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Cougar Counseling Department
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Sahuaro High School’s Guidance & Counseling Department is designed to assist each student to acquire and demonstrate specific educational, career, and personal/social competencies. Counselors are assigned to assist throughout each student’s high school career. Counselors work in the classrooms with teachers to deliver a Comprehensive Competency Based Guidance Program. Students receive educational, career and personal/social information in classroom settings. An outcome of the Comprehensive Competency Based Guidance Program is that students will plan their own courses of study to achieve their career goals. Career and college counseling opportunities are available through counseling appointments or through visiting Sahuaro’s Guidance Center located in the Administration Building. Students who need in-depth personal/social counseling will be referred to outside agencies.
Counselors are assigned students on an alphabetical basis.
Planning
a High School Program of Studies
Making
a four-year plan requires gathering information as well as consulting with
teachers, parents, and counselors. The student needs to have a goal or idea of
what he/she wants to do when high school is completed. Having a plan is most important even though
students and their parents may decide to make some changes as they progress.
A copy of a student's four-year plan will be kept with their counselor.
Each year a student should review it with their counselor and make necessary
changes.
E-Mail
Communication
Sahuaro welcomes email communication from our
students and parents. While most questions can be answered through email
correspondence, appointments are still suggested if the question or concern
can’t be addressed.
Taking Classes Off-Campus
All course work taken through correspondence programs
and classes taken in summer school at a site other than Sahuaro must have
prior approval by a SahuaroCounselor and Administrator in order to be counted
toward a Sahuaro diploma. Correspondence
courses are limited to four (or 2 credits), with no more than one in each
subject area. It is the responsibility of the student to finish course work
in time for the grades to be posted before graduation. If grades are not received
in time to be posted by graduation day, students will not be allowed to receive
a diploma or participate in graduation ceremonies.
Options include and which require referral or
dual-enrollment form:
Pima Community College: Students typically take courses such as
Writing, Math, and Language to earn credit. In most cases, students choose to
take these courses to complete university entrance requirements, in addition to
high school graduation requirements. Please see your counselor for more details.
You must apply for Pima, online at www.pima.edu
and take assessments prior to registering for classes (which requires
dual-enrollment form from your counselor).
Weekend
Academy: This a
program that allows students to earn additional credits during the school
year. Credit is earned through a combination of class time and
independent study. All Pima County high school students are eligible to
participate. The fee is $125.00 per 1/2 credit course. Typical course
offerings include English, World History, US History, and Physical Education.
Referral from your counselor is a requirement.
TUSD
Concurrent Program: Offers
independent packets to eligible students, course work is completed independently; testing is
required on designated dates at Project MORE High School. Students must attend one of the
registration/orientation dates to be eligible to take a course. Students
may register for up to one-half credit
per semester. Course offerings include English, World History, US
History, Algebra I (first semester only), Driver's Education, and Health. The
fee is $75.00 per 1/2 credit. Referral from your
counselor is a requirement.
Other alternative education programs:
http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/Alternative_Ed/programs.html
Schedule changes must be made before the end of first week of a quarter class
and before the end of the second week of a semester class (in both cases
this means all paperwork completed and approved) and will only occur if
the new class is available.
Sahuaro High School does not make schedule changes
for the following reasons:
·
The student would
prefer a different lunch
·
The student would
prefer a different teacher
·
The student would
prefer a class with a friend
·
The student would
prefer classes in a different order
Good reasons for schedule changes include:
·
The student has already
received credit for the same course
·
The student has
completed a correspondence course or Summer School course
·
The student has failed
a class required for graduation
·
The student did not complete appropriate prerequisite
class(es)
Instructional Problem-Solving Procedure
It is expected that students and parents will contact
and work the the teacher and Sahuaro High School counselors when encountering
difficulties. It is not an acceptable
practice for students and/or parents to request a schedule change first. It is
a rare occasion when a schedule change is completed after the first ten days,
and is only considered when it is determined that:
·
The student is making a
sincere effort to do the work in the class.
·
The student is
regularly making contact with the teacher in the classroom and during
Conference Periods in order to ask questions and seek support.
·
The students and
parents have worked with the teacher to understand the scope and the nature of
the problems causing the difficulties.
·
The student and parents
have consulted with the counselor, so that the ocunselor can offer general
support and can talk to the teacher with the student.
Grade Reports
Sahuaro will issue grade reports every 4½ weeks. The
Grade Report will include attendance, citizenship and a grade for each class.
In addition, the report may include comments from individual teachers informing
the student and parent of progress. The Mid-Quarter Grade Report is an
instrument to communicate to the student and parent progress being made in each
class. Final grades (recorded on transcripts) are issued at the end of each
semester for semester classes and at the end of each quarter for quarter
classes.
A student may be passing a class when the 4½ Week Grade
Report is issued, and find himself/herself in danger of failing a class due
to not completing a final project, failing a test, or other reasons. Should
this occur, the teacher will notify the parents before a failing grade is
issued.
A student who has been seriously ill or has a family
emergency may not be able to complete all work at the end of the grading period.
The teacher may record an Incomplete on the student's grade report. The student
must complete all work during the first two weeks of the next grading period
unless prior arrangements have been made with the teacher and approved by
the site administrator. Otherwise, the Incomplete will be changed to an F
(Failure) or N (No Grade - No Credit) depending on the circumstances. A student
who wishes to participate in an interscholastic activity must pass all classes.
A student who received an F or an N is ineligible to participate in any interscholastic
activity for the next grading period. A student who receives an I (Incomplete)
is ineligible until the work is completed and the teacher awards a passing
grade.
Grade of:
A: highest grade indicates outstanding performance
B: above average indicates achievement above average
C: average indicates average achievement
D: below average indicates completion of minimum requirements
F: failure indicates did not complete minimum requirements
I: incomplete indicates deficiency in completion of assignment
P: credit-no grade indicates credit but no grade recorded
N: no credit-no grade used only with administrative approval
DATES FOR GRADE REPORTS - see activities link
The parents of students who are having difficulty in
a class may choose to track their student's progress on a weekly basis. Students
pick up a "Cougar Academic Check
" in the counseling office, give it to each of their teachers at
the beginning of class on Friday, and bring it home to their parents at the
conclusion of classes. If parents wish to discuss grade reports with teachers,
they should make an appointment by calling the teacher. Teacher telephone
numbers and e-mail addresses are available on the Sahuaro Home Page, under
the Faculty link.
TUSDstats
Parental Access
All parents are encouraged to establish a Parental Access Account. Through the
Parental Access Account, parents can view their children's standardized test
scores, compare these scores to school, district, and national averages, and
view other school measures (including their student's attendance and official
grades). E-mail addresses for students' teachers are also listed. You must see
your child’s counselor to gain access to stats and may be required to show a
government issued photo identification card.
Grade
Point Average (GPA) and Class Rank
A student's grade point average (GPA) and rank in
class are based on all classes that the student takes for high school credit.
If a student fails a course and subsequently completes the course
satisfactorily, the passing grade is used to compute the GPA; the failing grade
is not. High school credit earned in Algebra, Spanish, or English in the eighth
grade will be used toward graduation. Grades earned in these classes will be
used in computing the cumulative GPA.
Cumulative GPA is computed by giving equal value to grades earned in all full
credit courses. A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F = 0. Advanced Placement grades of
A, B, C, and D are weighted one additional grade point. Sahuaro students are ranked at the end of
each semester using weighted grades. Transcripts are updated each semester, and
copies of the official transcript will be sent to colleges and employers upon
student request. The final transcript becomes part of the student's permanent
record and is the official certification of graduation.
Each student is allowed two (3) Official Transcripts FREE. Request transcripts through the Attendance Office (form is found on the counter). Students can get an unofficial transcript printed by requesting one from their counselor or the attendance office.
Additional Transcripts are furnished with the following
fees:
All Official Transcripts……….$3.00
Unofficial Transcripts.......Free
Note: SAT and/or ACT scores
are automatically included in all Official Sealed Transcripts, unless the
person making a request gives instructions NOT to include them.