Curriculum and Instruction

The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy (ELA). These learning goals outline what a student should know and be able to do at the end of each grade. The standards were created to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, career, and life, regardless of where they live. Forty-two states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) have voluntarily adopted and are moving forward with the Common Core.

corestandards.org

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards. Standards set the expectations for what students should know and be able to do. The NGSS were developed by states to improve science education for all students.
A goal for developing the NGSS was to create a set of research-based, up-to-date K–12 science standards. These standards give local educators the flexibility to design classroom learning experiences that stimulate students’ interests in science and prepares them for college, careers, and citizenship.

nextgenscience.org

Students who would like to take a course outside of PUHSD must receive prior approval before registering for a class via the Alternative Credits Permission Form:

bit.ly/PUHSDAlternativeCreditsRequestForm

PUHSD Board Policy AR 6146.11 provides the following guidelines for non-district courses and credits:

• Maximum of 10 credits per year, 40 credits total, from an outside institution
• Students may request original credit for acceleration in the areas of VAPA, year 2 of PE, and electives from a designated educational institution, college, or university: List of Accepted Schools. Incoming 9th-grade students may request to take a VAPA class only.
• Students must remain in full-time status at PUHSD

Please Note:

• Students taking a college course on a PUHSD campus do not need to submit the Alternative Credits Permission form
• A student's request for credits may be denied if the course can be taken through PUHSD
• Courses will be weighted based on AR 5127 for Valedictorian and Salutatorian calculations
• PUHSD does not guarantee that outside courses will be accepted by colleges and universities

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