Mapping Out High School

Many parents are anxious about what seems to be a very confusing process. We want to encourage those parents that the high school years are some of the best, and it’s not as difficult as it might seem!

Mapping out a four year plan for high school is the first step, and this begins with understanding what the requirements are.  To make things easier to understand, here is a chart outlining the most recent information on the CA Department of Education site.

Partnering with PCLC

Decide what your likely post-graduation plan will be, and then chart out how you plan to reach that plan during your student’s high school years.

Our high school program at PCLC is designed to provide as many options as possible for high school students on various graduation tracks. Below is a suggested map for parents to consider for their high school students:

High School 4 Year Plan at PCLC

9th Grade

English 9

Physical Science or Biology

ASL 1/Spanish 1

Pre-Algebra/Algebra 1

Geography and Cultures*

Elective

PE (not offered at PCLC)

Specifics:

• Students who take Physical Science their freshman year can get credit for a high school lab science – this means students have the ability to get three lab sciences on their final transcripts if they take Biology and Chemistry. (Two lab sciences are required for graduation).
• *Students are not required to take history their freshman year – only two years of history are required, and these are achieved in 10th and 11th grade

• However, we highly recommend the Geography and World Cultures class - it greatly helps students be prepared for the rigors of the forthcoming  history program and is a FUN class!

10th Grade

World Literature

World History

Biology or Chemistry

Foreign Language 2

Algebra 1/Geometry/Algebra 2

Elective

PE (not offered at PCLC)

Specifics:

• This is typically the heaviest workload for high school students
• Classes may be shifted around to accommodate schedules and student capacity

11th Grade

American Literature

US History

Chemistry/ (Anatomy/Physics/Psychology in the works for 2024)

Geometry/Algebra 2/Pre-Calculus (math optional beyond Geometry)

Foreign Language 3 (or alternate elective)

Elective

Specifics:

• PCLC plans to add Geometry in the future, as our math program develops
• Many students take outside electives at junior colleges
• College-bound students typically take the SAT or ACT test their junior year, though they may take it as early as their freshman year, and it can be taken as many times as they would like (or as many times as parents are willing to pay for!).

12th Grade

British Literature

Economics/Civics

Algebra 2 or Pre-Calculus (optional)

Elective

Elective

• Some students do not take math their senior year
• Many students do dual enrollment classes at junior colleges their senior year

If you are in a charter school, be sure to coordinate your plans with your supervising teacher, and make sure the plans you have for your student are understood before your student begins ninth grade.

Although high school brings more requirements and expectations, it also brings more adult-like conversation, responsibility, and fun! Please feel free to ask the staff at PCLC for clarification and help. We aren’t just your students’ teachers – we are here to be your cheerleaders and support team as well. You can do it!