Specialized Courses Placement & Scheduling

All scholars will be scheduled in: 

1. courses needed to meet graduation requirements,
2. academic support courses, if appropriate, and
3. elective courses. 

At Innovation Central High School, each scholar must meet the requirements of that particular program along with GRPS graduation requirements. At City High Middle School, scholars must follow the IB graduation requirements. When selecting courses for the next year, core courses, school specific required electives, and academic support classes have priority over other elective courses (including band and orchestra). As the scholars approach their graduation date, courses required for graduation will have the highest priority for scheduling. Scholars will be assigned to Honors and/or Advanced Placement core courses based upon their history of success in prerequisite courses. Scholars not placed may also opt to select AP courses by working with a counselor. 

All scholars will have an opportunity to request elective courses into which they would like to be scheduled. Every effort is made to meet these requests. The final determination of which courses will be scheduled at each school is based upon ALL scholars’ interests. The district will set the guidelines for making this determination based upon scholar interest, staffing, and financial feasibility. This may mean that scholars may not get their first choice elective class. 

All scholars are expected to have a full schedule and are expected to complete a full-year course in sequence within the school year. Under certain extenuating educational or economic circumstances, a 12th grade scholar who is on track to graduate can request to reduce his/her schedule. Reduced schedules require the prior approval of the principal and head counselor and must meet reduced schedule requirements, which include meeting graduation requirements in four years. Approval for a reduced schedule must be in place and documented BEFORE the semester begins. 

Once scholars have been informed of their schedules, there will be an opportunity to request a schedule change before the opening of school. Generally, schedule changes will not be made for a course that was originally requested by the scholar. 

Schedule changes are made for academic reasons only and the following guidelines apply:

• Scholars may not drop a course to have a “free” hour
• Scholars are expected to challenge themselves academically
• A course required to stay on track for graduation cannot be dropped
• A failed course required for graduation must be made up
• The same course cannot be retaken for additional credit, but may be retaken to replace the existing grade
• A schedule should be balanced between academic and nonacademic (elective) courses
• Courses need to be consistent with scholar’s current IEP
• Courses need to be consistent with language learner’s needs
• Academic support classes will be scheduled as needed 

Once the window for changes has closed, scholars are expected to follow the schedule provided. Under RARE and extenuating circumstances, a schedule may be changed within the first two weeks of the semester (earning a lower grade than expected or the effect of a grade on the scholar’s GPA is not considered an extenuating circumstance). 

Scholars will be assigned a grade each semester for any course in which they are scheduled. Final grades are assigned at the end of a semester and will appear on the transcript. (Prior to the start of the sports season, semester grades are used to determine eligibility for sports and other activities.)