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Lincoln High School/Academics/Course Catalog/Advancing in Coursework

Advancing in Coursework

Advancing in Coursework

Lincoln/SPS Policy on Coursework Taken Outside of SPS

We use SPS Policy/Procedure 2024 for questions regarding advancing in coursework over the summer for SPS credit.  If you have not had a chance to review the procedures on this, please take the time to look over the process and decision matrix for how buildings determine whether students are allowed to advance over the summer with first-time credit outside of SPS (see links below).  Policy/Procedure 2024 was updated in 2019.

For Incoming Lincoln Students

SPS Policy/Procedure 2024 does not allow incoming 9th graders to take classes over the summer to advance in their course progression. You can review SPS Policy/Procedure 2024 on the SPS website, or by accessing the link below.

For your reference, the FAQ for Policy/Procedure provides guidance for why middle school students are not able to take out-of-district courses to apply to the high school transcript.

Why can’t middle school students take out-of-district courses for addition to their future high school transcripts?

A: Out-of-district courses will not be approved for middle school students.  Principals in particular asked for this change because often, when middle school students take out-of-district courses, they are not adequately prepared academically for the courses they take in high school.  This negatively impacts the learning experience of that student and other students in the classroom. In addition, it should be noted that there are other ways for students to earn high school credits while in middle school through their school’s offerings.  Note that students will be permitted to take out-of-district courses with district approved programs like LEEP the summer before 9th grade.

If you have additional questions, please review the links below, which will help provide additional guidance about course progression and out-of-district credits.  In the event an incoming 9th grader takes coursework over the summer, we will unfortunately not be able to honor those credits on the transcript or used to determine course placement.

For Current Lincoln Students

Taking outside credit over the summer is allowed if it helps a student get on track to access college preparatory courses (AP, IB, College in the HS) during the junior or senior year.   Students are NOT approved for outside credit/advancement if they are already enrolled in grade-level courses and will be able to access the college preparatory courses by junior or senior year without taking the requested out-of-district course.

If a student meets the qualifications, they need to complete the Equivalency Course of Study Form for First Time Credit and submit it to the Lincoln Principal, Dr. Eichner.  This must happen BEFORE enrolling in any coursework.   Any coursework taken without the pre-approval cannot be included on the SPS transcript or be used as pre-requisites to advance your course sequence. Please review this process closely as taking courses not approved may result in the need to take the course again.

At Lincoln, we work to provide additional opportunities for advancement to meet the needs of our students.   Advancement is built into our coursework through individual consultation with our teachers and more specifically through our Project-Based Learning and Exhibition of Student Learning.  During registration each year, students are able to sign up to “double up” on courses in the areas of math and science (placement is not guaranteed with this), which is determined in the fall on a space available basis.  Additionally, we work with students during their junior and senior year with Running Start, which is a great way to advance in learning.

If you are considering applying for out of district credit, please register for your next course in the sequence (i.e. if you are in Algebra 1, please sign up for Geometry) and your registration requests will be adjusted if your request for outside credit is approved and completed.  We again ask to please review the qualifications in 2024 (links below), BEFORE submitting your request to ensure you meet the requirements and are following the appropriate steps.

Links