Curriculum

List of 7 items.

• Advanced Placement Program

  The Advanced Placement Program of the College Board allows high schools to join forces with colleges and universities by providing high school students with an introduction to the rigorous expectations of freshman-level college courses. All of the courses in the AP program use college-level textbooks and supplemental readers. All students who wish to take an Honors or AP course must complete a Salpointe Catholic Honors/AP Questionnaire during registration.
  
  AP students are prepared for and required to take the AP examinations which are given in May. Depending on their scores, these students may earn credit and/or advanced placement at participating colleges and universities. While there is no fee for taking AP classes, there is a College Board fee for each of the AP examinations that the student is responsible for paying. Full credit AP courses must be taken for the full school year. Students cannot drop a full credit AP course at the semester break.

   

  Students should select courses in accordance with academic goals, ability, and extra-curricular time constraints. With the current AP audit requirements, all Salpointe Catholic AP course titles match the corresponding College Board AP exam
  titles.

• Course Selection, Changes and Drops

  Choosing an appropriate program of studies is an important part of each student's high school responsibilities. Parents/guardians are encouraged to participate actively in the yearly process of selecting courses that meet the needs of their sons/daughters. Alternate courses must be selected for every course in case the first choices are not available due to scheduling conflicts or low enrollment. After a student has been duly registered and has received his/her schedule, he/she may not change that schedule without prior approval of the counselors and payment of a $50 fee (unless the change has been necessitated by Salpointe). Because we take great care in correctly placing and registering students, schedule changes are permitted only as an exception when one of the following criteria is met:
  
  1. Department approval based on student ability;
  2. Desire to take a heavier academic load (if space is available);
  3. Misplacement in a course.

   

  Not liking a course or not needing it for graduation is not sufficient reason for dropping a course. Full credit courses must be taken for a full school year. A parent/guardian of the student must approve all schedule changes.
  
  All requests to change a course must be filed with the students counselor according to the guidelines of registration. The student must complete a schedule drop/add form according to the above norms, have a parent approve it, and then return the form to the Counseling Office. The petition will be reviewed according to the above-mentioned criteria and appropriate action decided upon.
  
  THE SCHEDULE CHANGE FEE IS $50.

• Credit Accumulation and Course Load Requirements

  Credit Accumulation
  Courses carrying 1 credit meet for an entire year. Courses carrying a .5 credit meet for one semester. Students are responsible for keeping their credits up-to-date and should refer to the catalogue or their counselors whenever a question arises. Salpointe provides the opportunity and resources for all students to plan and carry out an academic program that meets their needs.
  
  Course Load Requirements
  All students are automatically scheduled for 7 periods each semester totaling 6 to 7 credits. Summer school is mandatory for all students who fail any course(s). Summer school is strongly recommended for students earning a D (D's are
  not college recommending grades.). Students are required to take their summer coursework at Salpointe if it is offered here.

• Dual Credit Courses

  Salpointe Catholic High School has partnered with Seton Hill University and the University of Arizona to offer a selection of courses from our curriculum that will also earn college credit. Both Seton Hill University and the University of Arizona will charge an additional tuition fee for students choosing the dual credit option. Students should keep in mind that though they will be earning college credit, each university has its own policies regarding the transfer credits they will accept. Students should check with the universities in which they are interested to determine if they will accept the transfer credits.

  
  For these classes that give dual credit through University of Arizona and Seton Hill University, registration periods will be open only during the first two weeks of school in the fall semester. Once the registration period is over, no registrations will be accepted or processed for this or any other school year.

• Graduation

  The Salpointe Catholic curriculum should be viewed as a four-year experience during which the student must accumulate 26 credits to graduate. These graduation requirements can be enhanced by taking more than the basic requirement through the “Elective” choice. World Language enrichment is encouraged through taking more than the required two years of coursework in Spanish, French or Latin. Fine Arts, Career and Technical Education, Business Education and Exercise Science classes are excellent choices for any student and can be used toward fulfillment of the “Elective” requirement.

• Recommending Grades

  The education program offered at Salpointe Catholic is constructed to assure each student the opportunity to achieve his/her maximum potential and pursue his/her special talents. Since more than 99% of Salpointe Catholic students continue their
  education after high school, it is important for parents to note that there is a great difference between a passing grade and a college recommending grade. For this reason, therefore, high school students intent on higher education must earn strong grades from the very beginning of their high school careers. Prerequisites are clearly stated at the end of each course description or department introduction. Grade requirements refer to the semester grade (both semester grades for one-credit courses).

• Summer School and Off-Campus Courses

  Students taking a summer course to make up a failure must take that course at Salpointe if it is being offered here. Students must first secure the necessary forms from the Salpointe Summer School Office (Room 300) and then obtain counselor approval before enrolling for any summer school courses. If the course is not offered at Salpointe, students must receive written permission from the Director of Counseling to take the course at another school. All required courses must be taken at Salpointe. In general, the policy is to permit supplemental courses for the following reasons:

  1. The student cannot fit this course into his/her schedule, or
  2. The course is not offered at Salpointe.