* 3 units of credit required in LOTE may also be met by completing 1 credit in LOTE and a 5 unit sequence in one of the following: Art, Music, or Business/Career and Technical Education.

Honors Distinction is available for the Regents and Advanced Regents Diploma, by obtaining an overall average of 90 and above on the designated Regents examinations (as identified). Students seeking an Advanced Regents Diploma will also have the option to earn an annotation on their diploma that denotes mastery in math and/or science.

Upon entry into the high school, students are assigned to a Guidance Counselor who will assist them throughout their high school years. Students and parents are encouraged to get to know their guidance counselor, since the partnership you establish will help ensure open lines of communication and success.

Counselors are here to answer questions and ease concerns about life and studies at Huntington High School, as well as to assist you in developing plans for the future. The guidance office is a rich source of information regarding career opportunities, visitations to colleges and vocational schools, scholarship and financial aid, test dates and applications.

Promotion to Grade 10:

Completion of at least 5 credits; 3 of these credits must be English 9, Global History 9, and at least one Science or Math credit.

Promotion to Grade 11:

Completion of at least 11 credits; included in these credits must be English 9 and 10, Global 9 and 10, a minimum of 3 credits total in Math and Science with at least 1 in Math and 1 in Science, and a minimum of 3/4 credit in Physical Education.

Promotion to Grade 12:

A minimum of 15 credits including English 11 or U.S. History, a minimum of 1 year of Foreign Language credit (unless exempt through an IEP), and a minimum of one credit of Physical Education. Exceptions will be made for students who will have probable completion of all graduation requirements by August of the graduating year.

If all graduation requirements are not met by June, students may not participate in the graduation ceremony.

The New York State Education Department Part 100.5 Regulation provides high school students with an opportunity to earn a maximum of 61⁄2 units of credit towards a Local or Regents diploma without completing units of study. Eligibility is based on the student’s past academic performance, attendance at school, achieving a score of at least 85 percent on a Regents exam or its equivalent, and passing an oral examination or special project to demonstrate proficiency. A written request must be submitted by the student/parent. Further information can be obtained by contacting the student’s guidance counselor.

Please be advised that students who challenge an AP exam and earn a score of 4 or 5 may earn up to one credit for that course. The course will receive a grade of “P”.

Huntington High School affords qualified high school seniors an opportunity to take college courses and earn college credits while learning in the high school environment. Students enrolled in these courses carry dual enrollment in the college program and in our high school. All courses carry credit that may be applicable toward a degree at other colleges and universities. To be eligible for college credit, students must complete the required registration forms and pay a tuition fee. Students enrolled in an AP course are required to pay and take the AP exam.

REGENTS (R):

Designed to meet the needs of those students who can follow the regular New York State Education Department Syllabus, the Regents Program requires a Regents examination at the completion of specific courses.

HONORS (H):

Honors programs are open to selected students. These courses cover the required content for the respective grades with in-depth exploration and enrichment. Students will study additional areas of personal interest or areas suggested by their teachers, evolving from expansion of the existing curricula.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP):

Advanced Placement courses offer students an opportunity to take a course taught on a college level. Both enrichment and college credit are available to the dedicated student. Intensive classroom work, independent study and research are an integral part of the program. The cost of taking AP Examinations is absorbed by the student. The examination is administered at the high school, and a five-point college-level scale is used. Students enrolled in an Advanced Placement course are required to sit and take the AP exam, which will be administered in May. A.P. examinations must be taken to receive the weighting in a student’s grade point average.

The grade point average is the average of all final grades, including summer school, earned by a student by September of senior year. A half-year course has half the value of a one-credit course. Thus, the average of English 9R (1 credit) 90, Social Studies 9R (1 credit) 90, and Psychology (1⁄2 credit) 81, is an 88.2 (not 87).

Advanced Placement courses receive a weight of 1.1 in the GPA calculation. Thus, a grade of 95 in an AP course (1 credit) has a value of 104.5 in the GPA calculation. All credit bearing courses, except grades of P or F, are counted towards the GPA.

The weighting system is as follows:

Beginning with the Class of 2004, Huntington High School has adopted a policy of not ranking students on cumulative grade-point average relative to their classmates.

The Valedictorian and Salutatorian is determined by the weighted average of all courses taken throughout the seventh semester of senior year. Eligible students must attend Huntington Union Free Schools for a minimum of three full academic years, prior to graduation. Eligible students must also be enrolled as a full-time student at the time of graduation.

Election to the Honor Society is the most prestigious academic recognition a student can receive. To be considered for election to membership, students completing the first semester of the junior year must have an average of 90 or better (based on 9th and 10th grade grades). Students completing the first semester of the senior year must have an average of 90 or better (based on 9th, 10th, 11th grade grades).

Academically qualified students who are interested in being considered for membership must complete an application which allows them to evaluate their own qualities of citizenship, leadership and service. A faculty committee reviews the applications and selects candidates for membership in the Honor Society. The formal induction ceremony is held in the fall.

HONOR ROLL:

A student will be eligible for the Honor Roll if he/she achieves a minimum weighted average of 85, and the student has no grades less than 65, as well as no grades of “F”, “NG,” or “I” (incomplete) for the quarter.

HIGH HONOR ROLL:

A student will be eligible for the High Honor Roll if he/she achieves a minimum weighted average of 95, and the student has no grades less than 65 as well as, no grades of “F”, “NG,” or “I” (incomplete) for the quarter.

By State regulation, a student is entitled to repeat any Regents exam in order to raise his/her examination grade. If a student retakes a Regents exam, only the higher score will be reported on the transcript. The new Regents exam grade will not affect the final course grade. In order to change a failing course grade, the course itself must be repeated, and both courses (the one that was failed and passed) will appear on the transcript. For some courses, where the Regents Exam counts as the final exam, the student will be required to take the test again, even if the student passed the exam earlier, as the test serves as 20% of the course grade for that year.

Students may choose to repeat a Regents Exam for the following reasons:

• Previous failure
• To meet graduation requirements for a Regents Diploma or Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation
• The personal pursuit of a higher grade

Students may earn a Regents Diploma with Honors or a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation with Honors by achieving an overall average of 90 or higher on the Regents Examinations required for each diploma type. Averages below 90 may not be rounded up.

Closer to the midpoint of the year, students will complete a Course Selection Sheet indicating their choice of courses for the following year. Every effort will be made to acquaint students and parents with the requirements for graduation, subjects and courses offered, and special programs and assistance. Guidance Counselors will meet with students and parents individually to review course selections and graduation progress. Parents are notified of these meetings via mail. Parents may contact their child's guidance counselor to arrange a specific appointment times.

In May, students/parents will receive a letter and a copy of their current course requests. This is provided as a reminder to students and parents that all changes in course requests must be made before the last day of school.

Final schedules will be mailed home in mid to late August. Guidance Counselors are available prior to the start of the school year to answer questions. Students who have received a schedule that they feel contains an error should meet with their counselor on their assigned day and time.

HHS will try to schedule all the courses selected by a student; however, the following may affect a student's final schedule:

• If a course does not have sufficient enrollment, that course will not be offered. If this occurs, every attempt will be made to select a course from the student’s "alternate selections".
• If two courses are selected which are offered at the same time, the student can only be scheduled into one of them. Every attempt will be made to use the student’s “alternate selections” to enroll the student in a preferred course.
• If a student chooses a course that has a prerequisite and the student's final grade in the prerequisite course is not adequate; the student's schedule will be adjusted accordingly.

For these reasons, it is crucial that students complete the "alternate selections" section of the course request form. It is recommended that each student schedule a conference with his or her guidance counselor during the second semester of the school year to ensure proper registration for all the courses needed to meet any remaining graduation requirements.

In addition to meeting with their counselors, students should discuss and plan their schedule with their parents. Parents should work with their student’s counselor to make certain that the schedule reflects the scheduling policies and courses needed for graduation.

Please Note: If a course does not have sufficient enrollment to be offered, students may be enrolled in a class containing multiple levels of a course/subject area. Parents will receive written notification from the appropriate department supervisor.

All students are scheduled for a nine-period day. Students are encouraged to supplement their required courses with electives to pursue interests or specialize in an area of study that will assist them in preparing for college and/or post-high school plans. Students must be enrolled in a minimum of six academic credits plus physical education each year except seniors, who are required to take a minimum of five academic credits plus physical education. Study halls will be used to fill up open periods in a student's schedule.

Students will be required to complete a minimum of 10 hours of community service. Community service activities include clubs, honor societies, organizations or sports teams as listed on the “Community Service Eboard”. Students, with their parents’ consent, can use other service for credit. Such service may include volunteering at local organizations such a senior centers, hospitals, soup kitchens, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc.

Each quarter, students will need to meet with their guidance counselor and hand in their completed “Community Service Record Form”, for a minimum of 21⁄2 hours and/or discuss available services they may consider to fulfill the required ten hours. Students will have up until the end of the fourth marking period to complete the ten hours. Completed service will be reflected in a passing grade for each quarter and will be identified on the student’s transcript as “P” or “F”.

Please be aware of the Schedule Change Policy when course selections and their alternates are made. Careful choices during the course selection process should eliminate the need for schedule changes.

All student schedules for the upcoming school year are final as of the last day of school in the current school year. Courses may not be dropped after the last day of school. All students who register for a full credit course are expected to remain in the course for both semesters as scheduling is done on a full year basis. Students who wish to add a course in place of a study hall or lunch period, must do so before the 8th session of the requested course. Requests will be considered on the basis of course enrollment.

Beginning with the 2012 - 2013 school year, students registered in a half year or full year course will only be permitted to withdraw from a class up until the first five weeks (1st Progress Report period). Following the first five weeks, students who choose to withdraw from classes will receive a “WF” on their permanent record. “WF” indicates that the student was failing at the time of withdrawal.

A student's schedule may ONLY be changed under the following conditions:

• Missing or insufficient number of courses
• Course conflict or incorrect course(s) listed
• Completion of summer school or evening course
• An additional course needed to meet graduation requirements

Schedule changes will NOT be made for such reasons as:

• Change of teacher
• To arrive to school later
• To leave school earlier
• Preference to take a different course
• Change of lunch period

If there are any errors on your schedule, including name, address and phone number, or you feel that you have a valid request for a change in your schedule, please complete the Change Request Form and return it to the Guidance Department.

Students may request to change the level of a course (Regents, Honors, AP) if they feel that they are inappropriately placed. To change a course level, a consensus must be reached by the student, parent/guardian, counselor, teacher, department supervisor, and Director of Guidance. Please note that level request changes may disrupt other courses in a student’s schedule.

In order to request a change of course level, a student must complete the following steps:

1. The student must meet with counselor to discuss his/her request.
2. The student and parent complete section I of the "Request to Change Course Level” form.
3. The student must meet with his/her teacher and department director to discuss his/her request and obtain the necessary signatures.
4. Once sections 1, 2, and 3 are completed, the student should return the “Request to Change Course Level” form to his/her guidance counselor.
5. If a consensus is reached to change the course level, the schedule change will be made within 2 days of receipt of a completed form.

Academic Intervention Services (AIS) are mandated by the NYS Education Department. These services are intended to assist students who are at risk of not achieving the State Learning Standards in English Language Arts, mathematics, social studies and/or science, or who are at risk of not gaining the knowledge and skills needed to meet or exceed designated performance levels on required state assessments. As a result, all students will be programmed for AIS prior to any elective requests.

AIS shall be provided when students, in grades nine to grade twelve, score below the State designated performance level on one or more of the State intermediate assessments in English Language Arts, mathematics, social studies or science, or score below the state designated performance level on any one of the state examinations required for graduation. AIS courses take precedence over elective courses. No credit is granted for AIS courses.

A student may be removed from an AIS course ONLY if:

• The student demonstrates adequate skills to achieve minimum standards on the required state assessments needed for graduation.
• A student who is receiving AIS to meet minimum standards on an assessment retakes and passes that exam. (This could occur in January or June of any given year).

In order to be removed from AIS, the teacher of the student receiving AIS must initiate the AIS Change Form. This form must be approved by the supervisor of the department and will then be forwarded to the student's guidance counselor.

Permission to leave school early in order to maintain jobs after school may be granted to seniors. Permission will be granted only after all students have been scheduled. During the scheduling process, all nine periods will be used to schedule each student. If the schedule a student receives shows a study hall for the ninth period and if the student is employed, the student may apply for permission to leave school during the study hall; however, classes scheduled for ninth period will not be changed to accommodate early release.

As a result of our review of summer school program records, we have made a number of changes in our registration and grading practices in order to ensure that the acquisition of knowledge remains the focus for all students attending summer school. Here are the requirements/procedures we have put in place:

Students will be asked to show their commitment to passing a course during the year by attending classes consistently and achieving a minimum grade of 50 before they can be permitted to register for the 6 week review version of that course in summer school.

• The summer school grades will be averaged with the yearly grade in a 60/40 ratio to determine the new course grade.
• Seniors who fail one (1) required course will automatically be able to register for summer school even if their yearly grade falls below 50.
• Seniors who fail two (2) or more classes needed for graduation will need approval from the Principal and Director of Guidance in order to register for summer school.
• If special circumstances exist, students may request that the Principal and the Director of Guidance review their eligibility for summer school.
• Students who have not met the science lab requirement during the regular school year will not be permitted to register for the science course in summer school.
• As in the past, summer school is provided for remediation, not enrichment. Therefore, only students who fail a course will be eligible for summer school.