Academic Guidebook

List of 8 items.

• 1. How to Register for Courses

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  The course request process should begin with students and parents/guardians carefully reviewing the Course Catalog while considering questions such as:

  • Do I have any graduation requirements to fulfill?
  • Have I met the prerequisites for this course?
  • How balanced is my course load for my personal wellness, learning needs and extracurricular activities?

  The Course Catalog includes titles and descriptions of course offerings for the upcoming school year, department overviews, and resources such as LWHS Graduation Requirements, UC Entrance Requirements, and a four-year course planning grid.

  
  Students will be granted most of their requests, but are not guaranteed to get all of their first choices. In order to maximize placement in first choice classes, it is critical that students follow all directions on the course request form, including ranking the required number of choices, and submitting by 3:30pm, Apr 16, 2018.

  
  Returning students register for classes once during the year. In late March, students attend grade-level info sessions to learn about changes to the academic program and to receive advice on choosing courses and filling  out the course request form, which will be available online on the day of the info session. Students complete the forms, gather parent/guardian electronic signatures, and submit them by the indicated deadline, usually around mid-April.

  
  Incoming 9th grade students register for courses by returning their course request forms to the Admissions office in the spring prior to entering the school.

  
  Note on Scheduling Philosophy: At LWHS, the mission governs our scheduling process in important ways. In order to provide students with a truly balanced and meaningful Head, Heart, Hands education, we balance requirements with student choice. We have a robust electives program, and yet students will sometimes not be able to take every course they want in their four years. Similarly, we cannot accommodate students who have learned a topic beyond our course offerings, and instead invite them to explore other areas of study. We uphold the principles of equity, access, and inclusion by using a priority system when we receive too many requests for a given class; once priorities are exhausted, we use a lottery to assign available seats. Finally, we do not accept requests for specific teachers or for specific blocks, unless made through Student Support Services. Students do have the opportunity to modify their schedules during the Add/Drop periods at the beginning of each semester.

• 2. Course Request Forms

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  The 2018–19 course request forms and the medical release/activity form become available during grade-level course information sessions on the morning of March 20 and 21, 2018. All course request forms must be successfully submitted online before 3:30pm, April 16, 2018. The medical release/activity form can be dropped off in the LWHS "all school" wooden box in the Front Office during school hours before 3:30pm, April 16, 2018.
  
  During the course period, students should meet with their advisors, teachers, department chairs, and parents/guardians about questions or considerations in course selection. The Frosh/Sophomore and Junior/Senior Deans, Assistant Head of School, College Counselors, and Dean of Students are also available to meet with students during specific hours to be announced to students and families at the start of the course request period.
  
  

  To be accepted for consideration, course request forms must be filled out properly and completely, include necessary signatures as indicated, and be accompanied by the completed medical release/activity form. Students submitting the online course request form and/or medical release form late will lose priority in their course request. Once a student successfully submits their forms, the student and one of the student’s parents/guardians will receive an automatic email confirmation.

   

• 3. Policies and Priorities During the Scheduling Process

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  All students are guaranteed enrollment into courses at the designated grade levels necessary to fulfill their LWHS requirements, which parallel or exceed UC's minimum admission requirements. Students have an increasing degree of choice in creating their course schedule as they progress through the grades, with ample opportunities to pursue their interests, passions and future goals. However, students are not guaranteed to have every request granted, due to factors such as course availability, unfulfilled prerequisites, unexpected demand, and the number of "singletons", courses for which only one section exists. The school works to honor students’ ranked choice requests, and uses a priority system to ensure that the process is transparent and equitable.
  
  

  • For elective courses (including a second course in a given department), students are given priority based on seniority (seniors, juniors, and then sophomores). In order to maintain equitable access, we use a lottery to distribute remaining spaces.
  • For senior seminars in History and English: we strive to grant students their first or second choice, but if section availability and demand create an overly subscribed class, we use a lottery to place students. These courses fulfill graduation requirements, and cannot be dropped.
  • Technical Arts courses—In the case of oversubscribed Technical Arts courses, priority will be given to students who have not yet fulfilled their graduation requirements.
  • Repeating Courses—Students may repeat level 2 courses in Visual Arts and Technical Arts, and all Performing Arts courses. Preference is given to students seeking to enroll in these courses for the first time.
  • Doubling in courses—Students may take a second course in a single department as an elective, if space permits. Students taking one course in the department or who need the course to fulfill an LWHS graduation requirement will be given priority for available spaces. Students may not take three courses simultaneously from a single department. Beginning with the class of 2022, seniors may double if they have completed their graduation requirement in Math, Science, or World Languages and choose not to continue in that department.

• 4. Course Load Requirements

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  Each student must be enrolled in a minimum of six courses per semester, regardless of grade level. TA and Independent Study positions may not count as one of a student's six core classes. One of a student's important decisions is whether to have one or two free blocks. To this end, students should consider the number of honors or homework-heavy courses they are requesting, as well as their outside commitments and extracurricular activities.

  The maximum number of courses a student may carry per semester varies among grade levels and types of courses as outlined below:

  • Frosh may take up to eight classes. They take seven required classes, including English, Math, Biology, World Language, Body-Mind Education (BME), Contemporary Media and Art (CMA) and Design & Technology (DT). An 8th class would include a Performing Arts offering or META.
  • Sophomores may take up to seven classes. They take required classes in the five "a–e" departments—World History (a), English (b), Math (c), Chemistry (d), and World Language (e)—and one semester of Health. Sophomores should consider taking at least one of the two required semesters in Technical Arts, although students may satisfy this requirement at any time prior to graduating. Sophomores may choose to keep two free periods or select one additional yearlong or two semester-long electives from the three Arts departments, as well as electives such as Philanthropy, Journalism, Creative Writing, and the BlendEd program.
  • Juniors and seniors may take up to seven classes, with a minimum of five total courses from the "a–e" departments: History (a), English (b), Math (c), Science (d), and World Language (e). For 2019–2020 school year, students may choose to take a sixth class from the "a–e" departments. If a senior has completed their graduation requirement in one of these five departments, they may request classes in four of these, subject to approval by the Assistant Head of School. Beginning with the class of 2022, students will be allowed to take a maximum of five courses from the departments listed above (a–e) during junior and senior year. Seniors who have completed their graduation requirement in Math, Science, or World Language may continue with their study in those departments or may take a second course from an a–e department (i.e. “doubling” in a department).

  Honors Level Course Caps

  All junior English and History courses are designated as Honors courses, as are seniors English seminars. Students may choose to enroll in additional Honors courses, up to a cap of three per semester. Students enrolled in three Honors level courses (outside of English and History) may choose to take 7 courses, but one of the 7 courses must be in either Visual Arts, Performing Arts, or the Technical Arts. They may also choose from Journalism, Creative Writing, or the Philanthropy Initiative.

• 5. Viewing Student Schedules

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  Student schedules are made available online to students, parents, and teachers on July 2, 2018. Students and parents may access to their schedules on the school website.
  
  

  Student Instructions

  Login > My Day > Schedule
  
  

  Parent Instructions

  Login > Your student’s name (top left) > Schedule

• 6. Adding, Dropping, or Changing Courses

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  Students receive their year's course assignments and schedule in July. Students who wish to make any changes to their schedule may place requests during the Add/Drop period held during the first four school days of the fall semester, two days in early December, and the first two days of spring semester. Schedule changes are not made outside of the Add/Drop period in order to provide transparent and consistent course selection for all students unless there is a significant error on the schedule. All students must fill out an “Add/Drop/Change” form to have their request considered. Once an “Add/Drop/Change” form is turned in, a student must continue attending classes assigned on their original schedule until they see on their online schedule that the requested course has been added or dropped.

  
  The school will do its best to accommodate course requests made during the Add/Drop period using the same priorities that were used during the scheduling process. Requests to add courses for reasons of teacher or schedule preference will not be considered. Students may not drop a course after the Add/Drop period has ended, except in special circumstances. Students who feel they require a late course drop must speak with their grade level dean. Students may not drop a yearlong course during the spring semester Add/Drop period. Support is available to students during this time at the Add/Drop help desk that is set up in the foyer.

• 7. Auditing Classes

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  LWHS defines auditing a class as “attending a class that is not on a student’s course schedule.” LWHS does not permit students to audit classes, as this negatively impacts student/teacher ratios. 

• 8. Exceptions and Exemptions

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  Exceptions to LWHS policies around course selection, scheduling, and course priority are rare. They are generally made in extreme circumstances involving student health or family emergencies and are usually by recommendation of the Student Support Services team. Requests for exemptions or exceptions should be made to the Assistant Head of School Randy Barnett.