Springfield High School Guidance and Counseling Office Personnel
COUNSELOR	GRADES 9-11	GRADES 12
Kelly Pedrotty 610.938.6269	A-Da	A-Cla
Hilary Campbell 610.938.6267	Db-Hz	Df-Hud
Demetrius Spiropoulos 610.938.6271	I-Mi	Kim-Pek
Connor Chang 610.938.6216	Mj-Rz	Cli-De, Hu-Ke, Pe-Phi, Ti-Zh
Jessica Houser 610.938.6268	S-Z	McC-Tho
Kendra Campbell 610.938.6074	College and Career Counselor - All Grade Levels

	Guidance Office Secretaries
Christine Sulpizio 610.938.6265	College and Career Counselor Secretary
Lisa Noll 610.938.6266	Counselor Secretary and Main Desk

Periodically students wish to accelerate through a course sequence to advance to the next level. The guidelines for these opportunities are as follows:

1. A request to accelerate through a course by exam is to be initiated by parent and student in writing via email to the principal. The request must clearly state the reason or rationale for accelerating. Exemption by exam must be requested no later than March 1 of the current school year for the coming school year. This is to allow for ample time to review academic performance data and allow the student ample time to prepare for the exam(s). Permission to accelerate through a course and gain exemption by exam is granted at the principal's discretion.

2. Any costs associated with this process are to be funded by the student and/or parents, which may include the costs of assembling materials, purchase of additional materials, and administering and scoring the exams.

3. The student must take the district designed Quarterly Assessments, or an approved alternative exam, for the course and achieve a score of 85% or better on each Quarterly Assessment or the approved alternate exam. Quarterly Assessments in and of themselves are not cumulative exams and may only cover a portion of the course content. These examinations need to be administered and scored at least four (4) weeks before the start of the school year or course.

4. The scheduling of the examination dates will be arranged by the HS Principal or his/her designee and the corresponding department representative who will score the exam.

5. No grade or credit will be awarded for the accelerated course. In other words, the course will not count for accumulated credit toward graduation requirements and the course and grade will not appear on the official transcript as a graded course.  

 

If the criteria in Step 3 are met, the course will be listed on the transcript as “Course by Exemption” and will be awarded a passing mark of “P”.

Class rank is calculated at the end of the school year and is based on the overall weighted GPA. Student MP Report Cards include class rank but this is an un-weighted calculation and is not a true indication of the student’s class rank.

The course request and scheduling process is extremely important and plays a vital role in preparing students for their post-secondary endeavors.  Course request and scheduling involve careful thought and planning, and is a collaborative effort between students and parents, and counselors, teachers and administrators. Springfield High School takes pride in offering a wide variety of academic and special area courses. Students can pursue college preparatory and more rigorous honors and advanced placement courses while exploring and experiencing many courses in the arts and technology application areas. Students are encouraged to take full advantage of these options. Throughout the course request and scheduling process, please read the course descriptions and expectations associated with each course carefully. In conjunction with a counselor, make sure the selected courses are in line with a comprehensive academic plan. Choosing the right courses is one of the most significant tasks a student completes each year. Courses should be selected with these questions in mind:

●       Will this course allow me to meet graduation requirements?

●       Will this course help me to meet college entrance requirements?

●       Will this course help me develop a skill to become employable after high school?

●       Will this course introduce me to a new subject or experience?

●       Is this course appropriate for my ability? Will it be a challenge?

●       Do I have the prerequisite for this course?

Preparing Course Requests

Students should review their course transcripts and/or refer to their end-of-year report cards each year in high school to keep track of courses for which they have received credit. This information can be found on the HAC page. 

Before making any course requests, be sure to review transcripts and most recent report cards so as not to:

• Request courses for which credit has been earned,
• Request courses in which the student is currently enrolled,
• Request courses necessary to meet graduation requirements,
• Review prerequisites of courses to ensure the proper prerequisites have been, or will be, met.

Course Sequencing and Prerequisites

Course sequencing must be adhered to when planning your program of study. It is important to review prerequisite course(s) before requesting a course. Students are also recommended for core classes that fulfill graduation requirements.

Prerequisites for courses should be carefully considered and adhered to when planning a program of study. Questions regarding appropriate placement related to prerequisites and qualifications should be directed to the student’s current teacher or a guidance counselor.

• Most course descriptions, where appropriate, contain performance, or percentage, based pre-requisites. Several require teacher recommendation. Please keep in mind that these percentages are the initial screener in determining if a student has demonstrated the academic rigor to perform at or above current performance levels in more rigorous courses.

• Where appropriate, performance requirements above and beyond College Preparatory courses are identified. Please consider these requirements when making requests.

• Before students complete the course request process, teachers  will submit recommendations based  on demonstrated academic ability and performance.

• In some instances, a student does not meet the course pre-requisites or display the recommended standards of academic performance, and as such does not receive a recommendation from the teacher for the more rigorous course. If a student still desires to take the course under these circumstances, the student and parent must complete a Course Recommendation Waiver Form available through the guidance counselor. 

Course Offerings

• Course offerings from year to year are determined not only by the number of student requests, but also by the number of students who can be successfully rostered into those courses. The standard for making these determinations is that a course may not be offered if fewer than twelve (12) students can successfully be rostered into the course. 
   

• Students selecting rigorous academic course work, including Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors courses, are reminded of the commitment made by the High School Administration and Board of School Directors to allocate staffing and resources to offer AP and Honors courses. Students are expected to honor their commitment to take these challenging courses. A full commitment should be considered carefully because withdrawing from an Honors or AP will have a significant impact on the college application and college acceptance process. Teachers submit recommendations for Honors and AP courses based on demonstrated student ability and performance. Counselors will guide students through the selection and commitment process to ensure the greatest level of confidence in the decision to pursue these courses.

Additional Reminder: Some AP courses are specialized and sought after by a smaller number of students. As a result, a course may not be offered if there are not enough requests or if fewer than 12 students can be successfully rostered into the course. 

The Master Schedule and Fulfilling Student Request

Students may choose from a variety of courses and every effort is made to fulfill these requests. The development process of a master schedule considers many factors when determining which courses will be offered: availability of staff, the number of students requesting a particular course, unique combinations of course requests, and school resources are among several factors that influence the course offerings. With all these factors, the possibility exists where student requests may not be available to build a complete schedule. Guidance counselors, in conjunction with the administrative team, will work diligently and methodically to provide rich and varied academic experiences.

Students can use the following method to calculate GPA:

Determine Total Quality Points - sum of all points for each course attempted as determined by the following formula:

Quality Points per Course = % Grade earned in course x Credit x Weighted Value

Overall GPA = Total Quality Points / Credits Attempted

Students can use the chart below to convert numerical ± 100% to a corresponding value on a 4.0 Quality Points Scale.

Divisions I & II Initial Eligibility Requirements

DIVISION I 16 Core Courses: 4 years of English. 3 years of mathematics (Algebra I or higher). 2 years of natural/physical science (1 year of lab) 1 year of additional English, mathematics or natural/physical science. 2 years of social science. 4 years of additional courses (from any area above, foreign language or comparative religion/philosophy).

DIVISION II 16 Core Courses 3 years of English 2 years of mathematics (Algebra I or higher) 2 years of natural/physical science (1 year of lab) 3 years of additional English, mathematics or natural/physical science 2 years of social science. 4 years of additional courses (from any area above, foreign language or comparative religion/philosophy).

* Beginning August 1, 2016, NCAA Division I will require 10 core courses to be completed prior to the seventh semester (seven of the 10 must be a combination of English, math or natural or physical science that meet the distribution requirements).  These 10 courses become "locked in" at the start of the seventh semester and cannot be retaken for grade improvement.

For NCAA eligibility purposes, only NCAA designated “core courses” are used in the calculation of the NCAA GPA. This is an NCAA policy and is not related to Springfield High School Grading Policy. Be sure to look at your high school’s list of NCAA-approved core courses at www.eligibilitycenter.org to make certain that you know which of your courses will be counted toward your NCAA GPA.

Division I GPA and SAT/ACT test score requirements are based on a sliding scale determined by the NCAA and can be found at www.eligibilitycenter.org. The Division II core GPA requirement is a minimum of 2.00. Division II requires a minimum SAT score of 820 (Math & Critical Reading only) or an ACT sum score of 68. Remember, the NCAA GPA is calculated using NCAA core courses only. Please refer to www.eligibilitycenter.org for complete and updated information.

To be promoted to the 11th grade, students must have earned a minimum of 11 credits by the end of the 10th grade. Six (6) of these credits must be in the core academic areas of LA, SS, Math and Science. Students who do not meet the promotion requirement will remain with their guidance counselor and advisory and will be designated as a sophomore.

If a student fails a core course, they have the option to repeat the course(s) the following school year or attend Summer School. Counselors will assess these situations and make a recommendation that is in the student’s best interest academically. Repeating courses can be beneficial, especially with courses that build on prior knowledge. Sometimes scheduling constraints are such that repeating a course creates difficulty in scheduling. In these cases the student is encouraged to attend Summer School. Please contact the Guidance Office for specifics regarding qualifications for summer school, grading procedures, available courses, dates, and tuition.

Failing any course may impede or jeopardize a student graduating within four (4) years. Students and parents/guardians are strongly encouraged to make necessary and appropriate arrangements in the event of a course failure.

Students are given opportunities to choose from a wide variety of courses. Every effort is made to fulfill these requests; however, it can be challenging to enroll students in every course that the student requests. The development process of a master schedule considers many factors when determining which courses will be offered. Staffing, the number of students requesting a particular course, unique combinations of course requests, and school resources are among several factors that influence the course offerings. The HS administration and guidance counselors will work diligently and methodically to provide rich and varied academic experiences.

• MODIFICATIONS TO SENIOR SCHEDULE STRUCTURE 2024-2025 SY

The Language Arts program at Springfield High School integrates all the language arts skills– reading, writing, speaking, listening, thinking, and researching – into the curriculum and helps students apply these skills to meaningful tasks. Our program goal is to have students achieve high academic standards goals in the language arts: reading independently, reading critically, analyzing and responding to literature, writing in various forms for a variety of audiences, producing compositions of high quality, speaking proficiently, and using research skills. Students at all grade levels will be expected to know and meet district and state standards in reading, writing, speaking and listening.

English and Language Arts course offering Overview

• ELA Grade 9 CP
• ELA Grade 9 Honors
• ELA Grade 10 CP
• ELA Grade 10 Honors
• ELA Grade 11 AP Language & Composition
• ELA Grade 11 CP
• ELA Grade 11 Honors
• ELA Grade 12 AP Literature & Compostion
• ELA Grade 12 CP
• ELA Grade 12 Honors

The Social Studies program at Springfield High School is designed to allow the student the option of becoming involved in specific aspects of the social sciences that parallel his/her specific interest. The program is designed to consider the development of the intellectual capabilities of each student which will in turn lead the student to become a more rational thinking being. Coupled with this is an emphasis on the application of higher order thinking processes including the skills connected with decision making, problem solving, critical and creative thinking. Students will develop the necessary knowledge, intellectual and social awareness, and communicative skills to function and prosper in current and future social settings.

Social Studies Course offering Overview

• The Global Context (Grade 9)
• U.S. History (Grade 10)
• U.S. Civics and Government (Grade 11)

 

SCIENCE Course offering Overview

mathematics Course offering Overview

World Language Course Offering Overview

• American Sign Language ASL I
• American Sign Language ASL II
• German I
• German II
• German III
• German IV
• German AP
• Spanish I
• Spanish II
• Spanish III
• AP Spanish 

Unified Arts Course Offering Overview

• Art
• Business and Administrative Technologies
• Communications
• Family and Consumer Science
• Industrial Technologies
• Music
• Physical Education

• DELAWARE COUNTY TECHNICAL Course Offering Overview

Online Course Offerings 

 In addition to the diverse and student-centered classroom-based learning opportunities and experiences, Springfield High School also offers students the opportunity to experience learning in an asynchronous online learning environment. Interested and approved students can choose from a variety of online learning courses not currently offered at SHS. These courses will appear on a student’s schedule as being offered during the school day and students will be assigned a location where they can work. Courses will be taken for credit but do not satisfy graduation requirements as detailed on page 12 of this document. Earned online course credit(s) will be considered elective credits above and beyond the minimum 24 credits required to graduate. Numeric marks [grades] are assigned and will factor into a student’s GPA. All courses carry a CP course weight. An SHS teacher will monitor student progress and maintain communication with students on a weekly basis. Please see the courses listed below and inform your counselor if you are interested in pursuing this option for the upcoming school year.

For a complete list of available online courses, click on the Edmentum Catalog.