GENERAL INFORMATION

COURSE SELECTION

Parkway West provides a variety of classes for the purpose of meeting the ability and interests of all students.  Students are assigned to some classes on the basis of examination, previous records, and staff recommendations. These recommendations provide guidance to the parents and students. Students, parents, and staff should exercise care and prudence when deviating from those recommendations. If a student believes his or her best interest will be served by varying from the recommended courses of study and/or make a levels-change in a subject, he or she should consult with their parents and the Instructional Leader for that particular course by March 1st of the spring semester. Teachers and counselors are available to help students plan their programs.  Most courses are designed for students who have good basic skills and are working toward higher achievement. Some courses are designed for students able to work at a high conceptual level or an accelerated pace. These courses are labeled Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Certain courses have prerequisites that must be fulfilled for a student to enroll properly. The prerequisite courses offer skills that must be mastered in order to be successful in subsequent courses.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

Parkway School District requires students to complete the following graduation requirements and earn 24 credits to receive a diploma.

Students must pass the U.S. Constitution Test and the Missouri Constitution Test in order to graduate.

Students should discuss course selections to ensure meeting graduation requirements with their parents and counselor.

GRADING SYSTEM

All courses and grades are included in computing the GPA on a 4.0 scale. The numerical values assigned for grade point averages (regular and honors) are: 

Honors Designation
In the curriculum guide, all honors courses are designated with the word Honors in the course title and are preceded by “+” on the transcript. All AP (Advance Placement) courses are honors courses and will also be preceded by “+”.  Some courses offer an honors option; yet, are not honors courses. In these classes, students may contract with their teacher to earn an "A+" grade for weighted credit, but all other grades earned in these classes are un-weighted.

Modified Curriculum Designation
Modified Curriculum is when the actual curriculum for a class is changed to meet student needs in special/approved circumstances.  Courses with modified curriculum are preceded by an asterisk “*” on the transcript.

SCHEDULES

Student schedules may be viewed starting in early August on the Infinite Campus Student Portal. Schedules are developed based on course requests submitted by students during registration in the spring semester. Every effort is made to provide students with a schedule that includes their first choices. We cannot honor requests for specific teachers or courses in a particular period. We hire and assign staff to teach courses that students request. Class sections are created, reasonable class size limits are set, and textbooks and supplies are ordered on the basis of student registration counts. Schedule changes after the master schedule is finalized in the spring can result in imbalances and weaker educational experiences. We need accurate information to plan for the courses you want and need.

Schedule changes will not be allowed after school begins unless one of the following conditions is present:

• course previously passed  
• IEP requirement                        
• prerequisite not fulfilled   
• incorrect placement
•  technical/processing error  
• summer school
• graduation requirement not met (seniors only)

Note: Exceptions to any of the above guidelines require the approval of the guidance department and administrative approval.

COLLEGE and CAREER CENTER

College and Career Center offers a wide variety of information for planning and choosing the appropriate post high school opportunities, whether it is college, trade/technical school, or the military. College and University Rep Visits are scheduled through the College and Career Center. Students can sign-up for these College and University Rep Visits through their Family Connection Accounts. For additional information regarding college admissions, students should schedule an appointment with their counselors.

NAVIANCE-STUDENT

We encourage all students and their Parents/Guardians to use Naviance-Student. Naviance-Student is a web-based program that integrates career planning, college planning, course planning, and success planning all in one place.  Using the career planning tools, students can discover interests, research careers, and link careers to post-secondary requirements.  Using the college planning tools, students can research colleges and manage the college application process.  Using the success planner, students can keep track of the tasks they need to complete in order to accomplish their goals.  To access Naviance-Student, use the following link: https://connection.naviance.com/fc/signin.php?hsid=pkwywest

–OR- from the Parkway West Home Page:

Click on “Departments” then ‘Counseling’ then ‘Naviance-Student’, then the ‘Log In To Family Connection’ link. If you can’t remember your log in information, choose ‘I’m a guest.’  The guest password is ‘longhorns.’