Students and Parents - It's that time of year again, schedules are IN THE MAIL for the 2019-20 school year!!  Scheduling is a multi-layered process and at CHS I strive my VERY BEST to create a schedule that helps each student reach their personal, academic and professional goals.  What does that process look like? 

CHS Scheduling Process:
1.  Department Input. The scheduling process truly is an all year long process that starts with the CHS Departments.  Each department (through professional development and expertise) has a strong understanding on what courses are needed in various fields as well as opportunities in their content area.  When new courses are needed or desired teachers work with CHS administrators for approval and the guidance office to make it happen.

2.  Student Requests and Parent Approval. I continue the process by gathering student class requests from every student through small group meetings.  (See attached for detailed analysis of this years requests).  Mrs. Girard and Mrs. Lanphear assisted with these meetings this year.  Students get to pick any course they might like to take, while looking over individual graduation requirements to ensure no requirements are missed.  I always have students select 2-3 alternate courses to provide for scheduling conflicts. Student selections are then sent home for a review and signature by a parent, so that each students parents are involved in the scheduling process.  

3.  Build Master Schedule. I compile and review all the department input, student requests, and parent input into a data file.  I use these items to start a framework for the master schedule. Some things are set by forces outside my control and I have to work around these issues. These including teacher availability, due to teacher sharing with the MS, or college duel credit classes that are set by Chadron State or WNCC. I use the data to determine how many sections of various courses are needed. I then construct a preliminary schedule by determining what classes will be taught at what times. Once a have a preliminary schedule complete, I run a report to determine how many of these student requests identified above were satisfied by that particular preliminary schedule, with the goal to be meeting as many student requests as possible. I continue to create preliminary schedules until I have satisfied somewhere between 85-90% of the student requests. During this process I usually receive input and feedback from teachers as well. This input generally includes concerns regarding class size, student preparedness for certain classes and personal preferences. With my other job duties, it takes approximately two to three weeks from the time I create the first preliminary schedule to the time I have created a schedule that I believe satisfies the most student and teacher requests possible.  

4.  Student 1 On 1 Meetings. Once the Master Schedule is complete I meet one-on-one with every student. This meeting is used to review and alter, if necessary, that student's schedule and to discuss how their schedule fits in to their future plans. Considerations during these meetings include the students desired college major or career path. These meetings range from 30 minutes to an hour. Considering we have approximately 200 students, these meetings take considerable time and usually take place over 3-4 weeks. Parents are always encouraged to be involved in these meetings.

5.  Finalization. The last step in the scheduling process is mailing a copy of each students schedule home with a clear deadline for changes. These are usually mailed in May.

6. Fall Changes. Despite the numerous occasions for involvement through Spring scheduling I typically receive 50+ parent and student contacts in the Summer and 50+ more in the Fall regarding student's schedules. I do my best to accommodate these requests, however, Fall schedule requests are difficult because they can have a detrimental effect on class size and balancing a students schedule. 

7.  College Credits in High School.  Let's end with some REALLY FUN FACTS.  

In 2018-19 School Year our CHS Senior Class earned almost 300 college credits!! On top of that many didn't have to leave our building to get them :)

​And drumroll please.......EVERY FREE AND REDUCED KID got those credits for free via applying for what we call an ACE Scholarship in my office. 
  
Each kid who enrolled to take one of these courses takes an additional meeting and enrollment process in which I work closely with CSC or the appropriate post-secondary institution and extra enrollment paperwork/applications. 

This is just a snipit of what we do in the counseling office to help kids reach their goals and potential.  Contact me with ANY QUESTIONS you may have I love talking about this process and individualizing it to meet the needs of our kiddos!

Loni Watson
Chadron High School Counselor
loni.watson@chadronschools.net
308-432-0725

Do colleges and universities even care about what classes you are taking in high school?

YES, they do!

According to schools around the country, higher education institutions are looking for core and advanced coursework for college admission. These institutions are looking to see if you are going to be able to handle the course work that will be expected at the college level. 

BigFuture suggests the following:

• Four years of high school math (Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, Trigonometry, or Calculus)
• Three full years of laboratory science classes (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth/Space science)
• A full year of U.S. History
• Half year of each: U.S. Government, World History, and/or Geography
• 4 Years of English or literature class
• 2 years of a foreign language
• Dual credit college classes and AP classes to get a jump start on those college credits

Have you thought through your course selection for the 201920 school year?  Long gone are the days of picking courses based on what friends you have in certain sections, it's time to be selective and pick courses with intention! 

U.S. News states that warns that students should strive to challenge themselves, but also capitalize on their strengths. Maybe not all AP classes are for you! If you do not excel in a certain area, it is okay. Colleges want to see some rigor and challenge but do not expect that you took every AP class offered. The most competitive colleges and universities will look to see if you have taken many challenging courses and will want see that you did well in those courses.

According to Khan Academy, many higher educational institutes are just making sure that you were able to challenge yourself and succeed in the classes you did take. If you want more ideas on the specific classes you think you need to take for your desired post-secondary institution, get in contact with an admissions representative from the school you are hoping to get into.  They will advise you on what their specific requirements are along with what they look for in prospective students!  

Come see Mrs. Watson in the guidance office if you have any questions about what courses are important and how you can make the most of your high school experience.  

Chadron High Guidance office is proud to announce we will be partnering with the UNL Extension office to once again provide Connecting the Dots programming to all 9th and 10th grade students.  Connecting the Dots is an interactive career exploration simulation program designed to help ninth/tenth grade students learn more about careers of interest and how to “connect the dots” from ninth grade through post-secondary study to the workplace.  Please see the attached flyer for more information regarding this fun day.

Parents of CHS Juniors, the state ACT is quickly approaching!  
On April 2nd all CHS juniors will take the ACT which was selected as the Nebraska State Accountability Exam.  All students, including special education students and English Learners who are in their third-year cohort of high school must participate in the ACT.  Students will participate in ACT Reading, English, Math, Science and Writing exams.  The test will be administered during the school day and students are automatically pre-registered through the CHS Guidance office.  If students are absent this day we will schedule an official makeup day the following week.  Look for a flyer with more information about lunch schedules and days agenda on twitter and the CHS website in the coming weeks.  
All juniors can access their online prep accounts by using the following link:
http://onlineprep.act.org
username:  school email
password:  Cardinals2020!  
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