Frequently Asked Questions

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We believe in providing rigorous curriculum choices for all students. Advanced standing or honors classes should be open to all students who want to take them, and students who choose to enroll in those courses should be supported by a number of programs that help them succeed in these classes. We believe all students should be allowed to make class level choices in alignment with the district equity goals. SUHSD should foster an environment where students live as their authentic selves in an enriched school experience while pursuing their educational interests and choices.

• College-prep courses - Grade-level courses that meet the Cal State/UC A-G requirements for college applications. Graded on a 4.0 scale (i.e. A = 4.0).
• AS/Honors courses - Cover material on an accelerated timeline and carry a more challenging workload than college-prep courses. Depending on the course, grades may be weighted on a 4.0 or 5.0 scale. 
• AP courses - College-level material and pace. Students are encouraged to pay the fee and sit for the national test administered in the spring; certain scores have the potential to earn college credit. Grade is weighted on a 5.0 scale (i.e. A = 5.0). 

Descriptions from page 9 of the M-A Course Catalog:

Enriched, Advanced Standing (AS), Honors (HP), and Advanced Placement (AP) courses

● Courses move at a decidedly faster pace and are designed to be [more] rigorous, engaging, and dynamic than college prep courses.

● Courses are designed for dedicated students working at or above grade level who love to think critically in specific areas.

● Students should have a consistent and strong work ethic and enjoy the in-depth study of a specific subject.

● AS classes better prepare students for higher level or AP courses.

Freshman and Sophomore AS/Honors classes align with our California public universities as well as many private colleges. Class choices and grades during freshman year become important when considering California UC/State colleges vs. out-of-state or private colleges.  The UC System AND the Cal State Systems consider the rigor of coursework in all 4 years, but only calculate GPA based on Sophomore and Junior Years. Freshman year grades ARE NOT INCLUDED IN GPA CALCULATION. See HERE

Many private and out-of-state colleges across the nation include freshman year in the GPA.  Colleges also consider the rigor of freshman classes. See HERE

While we believe providing access to AS/Honors courses is mostly about providing the optimal academic opportunity for every student regardless of each student’s post-secondary school plans (college or career); given the UC and CSU application consideration, one can’t disregard the practical reality that freshman year is the safest and most appropriate time for students to take risks and try an AS/Honors course. Our 9th graders should therefore be encouraged to take AS/Honors courses as the “rigor” of course selection is considered but grades are not. Should students attempt AS/Honors courses but struggle with grades, their performance freshman year will NOT impact their GPA for these two college systems.

Considerations on preparedness for accelerated courses from page 7 of the M-A Course Catalog:

The following is strongly recommended for students requesting to go into accelerated, advanced standing (AS), honors (H), or advanced placement (AP) classes:

○ Students should have an A or B in the prerequisite courses.

○ Students earning a B-, C+, or C should be counseled about rigor and expectations. Input from the teacher is important. A waiver may be needed.

○ Students earning a C- or below must have a waiver on file. A meeting with the student’s school counselor is strongly encouraged.

AS/Honors courses serve many purposes, but there are three key reasons students choose these classes. 

1. To provide college-bound students an opportunity to challenge themselves and show rigor on transcripts without the additional pressure of a college-level AP course; 
2. To provide a deeper understanding of a subject in preparation for an AP course (college level);
3. To give them the ability to balance their own schedules with a mix of College Prep, AS/Honors, and AP in any given academic year based on their interests, aptitudes, and extracurriculars. Our public high schools have large student populations with diverse goals and interests. The AS/Honors level courses give each and every student the opportunity to create an appropriately balanced course load. Some students will choose all grade-level courses with one AS/Honors class in a favorite subject. And others will choose an AS/Honors course instead of an additional AP course in a topic where they want a challenge, but not college-level rigor. The additional choices serve every student in their quest for developing a personalized and meaningful public high school education.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) program was designed in Switzerland in the 1960s. Its purpose was to give students around the world a chance to earn a rigorous, internationally recognized diploma, which they could then use for entry into universities. IB exams are recognized for college credit in a way similar to how AP exams are used. IB classes are taken during Junior & Senior year (with the exception for math classes).  https://blog.prepscholar.com/what-are-ib-classes

The International College Advancement Program (ICAP) is a rigorous, college preparatory program for freshman and sophomore students. The ICAP classes are similar to AS classes and prepare students for IB classes.  https://www.sequoiahs.org/PARENTS--COMMUNITY/IB-Programme/Learn-About-Sequoias-IB-Program/index.html

https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/what-is-ib-international-baccalaureate/

Carlmont High School

AS Biology

AS Chemistry

AS Physics

Menlo-Atherton High School

AS English I

AS Biology

AS Chemistry

AS Physics

Sequoia High School

Honors Chemistry

Woodside High School

AS English I

AS Biology 

Class Descriptions: 

• AS English I (9th) - More required reading and essay writing, served as prep for the infamously rigorous AS English II (10th). It also helped students understand the expectations and rigor of AS/AP offerings in 11th and 12th.
• AS Biology (9th) - Students were enrolled in heterogeneous college-prep Biology, but students could earn AS credit for doing extra assignments and lab work. (NOTE: This is based on knowledge of the course as it was offered at M-A, other site offerings may have varied.)
• AS/Honors Chemistry (10th-12th) - Greater depth of knowledge and lab experience as well as Chemistry math. Strong as a stand-alone AS course or in preparation for AP Chemistry.
• AS Physics (10th-12th) - Greater depth of knowledge and lab experience. Strong as a stand-alone AS course or in preparation for AP Physics.

It’s hard to understand why our high-school only district would offer fewer opportunities for choice and rigor at select schools given they all operate under the same learning plans and goals. The argument that AS/Honors courses aren’t valuable doesn’t make sense if some sites still offer them to students. We believe the lack of SUHSD Board vote to provide clear policy direction to schools is the reason some schools offer significantly more class level choices for students.  This results in SUHSD student choice and opportunity is dependent solely on what school students are zoned.  This undermines the district equity policy. 

Current Carlmont HS offerings:

https://www.carlmonths.org/documents/School-Profile-Class-of-2024-Final-2-2.pdf

Carlmont offers 12 AS/Honors/Accelerated classes including: AS English I (for freshman), AS English II (for sophomores), AS Englisht III (for juniors), Honors Chinese III, Honors French II, Honors Spanish III, Honors Pre-Calculus, Geometry Enriched, Algebra II/Trig, Multivariable Calculus, Honors CTE Marketing Communication and Advanced CTE Computer Science Structure

Current Menlo-Atherton HS offerings:

https://www.mabears.org/documents/M-A-School-Profile-22-23.pdf

MA offers 5 AS/Honors class choices:: AS English II (for sophomores), AS English III (for juniors) Geometry Enriched (for freshmen), AS Algebra II (for sophomores), and Chinese IV.

Current Sequoia HS offerings:  

https://www.sequoiahs.org/documents/23-24-Sequoia-School-Profile.pdf

https://www.sequoiahs.org/documents/IB/ICAP%20Courses.pdf

Sequoia offer 6 ICAP/Accelerated classes: English I-ICAP (for freshman), English II - ICAP (for sophomores), World History I-ICAP (for sophomores), Spanish 2/3 - ICAP, French 2/3 - ICAP and Accelerated Geometry/IB Math Analysis I.

Current Woodside HS offerings:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lN5PnN3LIOfimAdZWr8pcWi66a_5rGMu/view

Woodside offers 2 AS/Honors classes:  AS English II (for sophomores) and AS Chemistry.

While each site has a different answer based on their course offerings, a number of freshmen courses have always been offered solely at the college-prep level and are made up of students from all feeder districts. Each site offers many ways to engage with classmates outside of the classroom as well in both clubs and athletics.

While it sounds ideal to have one course where teachers provide individualized attention (aka differentiated teaching) to students based on their personal needs and entry-level knowledge, families have expressed that this is not happening. Honestly, it’s unreasonable to expect teachers to individualize attention to 30-ish students during each period. Students who need extra support accessing learning skills and strategies are not being served.  Also, all students should have access to multiple levels such as college prep, AS/Honors and AP.  Many students with learning differences take rigorous courses and they should be able to choose between AS/Honors and AP courses. https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/tools-tips/accessibility-programs-courses-and-services-students-disabilities

Every student deserves a choice when it comes to personalizing their education. Many first-generation college students hope to use AS/Honors courses on their transcript to stand out on college applications and in scholarship pools. The AS/Honors experience also better prepares students for taking and succeeding in AP courses. Students who earn AP credits prior to attending college are able to save on tuition costs as well. In addition, most SED students do not have the opportunity to access enrichment beyond the school day as do other students. More resourced families will find those opportunities for their students if necessary, though it is also a disservice to those students to have to augment their schedules and finances to access those opportunities. And the students without those opportunities will continue to be disadvantaged in comparison to their peers.

Private tutoring programs are extremely expensive and cannot be accessed by everyone. So when public schools say they’re closing the learning gap by eliminating opportunities, they’re actually doing the opposite. When certain course offerings have to be accessed outside of the public schools, it harms those who find tutoring and private courses cost prohibitive. Also, for community colleges there may be transportation and scheduling barriers for SED students.

Given the course restoration decision will impact future SUHSD students, it is vital that families in feeder districts are aware of this conversation. Their input is necessary and valuable. We have attempted to connect with many schools and here’s what we’ve learned:

• La Entrada - SF supporters have shared information on parenting message boards.
• Hillview - SF supporters have asked for information to be shared, but school and district administrators said they do not take a stand on course offerings at the high school level and feel it is inappropriate to share information from Students First with families through various school channels. 
• San Carlos - A couple school newsletters invited families to the study session via Students First.
• Others - If you have contacts or are aware of public communication channels to connect with future SUHSD families, please let us know.

You can find your home on this map to see which Trustee is your elected representative.

To email all five  trustees, the superintendent, and student trustees, copy and paste: board@seq.org, 808660@seq.org, 810560@seq.org

Please consider bcc’ing us at: suhsdstudentsfirst@gmail.com

Koo (Area A):

• Joined board after courses were eliminated with no community input 
• Voted YES to having public conversation at Nov 15th meeting

Dubois (Area B):

• Was on the board and agreed these courses were eliminated without proper community discussion/input or a board vote
• Voted NO to having public conversation at Nov 15th meeting

Ginn (Area C): 

• Joined board after courses were eliminated with no community input 
• Voted YES to having public conversation at Nov 15th meeting

Nori (Area D):

• Elected to board in 2022 with restoration of honors central to his campaign platform
• Joined board after courses were eliminated with no community input 
• Voted YES to having public conversation at Nov 15th meeting

Stevenson (Area E):

• Joined board after courses were eliminated with no community input 
• Voted NO to having public conversation at Nov 15th meeting

• Restore alignment of our course catalogs to the board's equity policy which states "The Board and the Superintendent or designee shall develop and implement policies and strategies to promote equity in district programs and activities, through measures such as the following:...
  3.  Enabling and encouraging students to enroll in, participate in, and complete curricular and extracurricular courses, advanced college preparation programs, and other student activities..."
  

• Conform with our sites' course catalogs which well articulate the distinct expectations and benefits of the different course levels.  MA's course catalog, for example, states: "Enriched, Advanced Standing (AS), Honors (HP), and Advanced Placement (AP) courses
• Courses move at a decidedly faster pace and are designed to be [more] rigorous, engaging, and dynamic than college prep courses.
• Courses are designed for dedicated students working at or above grade level who love to think critically in specific areas.
• Students should have a consistent and strong work ethic and enjoy the in-depth study of a specific subject.
• AS classes better prepare students for higher level or AP courses."

• Restore student agency and choice to pursue unique and complex paths that fit their individual interests and growth curves.

• Enable all students to have teaching tailored to their needs and interests with appropriate support and challenges.