STEM follows DCSD’s community service guidelines. Students need 20 hours of community service between the summer prior to 9th grade and the end of 12th Grade. 5 of those 20 hours can be completed at STEM School Highlands Ranch. STEM Scholar requires 100 community service hours. If approved by a school administrator, additional hours completed at STEM can count toward the STEM Scholar requirement.

HELPER HELPER PRESENTATION

COMMUNITY SERVICE FORM

All STEM school students are required to take a full schedule of eight (8) classes per semester in grades 9 and 10. If earned credits toward meeting requirements for graduation permits, students may be allowed to take six (6) classes per semester in grade 11, and six (6) classes per semester in grade 12. Seniors must take a minimum of six (6) classes in order to be a student at STEM School Highlands Ranch.

Courses taken through outside programs (Non CE ACC/or CE Option 3):

If a student decides to take a course for high school or dual (college and high school) credit, the student must receive approval from the high school counselor. Examples of outside programs are BYU and eDCSD. The student must complete the “Non-STEM Course Approval Form” and submit it to the counselor. The counselor will check to see if the program credit will transfer to STEM High School. STEM will only accept up to 2.0 credits of outside courses toward a STEM diploma. Please note: For ACC Concurrent Enrollment options, students must consult with our Career Discovery Coordinator and the high school counselor.

Students planning to complete their high school course work in less than eight semesters must develop an early graduation plan with their principal, counselor, and parents. A student who plans to graduate early must complete all requirements set by the State Board of Education and the STEM Board of Directions.

Students enrolling at STEM School who have withdrawn from a previous school must enroll three weeks prior to the end of a semester in order to receive credit from STEM for the semester. Students who have not been in attendance at a school during a semester may not receive credit at STEM if they enroll three weeks after the semester begins. If a student is over age 17, alternatives for earning credit during the semester will be presented. If a student is not yet age 17, the student will be enrolled and attend a full schedule, but credit may not be granted.

As per STEM Board policy, where additional charges are required for specific courses, the costs will be noted in the course description. *Fees are subject to change.

A student will be allowed to make up an incomplete grade within 10 school days after the end of the semester. If the grade is not made up within 10 school days, the incomplete will become an “F” on the transcript.

A student may earn credits towards a Douglas County School District high school diploma prior to the official start of the 9th grade year.

Compliance with DCSD Policy IKF-R-2

A student may earn credits towards a Douglas County School District high school diploma prior to the official start of the 9th grade year.

• Credit will automatically be awarded for earning an “A” in:
  • Any Douglas County School District high school summer session content course(s) completed preceding the start of the 9th grade year.
  • Any Mathematics course(s) which exceeds the expectation of an Algebra 1 course.
  • Any World Language course(s), which exceeds the expectations of Level 1.
  • Any content area course, meeting, Board of Education criteria and which exceeds the expectations of a typical Douglas County 9th grade course as approved by the high school building administration.
• Students who earn a grade other than an “A” will declare during their Junior year whether or not the course will be used to meet high school graduation requirements by submitting a Declaration of Credit for Middle School Courses form to the high school registrar. Once the form is submitted, the credit cannot be removed from the high school transcript.

Independent study classes are designed to help students explore content that their schedule and/or course offerings do not easily allow. Students can work with a STEM teacher to design a meaningful independent study experience for a class not offered at STEM.

Independent study courses are only available for juniors and seniors and require counselor approval. Students interested in such a course should confirm teacher participation and then see the counselor to understand the process and acquire course paperwork.

Independent study classes are graded on the traditional A - F scale.

School counselors make ALL schedule changes. Find their contact information on our website.

If a student has decided to graduate as a STEM scholar, this decision must be declared no later than April of Junior Year or November of Senior Year.

• Requests made within school days 1-10 will be made, if reasonable, at student request. The school counselor must approve and complete all schedule changes.
• Requests made during school days 10-20 will be considered if the requesting student maintains a minimum number of classes. During this timeframe, administrative and/or parent permission may need to be obtained. A student can not drop a class, but will need to “withdraw”. The requesting student’s transcript will reflect either a “W/F” or “W/P”, depending on their grade at the time of withdrawing. There will be no GPA consequence.
• Requests made after school day 20 will be considered if the requesting student maintains a minimum number of classes. Requests made late into the semester will require administrative and parent approval. The student must withdraw from the class and his/her transcript will reflect a “W/F” or W/P”, depending on the grade at time of withdrawing. There is a GPA consequence as if having earned an F for the class. A “0” (zero) will be factored into their GPA.
• Additionally, students will have the opportunity to request schedule changes prior to the beginning of each semester.
• For concurrent enrollment guidelines on adding and dropping a class, please see the institution’s guidelines. For questions on the interpretation, please see the HS Career Discovery Coordinator.
• Registration for 1st semester off campus concurrent enrollment courses must be completed prior to the May the school year prior. Second semester off campus concurrent enrollment courses must be scheduled prior to Winter Break.

Students in grades 11 or 12 are allowed to be a teacher’s aide (TA) up to two times for credit, or .25 each time. If a student decides to be a TA after taking the course twice, the student will not receive credit.

Students may elect to waive up to two semesters of Physical Education through participation in club or high school competitive sport. Details can be found on the PE Waiver form available from the HS Main Office and school website. Students will be required to make up the PE credits through alternative courses. Please see your high school counselor.

PE WAIVER