Course Selection Process & Guidelines

FAQ • Philosophy • Sign Up Dates • AP Eligibility
Download the Spring 2006 document (pdf)

Introduction for Spring 2006

Serving as Academic Advisors, Eric Chandler, Mark Clevenger and Anne Harris meet one-on-one with all sophomores and juniors in March and April of 2006 to fill out course request forms for 2006-2007.

As veterans of the Menlo course sign-up process, we want to assure you that the scheduling will ultimately work out, no matter how complicated the juggling of courses can look at the outset. We understand that students’ needs can change over time and that schedules can be fluid, and we work with each situation to help students get the best possible schedule.

This document is intended to help students and their families understand all facets of the process, and we urge a careful review of the Frequently Asked Questions Section. Also, we urge parents to attend an informational orientation event relating to course and curriculum planning on Tuesday, March 7th at 7:00 p.m. in Martin Lecture Hall.

Philosophy

Juniors • Sophomores • All Students • Parents

Before moving into the technical details, we want to say a word about our philosophy: both the junior and senior years offer many exciting elective choices, and we can’t say strongly enough what a terrific opportunity these years are for further exploring interests and pursuing particularly energizing studies. For example, Menlo will be launching Mandarin courses for the first time in the school’s history, not to mention a slew of new and continuing vibrant electives. More than ever, students can express their preferences and loves in course choices, and we will do everything possible to support these opportunities. With that in mind, we will counsel students toward course loads that reflect balance, so that the main point is not simply a rigorous curriculum, but most importantly the manner in which it reflects and articulates personal interests. We will also coach students to protect the balance of their lives—to keep in mind the many additional commitments that, in our experience, Menlo students carry. They need to stay healthy and energized. Most importantly, while we are present as guides, as are parents, we expect students to show increasing autonomy as they make wise choices that shape their Menlo experience. With this in mind, the following information, below, reflects the sign-up schedule and protocols.

Eric Chandler, Mark Clevenger, Anne Harris

Juniors (rising seniors)	Request courses for next year beginning the week of March 21st. Each of us, as Academic Advisors (Eric Chandler, Mark Clevenger and Anne Harris), will have sign-up sheets by our office doors for individual appointments. We have one requirement that must be met in order to complete a course sign up: each student must thoroughly complete a Junior Information Questionnaire, distributed at the junior class meeting on March 2nd, which includes a Rough Draft Course Schedule. This packet is the “Admission Ticket,” and must be handed to us by the time of the sign-up meeting. We ask for this document because it is helpful in getting to know our advisees; it also helps students think reflectively about interests, goals and ideal courses of study. Later, we use it for information in the college process. Junior advocacies will work on this packet together, and we urge families to discuss it at home.
Sophomores (rising juniors)	Request courses for next year beginning the week of March 27th. Each of us, as Academic Advisors (Eric Chandler, Mark Clevenger and Anne Harris), will have sign-up sheets by our office doors in the College Counseling Center for individual short appointments. We ask sophomores to fill out a Rough Draft Course Schedule and bring it with them to their sign-up appointment. A course offerings packet will be available in hardcopy, or refer to the online course descriptions, which will be updated for 2006-2007 in early March.
All Students	Bring home a completed Course Request Form that must be reviewed and signed by a parent or guardian and should be returned the day following sign ups. Working with the Registrar, Dr. Julie Lennon, we make every possible effort to individually produce the schedules that students have requested, although we cannot guarantee that every class can be scheduled. The FAQ covers the details of the process and should help address any concerns.
Parents	We invite you to get involved in thinking about curriculum in several ways. We urge you to discuss the various course options at home, a full description of which will be available in hardcopy and at the online course descriptions. We also hope that you will attend our Orientation Event on Course Selection on Tuesday, March 7th, at 7:00 p.m. in Martin Lecture Hall, which should answer many questions and provide a backdrop for effectively planning curriculum. Although the course sign-up period is exclusively devoted to intensive, back-to-back meetings with individual students, we invite you to call us before it begins or once it ends, in late April, if we can be of help.

Thursday, March 2	The Academic Advisors will meet with the junior class to introduce the course request process at the class meeting.
Friday, March 3	All students should know their placements for courses through direct conversation with their teachers. Each department has grade requirements that it uses for progression into certain courses; for your convenience, that information is also included at the end of this packet. Students not initially qualifying for a course they feel they would like to take are invited to add their name to a provisional list which the Academic Advisors will have. Please refer to the FAQs for further details.
Tuesday, March 7	Parent Orientation and Informational Event for Course Sign-Ups and Curriculum Planning. The Academic Advisors, Dr. Julie Lennon and John Schafer will be discussing the process and advice around it at 7:00 p.m. in Martin Lecture Hall.
March 21—March 29	Current sophomores (rising juniors) sign up for one-on-one appointments with their Academic Advisor. (Refer to the packet you received for a list of students and their Academic Advisor.) The course request form, signed by a parent, needs to be returned the next day.
Thursday, March 30	The last possible date for return of signed junior course request forms to guarantee priority for course choices.
Thursday, April 6	The last possible date for return of signed sophomore course request forms to guarantee priority for course choices.

AP Eligibility Protocols for 2006–2007

Any students who wish to take an AP or honors-level course, but do not qualify for it at the time of course sign-ups, will be placed on a provisional list and will be contacted if a space becomes available. In addition, if a strong second semester grade makes a student more eligible for admission to a given class, the student may approach the teacher whose class has just been completed, and the Department Chair of that subject, to request a review of eligibility. Department Chairs will be available the week preceding the opening of school for these discussions, if needed. If departmental permission is granted in writing, the Academic Advisors will help students complete a level change form and will be able to revise the schedule accordingly.

Science	A- is the minimum grade required to be eligible for an AP class, excepting AP Physics B, which is by instructor permission. BioTech is also by express instructor permission via a formal application; interested students should attend meetings as announced.
Foreign Language	A- is the minimum grade required to be eligible for an AP class.
Math	A- is the minimum grade required to be eligible for an AP class.
History	B+ is the minimum grade required in both English and History to qualify for AP U.S. History (juniors). For all other AP electives (except AP Economics) B+ is the minimum grade required in both English and History to qualify.
Economics	Students must qualify for and should plan to enroll in AB or BC Calculus, since AP Economics has a strong mathematical base.