or otherwise live miserably, as it was not possible to give a perfectionist’s performance in every area. (As I write this, I realize there are some wunderkind types who do manage to excel phenomenally in all areas, but for us and for most people I know, even with maximum stress and effot, it’s just not possible.)</p>

<p>Of course, a intense focus is not irreversible; it is always an option to change paths, with some effort (one of my kids did this; I’ve seen many others do this, too.) It’s easier to switch from a music focus to an academic focus than the other way around. Some disciplines simply place more emphasis on early achievement at a technical level (at least as a bar to college admission.) Therefore, I would agree with the other posters that, if music is truly her love and her focus, she will need to make accommodations. </p>

<p>I’m not from NY state, so we didn’t have the temptation of Regents to complicate decisions (although my kids could have tried an IB program.) Each of them ended up taking a route that allowed them to be more of a specialist in the respective disciplines, which meant stepping aside from the most rigorous academic options (we live in a city with complicated academic magnet school issues; even the travel time to and from the schools was a problem, in terms of the slice cut from their day.)</p>

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<p>Talk to your guidance counselor. I know many children that were advanced in math and took math courses at local colleges but they’d already taken the algebra/geometry/algebraII/trig sequence in school. I don’t believe any CC will offer the same level but maybe they do and would agree to let your daughter to that and then just take the exam. It doesn’t hurt to ask.</p>

<p>The difference between Regents and Regents with Advanced Designation is very, very small. Both require 22 credit hours which include: 4 yrs English/SS, 3 yrs Math/Sci, 2 Gym, 1 Art/Music, .5 Health. Where the difference comes is that a normal regents diploma only requires one year of language and 3.5 credits of a sequence (could be a tech/business/music sequence) while the advanced designation reqents diploma requires 3 years of language and only 1.5 of electives. </p>

<p>Most districts in the state have eliminated summer school courses except in remedial cases due to budget cuts so I highly doubt you’d be able to even find a Health class in the summer.</p>

<p>It all comes down to priorities and what she wants to take the most. My second is graduating in June with an advanced designation regents diploma with 31.5 credit hours. He’s never had a study hall other than every other day opposite gym class. I can’t imagine him taking on that course load and then going to a CC to take more classes as well as playing sports and having a life. It’s great that your high school has a lot to offer. Take some time and prioritize. I’d hate to see her overwhelmed and stressed out. Maybe she could take a photography or psychology course in the summer.</p>

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<p>I don’t know what district you are in but ours offers a health in the summer. Take it and take it now. Get it done because 4 weeks in the summer is much better than a whole semester. My daughter is also graduating in June with an advanced regents diploma. She has taken many AP courses, SUPA classes this year, orchestra all four years, all the music theory classes and choir one year and band this year. She has taken forensic a and anatomy as electives. She took health summer after frosh year and is glad she did. She never had lunch and didn’t have a free period until this year, when she has one every other day opposite gym. She has used it to practice for her auditions.</p>

<p>Interestingly enough she has done all this whole taking master classes, playing paid gigs, taking private lessons at a college 90 miles away each week, taking piano lessons, doing MUN, doing volunteer work, babysitting, having a boyfriend, learning to drive, and hanging out with friends.</p>

<p>She also has time to post way too much on tumblr, text her friends and watch Adventure Time.</p>

<p>In other words, she is young and there is a lot more time to do things than you or I think.</p>

<p>Freshman year of HS was a lot of work. We wondered how she would get through. Sophomore year seemed lighter… But she was in three AP courses…we thought it should have been worse… But she was better at managing her time, so it wasn’t. In junior year our biggest argument was me saying there was NO WAY she could be done with her work already but she was. Her grades stayed high. Her course work got done. She was organized and doing fine. This year the hardest thing has been teachers giving her crap about missing class for auditions and college visits. Her grades are a bit lower, but senioritis is real and with every successful audition her interest in HS wanes. But she is doing it and doing fine. </p>

<p>Every kid is different, but mine has survived thus far doing most of the things she wanted to do. She has self pruned her list as the years went on and she has learned to pick what she wants more carefully, but she is doing a lot and enjoying it. She would tell you that she is not the only kid doing all this. All the kids in her honors classes and in orchestra are busy, busy people.</p>

<p>Eating lunch in class instead of in the caf has worked for her. Less drama, she tells me. </p>

<p>Talk to your daughter and to your guidance counselor. You may be surprised to find that a lot of kids are doing all of these things and getting by just fine.</p>

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<p>With the budget cuts in NYS, some classes do not have a summer Regents option and students had to wait for January or an entire year to take the final exam. And they are cutting back on Regents exams. They have even eliminated some of the language Regents already. You cannot challenge a Regents exam in NYS without taking the course through your school. I would check with a guidance counselor.</p>

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<p>I’ve heard many people here state that participation in a summer music program, particularly a competitive or intensive one, is an important element for the precollege preparation process for musicians. Wouldn’t taking academic classes in the summer make it impossible to do a summer program?</p>

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<p>Taking health over the summer was doable - and it was summer after Freshman year, but I would imagine any other coursework would make summer programs very difficult.</p>

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<p>Alternates…I think a student may earn up to 6 1/2 credits towards a regents diploma by acheiving a score of 85 or above on the regents exams. They have been given in Jan., June and August, but with state cutbacks who knows what this summer brings, some districts have started charging $ to walk in and sit for the test in the summer… check out the site [New</a> York State Education Department](<a href=“http://www.nysed.gov%5DNew”>http://www.nysed.gov) for specifics on NYS diploma requirements.</p>

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<p>Just remembered-for science classes students are required to have upward of 30 hours of Lab time, students are not allowed to sit for a regents if they don’t meet Lab requirements first.</p>