Volcano Vista High School�Course Selection 2025-2026

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

*Including 1.0 credit of either Advanced Placement, Honors, Dual Credit or Distance Learning

* Students must pass high school exit exams as determined by the State of New Mexico

MORE ON CREDITS

• It is not enough to have 25 credits; students must earn credits in the required content areas (i.e. English 9 cannot be substituted with Yearbook).
• Your grade level is determined by the number of credits you have successfully completed not by the number of years you have been in high school.

0-5 credits = freshman

6-12 credits = sophomore

13-18 credits = junior

19+ credits = senior

​

​

DO I REALLY NEED A FOREIGN LANGUAGE TO GRADUATE?

​

• Taking a foreign language is not required to graduate from Volcano Vista High School.

​

• Many universities require a minimum of 2 years of a foreign language. Some universities may require more. It is your responsibility to research college admission requirements for the school you plan to attend.

​

• It is strongly recommended each student take 2 years of a foreign language to further prepare for post-secondary education.

​

​

​

WHAT IS A DUAL CREDIT CLASS?

• A Dual Credit class is a college level course taken in high school. Upon successful completion of the class, you will earn one high school elective credit and 3 college credit hours.

​

• Students can take courses offered at UNM or CNM. These courses take place on the UNM or CNM campuses (class times differ based on the course selected) OR Online.

DUAL CREDIT

• Class tuition and textbook fees are Free! However, course fees are not.
• Classes must be College Level. Fitness Classes are not allowed.
• You must have your own transportation to classes held on the college campus or internet/wifi at home for classes held online.
• Underclassmen have to take classes after the Volcano Vista school day ends (After 3:40 PM).
• Seniors can take classes during the school day as long as all credits needed for graduation have been completed. Seniors must meet with their Academic Counselor.

​

• For Juniors and Seniors ONLY.
• UNM Dual Credit requires a minimum GPA of 2.5 OR an ACT score of 23.
• Complete a UNM DC Form
• Submit DC Request Form
• Submit Official Transcript
• Schedule a Placement Test(Accuplacer) OR

Submit ACT/SAT test scores.

• Only allowed to take 1 class on first attempt.

​

• For Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors.
• Apply as a Dual Credit Student
• Schedule a Placement Test(Accuplacer) OR

Submit ACT/SAT test scores.

• Submit DC Agreement Form
• Complete Student Orientation
• Create a mycnm account
• Speak with an advisor
• Register for classes

​

Dual Credit Process:

• Contact your College and Career Counselor, Ms. Rhodes!
• Schedule an Appointment
• Drop by the College and Career Center, Room H134

​

WHAT IS AN AP CLASS?

• An Advanced Placement course is a rigorous high school course comparable to a college level class.
• Advanced Placement courses prepare you to take an AP exam. It is possible to earn college credit if you score a 3, 4 or 5 on the AP exam at the end of the year.
• There are no easy AP classes! You should choose an AP class in a subject in which you perform well.
• Students do not need to test into an AP class but should obtain a teacher recommendation for these classes.
• AP requires an additional 1-2 hours of homework per night.
• An additional .025 will be added to your GPA for each semester of a successfully completed AP class.

​

​

​

WHY WOULD I WANT TO TAKE AN AP CLASS?

• Students who successfully complete an AP course will fulfill the graduation requirement for honors/AP/dual credit/distance education.
• Students receive a weighted grade for taking an AP class which will raise your overall GPA.
• Possible to earn college credit

Core Classes

AP World History AP Seminar AP Biology AP Statistics

AP US History AP English 11 AP Chemistry AP Precalculus

AP Economics AP English 12 AP Physics AP Calculus AB

AP Government AP Calculus BC

Electives

AP Art 2D/3D AP Computer Science Principles AP Spanish Language

AP Studio Art AP Computer Science A AP French

AP Psychology AP Environmental Science

​

​

AP POTENTIAL LETTER

• If you received a pink AP Potential letter stapled to your course card, please review the letter to get information about what AP Potential is and what course(s) may be recommended to you.
• AP Potential comes directly from College Board based on data gathered from October 2024 PSAT score(s).
• If you have AP Potential, it does not mean you are guaranteed to earn college credit in those subjects, but that you have strong potential for success in the challenging AP course work in the subject(s) listed on your letter.
• The letter is to help you understand what classes you might be successful in based on your PSAT scores.
• We encourage all students to consider our AP class offerings, whether they receive a letter or not.

WHAT IS AN HONORS CLASS?

• Honors courses are designed to challenge students academically and prepare them for future AP courses.
• An additional .025 will be added to your GPA for each semester of an honors class successfully completed.
• Honors courses offered:

Honors Algebra I Honors English 9

Honors Geometry Honors English 10

Honors Algebra II/Trig

​

CREDIT RECOVERY �(I FAILED. NOW WHAT?)

• Students have two credit recovery options:

1) eCADEMY:

• Classes are taken online from home or during the school day in our eCademy lab.
• Fall and spring semester are available. You must work 4-5 hours per week in order to successfully complete each course.
• It is possible to finish .5 credit in 6 weeks if you do not procrastinate.
• Each semester costs $25.
• Core classes and elective classes are offered through eCADEMY.
• Register for eCADEMY during open enrollment. See your counselor to register before classes are filled.

​

CREDIT RECOVERY

2) Summer school

• Cost of summer school is $62.50, $125 or $250 per half credit.
• You can take a total of 4 half credits in summer school.
• To take the maximum amount of classes would cost $250.
• Most core classes are offered in summer school.
• Fees must be received before the end of the month or summer school classes may be dropped
• Sign in with your counselor to register, April-May
• SS sites: eCademy

How to view your Unofficial Transcript in StudentVue

In your StudentVue Click on Course History

Click on Unofficial Transcript and it will automatically download

HOW TO READ MY TRANSCRIPT

Total Credits/Classes you have completed

Work In Progress-Classes you are currently taking

Still needed for Graduation

​

​

How To Read Your Transcript

Courses and Credits Required for Graduation

Located on the bottom left of your transcript you will find your:

Grade Point Average, Class Rank, and transcript legend for calculating your Grade Point Average.

You may see a G, H, or R next to a class on your transcript. This is what it means.

G= This is a repeated course and the grade has been replaced by this grade.

H=Honors course

R=You repeated this course and recovered this credit.

GPA-Average of all classes/yrs in high school

Class Rank: Where you stand with your GPA out of all the students in your graduating class.

RESOURCES AVAILABLE WHEN SELECTING COURSE

​

​

COURSE REQUESTS

• Course selection entry will be completed online through StudentVue.

​

• Each grade level will meet in the library to input their requests into StudentVue.
• Make sure you have access to StudentVue prior to meeting with counselors.
• Registration cards are due to English teachers no later than Friday, February 7th!
• Counselors will select your classes, including electives, if you do not turn in your completed registration form.

COURSE REQUEST CARD

• Due to availability, you may not receive your top 3 elective choices. Be sure to that you select alternative choices that you are interested in as well.
• Choose courses carefully. Once schedules are finalized, courses cannot be changed.
• All course selections are for the entire year and will not be changed at semester if you fail or do not like the course.

How to fill out your registration card

How to fill out your card

WHAT IS CEC?

OVER 100 COURSES OFFERED!!

The CEC Course Catalog: https://cec.aps.edu/cec/cec-course-catalog is your best source to find the right course for you.

​

​

​

How to Apply (Registration opens on January 21st)

Classes provided in the morning, afternoon and after school

Registration is now open!

1. IF TIME PERMITS WATCH: CEC Recruitment Video

1. VISIT THE CEC WEBSITE: https://cec.aps.edu/cec/welcome-to-cec

​

• Review the course catalog and note the course, time and session number of the course.

​

• At the bottom of the page go to: “Sign up for CEC Classes!”

​

• Complete the Google Form: Some CEC classes have multiple sections. Students will need to indicate what session- 1, 2 or 3, that they are applying for when they register.

​

• Check your VVHS Course card that your applied for CEC course

Counselors

Counselors are assigned students based on their last name

​

Valerie Santacruz, A-Cl valerie.santacruz@aps.edu

​

Jacob Pertner Co-G jacob.pertner@aps.edu

​

Claudia Chavez, H-K claudia.chavez@aps.edu

​

Tara Garcia, L-N tara.garcia@aps.edu

​

Monique Martinez, O-Sc monique.martinez@aps.edu

​

Karen Hines, Se-Z karen.hines@aps.edu

​

​