Deltarix

Kadoo Thank you so much for all of that information . Its been extremely helpful because up until now we've really struggled to get to grips with understanding the USA v UK school system. When I was at high school it was 1st years through to 5th years then we left at 16 after taking exams to start college. Your advice is sound and the kids are the priority. Were we live we have had for several years now although only just arrived to live here permanently the plan was to arrive next year but life got in the way so we're here much sooner. Now you've explained all of that we feel even more concerned and determined as it really informed us for the first time of what we are facing. My husband had his law degree evaluated to a JD so I get the picture. Were also going to visit the less desirable school now so will keep you all posted

morpeth

Of course a student wanting US high school diploma has to get rid of gen ed requirements, quite agree.I mentioned the online high school for various reasons, one of which to deal with those pesky general education requirements. You and o health and PE via online instruction.

Guess also a lot depends on the student. Considering the standards of many US schools these days, I would think a reasonably educated 16 year old can deal with AP classes or even dual credit classes. Why take easier high school classes than ones that teach one more, and save money on college down the line ?

kodokan

PE class online? *boggles, and tuts about world gorn mad* But yes, hopefully some of the other entry-level ones can be knocked off online.

(Warning - long and detailed post)

OP, if you go to the school's website you'll find a course catalog (sometimes under the Guidance or Counseling submenu). The first dozen or so pages will outline the graduation requirements (there are usually a couple of levels, a bare minimum standard and a college-bound with more science, foreign languages, etc), and some suggested plans of study to meet them over the 4 years. If it's especially helpful, it'll give little flowchart maps showing paths through the more individualized subject streams like maths.

As an example, this is what my son did in 9th grade in a school operating a '6 lessons a day' schedule:

- 9th grade general English
- Geometry (he's a year accelerated in Math, so ahead in the high school path of Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Pre-Calc, Calculus)
- Biology (accelerated to match the maths; the 9th grade class is usually General Science)
- World History

Those are the Core Four academic classes, and there are options within each for academic streaming; Basic, Regular, Honors. Some schools make kids test into Honors, others will base it on previous grades; if you push, they will usually place the child in the class of your choice, space permitting, and make you sign a waiver to say you understand they'll be dropped a level if they can't keep up.

Then for his electives he did:
- French II (he skipped French I due to previous experience)
- PE (1/2 credit semester course)
- Drawing (1/2 credit semester course)

(Note: most US schools - those not operating on a block schedule - do the same schedule every day for the whole half-year semester, so a student will do roughly 5 hours a week of each class. This can cause problems of UK equivalency as timetabling there can be looser, with some subject classes only meeting 1-2 times a week. I suggest somewhat exaggerating the frequency of meeting, or the length of classes, to arrive at something resembling 5 weekly hours...)

For 10th grade, in a different 7 periods a day school, he did:
- 10th grade English
- Algebra II
- Chemistry
- US History
- French III
and then 4 graduation requirement 1/2 credit classes:
- Speech and Presentation
- Health
- Intro IT
- Digital Media (second 1/2 of the 1 credit in Art he needs to collect)

So by now, he has:

English - 2/4 credits needed
Maths - 2/4 credits
Science - 2/4 credits
Social Studies - 2/4 credits
Foreign Language - 2/3 credits
Art - 1 (so completely done)
PE - 0.5 (done)
Health - 0.5 (done)
Speech - 0.5 (done)
IT - 0.5 (done)
TOTAL: 13 credits so far, out of the... um, 22 I think he needs overall.

Next year in 11th grade he's doing:
- 11th grade English
- Pre-Calculus
- AP Chemistry (AP is somewhat like an A level advanced class, with a national exam that equals college credit)
- AP European History
- French IV
- AP Economics (ticks off a graduation requirement for 1/2 a credit in a Personal Finance class)
- study hall (free period)

Then in 12th, it'll likely be:
- AP English
- AP Calculus
- Physics
- AP US Government
- AP French

I hope it helps to have an actual example of how the classes are structured over the 4 years. When I was getting to grips with it, it only really fell into place when a helpful guidance counselor drew me a diagram grid of 4 years along the top, the various subjects down the side, then sketched in a suggested plan of study spread over the high school years. You have to do that, consider the entire school career rather than a single year in abstract (but you only have to make subject choices year by year; a student can think they're going to take Painting but decide on Sculpture 2 years later, change their mind about Psychology over Sociology for their Social Studies class that year, etc).

Block in the 4 Core academic classes over the 4 years, using your child's UK experiences for 9th grade where possible, then fill in the remaining gaps with the mandatory electives. See how it might look. Hopefully they've been doing Science and History GCSEs, and perhaps already a language that the new school also teaches, and almost certainly PE, and something in IT or the arts. In my experience, and anecdotally, the school is usually quite flexible about what they'll consider credit for PE, art, IT, and stricter on the more academic subjects.

kodokan

I have no clue, mind you, on how they'll award a grade for his '9th grade' classes. I think some schools just record it on the transcript as a Pass/ Fail without a letter grade, then start calculating the GPA and doing Class Rank (if they do that) from the point at which the student joins their school.

It's important to ask how they deal with this and be prepared to advocate strongly about past work if necessary, but don't worry too much - there'll be a policy the counselor/ you will be working within; they may not have had a UK student turn up before, but they will be familiar with incorporating previous study achievements from other countries such as Mexico, Asia, etc.

lizzyq

My two would have killed for only needing 0.5 credits of PE to graduate, they have to do that each year of high school.

kodokan

Just thinking, we haven't mentioned your 13 year old in all this, who'll be going into 8th grade? It's less important if he/ she misses any periods of school, or gets shuffled about between the academic levels; most of 8th grade doesn't count for anything concrete in the long run. Honors English or regular English... no one will know or care in the long run, and even if they start in the standard class, you can usually get agreement to move them up after a trial period of a month or so, if they're clearly aceing the work and effortlessly getting As.

The exception is usually Math. The regular math class is usually general 8th grade math/ pre-algebra, but math-y kids will have been tracked ahead in 6th or 7th grade, and will be doing Algebra 1.

It may not be possible to get the school to flex the policy and put your kid into Algebra 1 even if they're very strong in maths, and it may not be a good idea anyway as US maths includes a lot more working with fractions than UK maths (because of not using metric measurements, they learn bizarrely pointless things like how to divide 11/17ths by 9/33rds).

It's fixable later - (not very) worst case, your child could do Algebra 1 in summer school, or online, and move straight into Geometry in 9th grade.

kodokan

Master K is equally delighted - one of the bonuses of the school move was learning that he now only needed 0.5 PE credits to graduate, not 1, and that he never needed to do it again. He does martial arts out of school, but loathes team sports and the general ra-ra-ness and pep rally atmosphere of school PE.

morpeth

I had experience with one of my boys he, he needed extra PE credit but with taking advanced classes and being in competitive sport outside of school, he worked out necessary hours for training and exercise, his coach signed off every two weeks, and his school accepted on line PE grade.

I have had experience with US schools in 3 states, I would recommend reviewing everything with guidance counsellor yearly- it is not uncommon for misunderstanding or policy changes to create problems especially in government schools.

Deltarix

We visited the desired school today. We were advised by staff over the telephone to do this and we thought that was a good sign as it showed a willingness of the school to get to grips with parents concerns. They even advised me that the less desirable school would be too much of a culture shock and basically talked me through everything Kodokan previously advised. They agreed to enrol our sons and the 15 yr old will take test and go through the swings and roundabouts to get the right formula for him to have the opportunity to get the required credits for college . The advice was really sound and welcome because they practically reiterated everything Kodokan advised and they were very helpful and enthusiastic to get our son on board and started. They also stressed that this year is extremely important so it was good to hear the school confirm this also. Our son may have to double up on subjects for two years and will have to take test here and there but he's fine with that. We will be giving him all the support he needs. Weve now got to fill in all the enrolment forms and return them so he will be able to start without missing a day. What a relief! Phew! You guys are doing a great job here. Keep it up.

kodokan

Fabulous news!

It's a great help to get a school that is really positive and sees this as an interesting professional puzzle to solve, rather than viewing your arrival as a colossal nuisance.

Glad you were able to get such a good outcome, and best wishes for your boys in settling into their new school. Keep us posted!

Edit: you've got all the necessary vaccinations, right, including non-UK ones like Hep B..? If not, walk-in clinics at CVS or Walmart can fix you up in under 20 mins.

Deltarix

Yes we are up to date with all the UK ones but wasn't aware of the US ones so will be paying them a visit. Your a gem! Thanks again will keep you posted.