Counseling Procedures

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See also the Career and College Pathways section to view other counseling activities performed throughout the year.

Course Selection/Planning

Students are advised to plan ahead and select carefully. A significant amount of time and effort is devoted to giving students their first-choice electives (or alternates). The offering and staffing of courses will be dependent on the requests made during spring course selection. Students are expected to take and complete the classes they have requested.

Students will receive guidance on course planning throughout the school year, including:

  • Classroom guidance
  • Four-year course planning (Xello)
  • Course Selection presentations
  • Career & College Pathways
  • Individual and small group planning
  • Counseling websites
  • Family nights

Things to Remember

  • PLEASE CHOOSE CAREFULLY. Your schedule is created based on your course requests and course availability.
  • If you are participating in an OSAA activity, you need to be enrolled in a minimum of five credited classes in both the current semester and prior semester.
  • Students who do not complete their course selection sheet will have classes chosen for them based on class availability.
  • It is the expectation of the State of Oregon and our district that students engage in a full and complete educational experience. New legislation has required our district to ensure most students are taking a full day of classes each day. Students should work with their counselor for work experience, internships, and other off campus experiences as applicable.

Schedule Correction Procedures

Schedule corrections will only be considered for the following reasons:

  • Student needs to take a required course for graduation
  • Student was placed in an inappropriate course/skill level
  • Student has a “see counselor” note or incomplete schedule • Student was not placed in an elective that is part of their Career and College Pathway

Schedule corrections will not be made for:

  • Lunch requests
  • Teacher requests
  • Peer requests
  • Changing unwanted core class(es), such as a fourth year of math or science
  • Athletics/Activities
  • Dropping AP/IB courses
  • Changing unwanted electives
  • Early release/late arrival

It is possible that a student may have received electives for which he/she did not request. This is due to limited space in classes or a schedule conflict making it impossible to fill a schedule hole with a requested class.

Course Corrections and Changes

The master schedule, including how many sections of each course is offered, is based on the course requests made during the spring of the previous school year. Due to this, schedule and course corrections are difficult to make because often there are not available spaces in the course. Because students and families are able to view course selection choices through Synergy StudentVue and ParentVue, and request changes in the spring, course corrections will rarely be considered in the fall once school has begun.

Ultimately, all course corrections are subject to review and approval by an administrator. After three weeks, course changes could result in a Withdraw Fail (WF) grade on the student’s transcript. A WF will calculate into the cumulative GPA as an F.

Accessing Course Options Beyond Home High School

We believe that the coursework within our HSD comprehensive high schools offers a robust variety of opportunities for our students to meet Oregon Diploma requirements. There may be instances in which a student or their family believe coursework outside of their home school may be appropriate, for example meeting a student’s academic rate and level. Hillsboro School District is not always able to meet these requests from students and families. Please connect with your counselor if you have questions.

Expanded Options Program

Hillsboro School District offers the Expanded Options Program (EOP) to 11th and 12th grade students who have utilized all options of course opportunities provided by their local school. In partnership with Portland Community College, students have access to college level courses in order to further their educational experience. If students are interested in learning more about EOP, they should contact their school counselor no later than course selection for the following school year.

Early Graduation

A student who wishes to graduate from high school in less time than the ordinary grade 9-12 sequence may request permission to complete graduation requirements on an altered schedule. This should take place during the 10th grade course selection process. The student and their parents/guardians will consult with high school guidance personnel to develop a graduation plan. Their intention to accomplish this plan will be stated in writing to the Superintendent or designee. More information about early graduation can be found in Hillsboro School District School Board Policy IKF.