Frequently Asked Questions About Schedules and Scheduling
Q: Why can’t I change my student’s schedule from Home Access?
A: First make sure you’re within the dates for scheduling. The Student Career Planner can only be changed within a certain time period each year. These time periods usually occur during the fall and spring. You will receive scheduling dates each year through announcements. If you are within the time frame, then you may not be logged into Home Access using your student’s account. Parents cannot use their own account to change a student schedule. Log in as your student and Home Access should work for you. Finally, if both of those things didn’t resolve the issue, e-mail Debbie White at Bradley to address the problem.
Q: How do I know what electives I should take?
A: In the Program of Studies, there is a section called Learning Pathways. These pages are coordinated with the ACT World of Work Map to help students begin thinking about their post-high school life. Pick of a few of these Pathways that pique your interest and try an elective suggestion on that pathway. This will help you make the decision about your future endeavors. The Learning Pathways pages are not mandatory programs, merely suggestions to help you in making these types of decisions.
Q: Do we have to register for ICT 21, PE, and Health during the 9th and 10th grade years? What if my student wants to take an elective?
A: We recommend taking these courses before the end of the 10th grade year so that students have room in their schedules to take optional enrichment courses through Tolles Technical Center, our Innovative Learning Center, Mosaic, Zoo School or College Jumpstart. You can also get these courses completed during summer school or through our on-line programs. Our on-line classes can fill up quickly, so please register for the on-line option when scheduling each spring.
Q: What if my freshman wants to take a course at the ILC like Rock Band or Academy Vibe?
A: Because the 9th and 10th grade schedules are so filled with requirements, scheduling these courses can be tricky. If a student really wants to take these courses, they will have to delay other elective options like World Language and Engineering and may have to take ICT 21 and PE through our on-line option. These options and decisions are totally up to the student and their family, but communication with the high school counselor and Mr. Torrence at the ILC is probably going to be necessary.
Q: Why weren’t my PE requests honored? I registered for Sports and Fitness and was enrolled in Aerobics!
A: We don’t offer Sports and Fitness every period. Since we only have one PE teacher at Bradley, each course is not able to be offered every period. If you registered for any of our PE courses and your preference doesn’t fit in your schedule, then we enroll you in the PE course that is available. Any of our PE courses fulfill the graduation requirements so you’re still moving toward completing what you need in order to graduate.
Q: My student is involved in a community sport that isn’t offered as a school-sponsored option, can s/he get the PE waiver for that sport?
A: Your best option in this case is to register for ON-LINE PE. Students receive a MOV band which tracks activity levels and allows the training they are doing in their extra-curricular sport to count towards the requirements of the class. This is the least complicated way of getting credit for PE. You could also write a proposal for Credit Flex-the Educational Option, but these proposals are cumbersome to write, must be approved by a district committee and the student must then make a presentation to the committee at the completion of their proposed activity to receive a grade. If you choose to write the Credit Flex proposal, you can find the information at http://www.hilliardschools.org/schools/creditflexibility/ .
Q: Why didn’t I get into the art class I wanted?
A: Again, because of staffing and class size limits, we cannot offer all courses every period. We try to honor all of your requests, but sometimes the art class is closed out or not available during the period when you can fit it into your schedule.
Q: Why can’t I take an acting or theater class at Bradley?
A: You can enroll in the drama classes we have available, but the class will be taught at Darby due to staffing and student numbers. The district supplies a shuttle service between the two buildings.
Q: I took choir and art in middle school, doesn’t that meet the graduation requirement for Hilliard?
A: Yes! However, if you are considering a 4 year university after high school, your chances of being accepted are greater if you meet the minimum university requirements which include 2 credits of a world language and 1 credit of a fine or performing art.
Q: What courses meet the Fine Arts requirement?
A: Anything from our theater department such as Introduction to Theater, Theatrical Design, Theatrical Performance; anything from our music department such as band, orchestra, choir; anything from our visual arts department such as ceramics, photography, media arts, sculpture, drawing, painting.
Q: Can I request a specific teacher?
A: Probably not. Teacher assignments change from year to year due to a variety of factors. The teacher who teaches the course this year may not be teaching it next year. Or if they are teaching it, it may not fit into your schedule or the course may already have too many students to fit one more into it.
Q: Can I request to have study hall during a specific semester because of band or athletic obligations?
A: Most of the counselors keep a list of such requests and check schedules against this list over the summer. We attempt to honor all such requests but sometimes run into trouble with this when a certain class is only offered one semester or another. If your study hall request has not been honored, complete the on-line schedule request form in the fall before school starts or within 10 days of the first day.
Q: Can I request to have a study hall during a specific period of the day?
A: Again, you can request this, but having a specific period for study hall is more difficult to accomplish than the semester.
Q: What if I don’t know if I’d like a certain elective?
A: Your first resource is the on-line program of studies book which can be accessed through the Guidance tab on the Bradley website. You can also talk to other students who have taken the class in the past. If you still aren’t sure, it’s always appropriate to talk to the teacher of that class or a class within that content area.
Q: What if a current teacher does not recommend the student for an honors or AP class the following year?
A: Our teachers are well-versed in the curriculum for every class offered in their departments and they have spent at least one semester getting to know their students’ academic strengths and weaknesses. Recommendations are made after much consideration of each student’s unique ability to succeed in those AP or Honors classes. Because we value the professional opinions of our teachers, we take these recommendations very seriously and follow them unless a parent sends a detailed written request through e-mail or on paper requesting that to override the teacher recommendation. Parents and students need to be aware that through experience, we have found the teacher recommendations to be extremely accurate and students who have ignored these suggestions tend to do poorly in the advanced class. It is highly recommended that if this occurs, the student should make sure to request a schedule change within the first few days of the school year or semester, however, schedule changes due to level
cannot always be accommodated and there are multiple situations where the student must remain in the advanced course even if they are failing that course.
Q: How do I know for which Honors or AP courses I should register?
A: Teacher recommendations are the number one resource. We have a number of students who are recommended for every AP course offered. In this case, the student and family need to make a decision based on the student’s academic strengths and interests as well as the amount of time the student spends on extra-curricular pursuits through clubs or community organizations. These additional pursuits are also important for college entrance and social and emotional health.
Q: How do I know which level of band, orchestra or choir I should be in next year?
A: These courses are audition-based classes. Students usually register for the basic course, so Concert Band, Soprano or Tenor choir, orchestra. Then the teachers give us a list of class rosters after auditions and we move student schedules to accommodate this new information.
Q: If my student has an IEP, how does that impact the schedule?
A: Depending on the services required by the IEP, your student can be in Co-taught classes and intervention, or in Resource classes for math or English and an intervention period. The intervention period is a monitored study hall that students have during one period every day. This gives the student daily contact with their Case Manager who then can communicate directly with the student, parents and teachers. It is very rare that a student with an IEP is excused from an Intervention period in 9th grade. You may not be able to register on-line for Co-taught or Resource classes. Register for the regular version of each core class and this will be corrected by the special education coordinator in conjunction with the intervention specialists at the middle school and guidance office at the high school.
