Course selection is an important and exciting annual event for students and parents beginning in intermediate school. To support selections, CCISD hosts parent information nights, prepares Educational Planning Guides and how-to guides to walk students and parents through the process. Students are encouraged to also talk to campus counselors and teachers for more information about courses and course planning based on a student’s interests and personal goals.
CCISD will host two livestream sessions for incoming 6 th and 9 th grade parents to talk through the selection process, new offerings, graduation requirements and more. Parent information nights will also be held.
February 5th-20th: Skyward Course Selection opens for families to enter course requests for the 2024-2025 school year.
Week of April 8: Course Verifications are available to verify courses
Friday, April 26: Deadline for all changes
Each year, CCISD publishes an Educational Planning Guide (EPG) for both Intermediate and High School. The EPGs outline the course selection requirements by grade as well as class descriptions and elective descriptions. They are extremely helpful resources that can be referenced throughout the year. Hard copies are available upon request with students and electronic copies are found on this section of our website.
It's a great planning tool. The guide outlines the graduation requirements, class rank and grade point average information, general information pertaining to all CCISD high schools, program and course descriptions, as well as course names and numbers.
Course selection is made through Skyward Student Access and opens on the first of February annually during the current school year. Students have two weeks to enter their selections into Skyward. Selections being made are for the following school year.
Worksheets are provided for each campus and grade level. The worksheets are used to plan course selection based on the requirements for each grade level. Families should reference the Educational Planning Guide while filling in the worksheets prior to entering final selections into Skyward.
CCISD offers a standard curriculum across its intermediate and high school campuses. Depending on student interest, a course may or may not "make" for the upcoming school year. If a course doesn't "make", the interested students will be notified and asked to make a different selection.
Course selection is managed through Skyward Family Access. Annually in February, starting in the fifth-grade year, students and families will log into Skyward using the student ID and password. Families are encouraged to use the guides to aid with enrollment. Both the choice and alternate course selections should be entered into Skyward.
Click the thumbnail below to view and download presentation slides
Each year CCISD hosts an information session for incoming sixth-grade families. The event occurs in February of the fifth-grade year. Each campus hosts an event. Information about the event is shared at least a couple of weeks in advance. The event dates are listed on the District Calendar. CCISD encourages all families to participate in their campuses' events to learn and ask questions about the upcoming year. Incoming 6th grade students also have the opportunity to tour their new intermediate campuses during the school day.
Each year CCISD hosts an information session for incoming ninth-grade families. The event occurs in February of the eighth-grade year. Each campus hosts an event. Information about the event is shared at least a couple of weeks in advance. The event dates are listed on the District Calendar. CCISD encourages all families to participate in their campuses' events to learn and ask questions about the upcoming year.
We know the transition from intermediate to high school can seem overwhelming at times. The family night information is meant to help ease the transition and information about graduation requirements, credits, and the course registration process. If you still have questions after the event, campus counselors are the perfect resources to help you answer specific questions.
This is new for your incoming ninth-grader. In high school, a student is offered seven classes a day. Each semester course passed with a grade of 70 or higher equals a half (0.5) credit. In one semester, a student may earn up to 3.5 credits equivalent to seven semester classes. Year-long courses may average for credit at the end of the second semester. A student has the opportunity to earn seven (7) credits during their freshman year. This equates to 3.5 credits per semester. A student must have at least six credits to be classified as a tenth grader.
Students must be in class 90% of the time in order to earn credits for coursework. If credits are denied due to attendance, credits can be recovered with make-up hours.
Endorsements are broad career readiness focus areas that comprise hundreds of potential career pathways for students. Endorsements encourage students to concentrate on career options and think about their education as a pathway toward individual goals. Students may complete more than one endorsement if desired, and they may change endorsements at any time prior to graduation. The endorsement areas are followed while selecting the required elective credit courses.
The standard graduation requirements for the State of Texas are provided by the Foundation High School Program + Endorsement (26 credits). Throughout the course of a student's high school years, they must earn the following credits to graduate.
In addition, they are required to take the following STAAR EOC tests. They must score "Approaches Grade Level" or above for each subject area exam:
If your student plans to attend college, the Foundation High School Program + Endorsement Distinguished Level of Achievement (DLA) (26 Credits) is the required graduation path. It isn't much different than the above basic graduation path. A student simply has to take Algebra II as a math credit sometime during their High School year. It is important to note that this path (DLA) is a requirement for automatic admission to a four-year Texas public college or university for students in the Top 10%. It does vary for the University of Texas in Austin.
Consider these extra acknowledgements. They are not awarded until the final transcript is released. More information can be found in the Educational Planning Guide for High School. A student can earn outstanding performance in:
This is a planning tool to help incoming ninth-graders select the courses passed on their desired credit pathway. It does not need to be turned in. The final selections should add up to be a total of seven credits. Please note that the alternate course selection is very important. These are helpful if a course is not being offered the following year or two selections are only offered at the same time during a schedule. About 70% of the time, these courses are referenced to complete a student's schedule.
Choice your level of coursework carefully.
Grade Point Average (GPA) begins to be calculated upon entering ninth grade. Each semester it is calculated. CCISD's GPA is on a weighted 5.0 scale with additional points awarded for more rigorous classes (i.e. Level 1: Honors and AP Courses).
GPA and Class Rank are calculated once a year at the end of the school year during ninth and tenth grade and each semester during 11th and 12th grade. GPA is used to determine class rank. It is posted in the student's Naviance account annually.
CCISD pushes all students to excel and achieve at their highest potential. Students and families are encouraged to discuss the desire to participate in Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Honors level coursework helps students acquire the deep and complex thinking skills needed to be successful in rigorous coursework in high school and college. Students learn to apply increasingly sophisticated thinking, reading, writing, listening and speaking skills, a well as place priority on deep and complex discussions, rigorous learning, real-world application, across content connections, and clear and persuasive writing.
A strong candidate for Honors/AP classes hosts some or all of the following characteristics:
There are a few ways to earn alternate credits for those students who might be interested in graduating early or need course recovery.