PHS Program of Studies
Printable Program of Studies
Printable Listing of Electives
INTRODUCTION
This catalog is a reference manual for
students, parents, and school personnel
actively involved in curriculum planning at
Princeton High School. It is a complete
guide to the possible course offerings at
Princeton High School. Each department
has described its specific course offerings,
highlighting the chief components of each
course, as well as prerequisites for
enrollment.
Planning an individual student's high school
program of studies demands a cooperative
effort between home and school. The
program of studies that a student pursues in
high school should reflect his or her
aspirations, achievements, and aptitudes.
The courses at Princeton High School
provide students with many opportunities to
meet their educational needs. Beyond state,
district, college and career requirements, the
students are encouraged to select courses
that will be academically stimulating and
personally enriching. In selecting particular
courses, the following criteria should be
considered. Does the course:
- Meet the high school graduation
requirements?
- Provide an outlet for interests in specific
subject areas?
- Reflect an appropriate proficiency level?
- Provide a background for post high school
plans leading to career options?
- Meet college entrance requirements?
Please consider the following when planning
your academic program:
- Make good decisions about overall course
load keeping the following factors in mind:
- homework/assignment/project/independent
work demands (AP and accelerated courses
will have higher demands than other
courses).
- sport/extracurricular involvement and
commitments after school that may take
away from study/homework time
- number of AP & accelerated courses (these
courses will take up a lot of time, and
therefore, students should select courses
that keep their overall wellbeing in mind
while maintaining a healthy balance).
- Make sound initial choices. Low enrollment
totals may lead to the cancellation of a
course.
- Choose courses, not teachers.
Requests for schedule adjustments will
not be honored based on the issue of
personnel.
- Discuss specific subject area choices with
counselors, teachers, and/or department
supervisors who can share valuable insight
into the nature of specific courses.
- Any inquiries regarding scheduling
should first be directed to the student's
school counselor.
Please note: Final decisions regarding the actual offering of
any particular course for the upcoming school
year will depend upon enrollment and
budget constraints. Therefore, not all courses
listed in this catalog are guaranteed
to run every school year.
Minimum Scheduling Requirements
Every Princeton High School student must
be scheduled for a minimum of 30 credits
per year. Semester courses can run first
and/or second semester, depending upon
the number of student requests for
enrollment.
Grade Level Promotion Requirements
In order for a student to be promoted to the
next grade level, he/she must have
completed a required number of credits
during the school year (September through
August). These minimums, when added,
equal the 120 credit minimum graduation
requirement.
9th to 10th grade = 30 credits
10th to 11th grade = 60 credits
11th to 12th grade = 90 credits
12th to graduation = 120 credits
Athletic Eligibility
Any student who wishes to compete in
interscholastic sports must meet the
minimum credit requirements established by
the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic
Association. A student must have passed
30 credits in the previous year to be
eligible for participation in sports offered in
the fall and/or winter. To be eligible for
sports offered in the spring, a student must
have passed the equivalent of
15 credits in
the fall semester.
Graduation Requirements
In order for a student to receive a high
school diploma from Princeton High School,
each student must:
- Successfully complete a minimum of 120
credits beginning in grade 9 and concluding
in grade 12. The course work must include
the following course requirements:
- Language Arts Literacy: 20 credits
(English I – IV)
- Mathematics: 15 credits, including
Algebra I and Geometry
- Science: 15 credits of lab science,
including biology, a choice between
chemistry, physics, or environmental
science, and a third inquiry-based lab or technical science. Students
must participate in the NJBCT the
year they take biology.
- United States History: 10 credits
- World History & Cultures: 5 credits
- World Languages: 5 credits,
however, we strongly recommend
15 credits in one language for all
students
- Physical Education & Health/Driver’s
Ed: one year (4 credits) for every
year of public high school
enrollment in New Jersey. Option II
is available for eligible students.
Please refer to the PHS website for
application details.
- Visual & Performing Arts: 5 credits
- Financial, Economic and
Entrepreneurial Literacy: 2.5 credits
- 21st Century Life & Careers (Practical
Arts) (Family/Consumer Science,
Business Administration &
Technology, Technology Education):
5 credits
- Career Awareness/Community
Service Program: 10th grade.
- Completion of state assessment
graduation requirements for grades
9, 10 and 11. (See PHS website and
back of Program of Studies for class
specifics).
Minimum graduation requirements should not be confused with college/university admission requirements. The general rule of thumb for most four-year colleges/universities is that applicants should have completed a minimum of 16 to 18 academic units upon graduation. Normally academic units are considered to be full year courses in college preparatory math, science, English, social studies, and world languages.
Course Levels
There are two levels of courses used to
calculate a student’s weighted grade point
average.
Unweighted
Any course not designated as
an advanced placement course, an
accelerated course, or a Princeton University
Course.
Weighted
Any course designated with an
AP, ACC, ADV (World Language courses
only), or PU. Grade point equivalents
increase for grades earned in weighted
courses. For example: Standard "B+" = 3.3,
ACC "B+" = 4.3.
AP Courses
Princeton High School offers 25 AP courses
in almost every department. These courses
are open to all students, with basic
prerequisites and course sequence
requirements. The pacing and sequence of
the AP courses are designed with the
expectation that students will take the AP
exam(s) in the spring. Students who plan to
take the AP exam will be informed of the
registration process in class.
Financial assistance for AP exams is
available. Students should see Mrs. Siso
Stentz in Guidance for information. In
5
addition, if students are seeking College
Board accommodations, they must request
these accommodations through their school
counselor
12 weeks prior to testing. The
submission process for accommodations to
College Board takes time.
Important Scheduling Deadlines
1. Changing courses after the academic
year has started can often be very disruptive
to a student’s schedule. Thus, elective
course changes will not be permitted if they
interfere with academic courses already
scheduled. Additionally, schedule changes
will ONLY be considered after the
completion of the fifth full day of school.
Please note: ALL changes after the school
year has started takes time. Priority is given
to Seniors. Priority is also given to
placement issues. Students, parents,
teachers and Supervisors must all be in
agreement before any and all changes are
made.
2. Adding classes beyond the 5-day rule:
- Last day to add a first semester class:
September 22, 2017
- Last day to add a second semester class:
February 23, 2018
- Last day to add a full-year class:
September 22, 2017
3. Dropping classes: (Remember, all
students must maintain a minimum course
load of 30 credits!)
- Last day to drop a first semester class:
September 15, 2017
- Last day to drop a second semester class:
February 2, 2018
- Last day to drop a full-year class:
October 20, 2017
4. Please note: Students need written
permission of the parent, teacher,
department supervisor, director of guidance
and principal when requesting to add or
drop classes by using our drop/add form.
Seniors will need written permission from
any college/university they have applied to
at the time of requesting to drop a class.
5. A student who withdraws from any
course prior to the above deadlines will be
removed from the class roster and no record
of this withdrawal will appear on the
student’s permanent record. A withdrawal
after the deadline will receive a record of
Withdraw Pass (WP) or Withdraw Fail (WF)
on the student’s permanent transcript.
6. Advancing of a Course Level
(mathematics, science, and world
languages): Advancement of course level
allows a student to bypass a prerequisite
course by pursuing a pre-approved,
organized course of study at a recognized
institution outside the school day or school
year. A student may advance a course level
in a given sequence of courses found in
mathematics, sciences (AP courses only)
and world languages with the understanding
that:
- A student must be earning an average of
a “B+” or better in the current course.
- Exception: For students planning to
enroll im Pre-Calc Acc before 10th
grade, an A- is required in the current
and all previous math courses.
- A student takes a pre-approved 120-
hour advancing credit course in the level
being bypassed.
- A student submits the Advancement of a
Course Level Form to the appropriate
supervisor before May 5, 2017. The form
is available online.
- A student submits a description of the
anticipated coursework to the appropriate
supervisor. The description must include
the number of hours the course meets per
week and the number of weeks of study.
- A science course must have a lab
component. For AP Science courses, the
student must already have earned credit in
a lab science course at PHS.
- A language
course must specify how the development of
oral proficiency will occur.
- A student submits notebooks, quizzes,
tests, and lab reports compiled during the
course. The supervisor reviews each
student’s coursework as part of the
placement process.
- A student will not be granted permission
to move ahead to the next level unless s/he
takes the PHS final exam (and possibly a
mid-year exam) in the bypassed course.
- A student takes the exam only once and
must earn a score of at least 87% to be
considered for advancement.
- In mathematics, a student must also
meet the specific requirements for eligibility
for each course.
- For advancing in world languages, the
exam includes a proficiency test consisting
of an interview or presentation in the target
language as well as reading and writing
tasks.
- A student registers with the supervisor to
take the exam on either August 2 or 9,
2017. Test locations and times will be
posted on the PHS website.
- An approved course taken at other
institutions for the purpose of advancing a
level may be reflected on a student’s
transcript, but will not be awarded credit.
Please have the institution send official
documentation to the PHS Guidance Office.
Course grades will not be factored into the
GPA.
- Priority for placement into courses is
given to those students who have enrolled
in the course through the regular scheduling
process.
- Placement decisions are made at the
building level by the supervisor in
conjunction with the principal and are
considered final.
Scheduling Timeline
Program of Studies Parent Night will be
held onJanuary 18, 2017 at 7 pm in the
PHS PAC. Student Program of Studies
Orientation and Course Registration at
John Witherspoon Middle School, Charter
School, Cranbury School and Princeton
High School will be held during the months
of January/February 2017. Incoming
9th grade students and their parents will
meet with a counselor individually to
register for courses. It is important to
choose courses wisely and to make
solid decisions during this
appointment because not all course
changes later in the process will be
honored.
Course Request Verifications will be mailed
home during the month of April/May
2017. This is NOT a schedule, rather a
verification of courses selected. If there
are discrepancies, it is critical that the
student and/or parent contact their
counselor.
Please note: All requests for course
changes will not be honored after
April 7, 2017. (Before Spring Break!)
Tests for approved advancement of course
level will be given on August 2 or 9,
2017.
Final schedules will be mailed home one
week prior to the first day of school. Only
schedule changes for placement
adjustments will be made until the 5-day
freeze period has concluded.