Course Selection
Learn about academic advising, curriculum, course offerings and electives.
Curriculum Night January 14th
Curriculum Night: Tuesday, January 14th, 6:00 - 8:30pm
Due to the inclement weather school closings, our Curriculum Night has been rescheduled for Tuesday, January 14th from 6:00pm - 8:30pm. All rising 9th-12th grade families are encouraged to attend the presentations, electives open house, and department breakout sessions to learn more about course selection options and graduation requirements.
6-7:00pm
Rising 9th Grade Family Presentation - Auditorium
Rising 10th-12th Family Presentation - Kogelman Theatre
Spanish Presentation - Room 507
7:10-8:30pm
Electives Open House - Cafeteria
7:10-8:30pm
Department Breakout Sessions 7:10pm, 7:35pm, 8:00pm
Academic Advising Overview
The purpose of academic advising, K-12, is to guide and support students in their educational journey. It aims to empower students to become self-directed learners and make informed decisions about their education and future. During this time, our students will obtain important information about West Potomac's programs, services, and resources. Your child will bring home their course selection materials. It is imperative that students and families review this information as course offerings are dependent upon enrollment and school staffing decisions are based on the course selections students make.
Please know, to ensure appropriate placement, all course selections will be discussed with and reviewed by school counselors. School counselors assist students in organizing their program of study, researching answers, and creating academic plans. They provide critical information about course placement, prerequisites, sequencing, and course selection information. By meeting with their school counselors, students will be able to determine what is needed to make the best of their academic journey, create a strategy to graduate on time, and navigate the system to learn what is needed to transform their dreams into reality.
Course Selection Dates/Information
- January 14 - Curriculum Night / Rising 9th Grade Family Night / Electives Open House
- January 14 & January 16 - Electives Fair
- Jan 9-16 – WP Counselors visit SMS for course selection
- Jan 17-Jan 24, Feb 3-Feb 7 - Rising 12th grade course selection via English 11
- Feb 10-21 - Rising 11th grade course selection via PE 10
- Feb 24-Mar 7 - Rising 10th grade course selection via PE 9
- March 7 - Academy Course Priority Deadline
- March 10-12 - Advising Make Ups
- March 12 - All Course Selections are finalized
Rising 9th Grade Student Academic Advising Information
10th-12th Grade Students Academic Advising Information
Honors, Advanced Placement, & Dual Enrollment
- Honors, Grades 9-12 - Fairfax County offers open enrollment in Honors social studies, English, science, and mathematics classes for students who seek additional academic rigor.
- Advanced Placement® (AP) - The Advanced Placement® (AP) Program provides academic college preparatory coursework in the major subject fields. AP classes emulate introductory college courses, preparing students for selective universities and colleges.
- Dual Enrollment courses are taught at the high school by an FCPS teacher and offer college credit through agreements with a college or university.
- Student Website for Dual Enrollment (Google Webpage - Students must be logged into their @fcpsschools.net account to access the website)
- NOVA Dual Enrollment Presentation
- Social Studies Dual Enrollment vs. Advanced Placement Comparison
Graduation & Course Requirements
Summer Learning
Self-Directed Economics and Personal Finance Summer 2024 (option to free up an elective)
Summer Learning: Online Campus Classes
FCPS Online Campus
FCPS Online Campus allows students to take an additional course online to supplement what they take in school. Online Campus offers a variety of standard, honors, and AP level courses, and also provides access to additional courses not offered at WPHS. The online campus also has courses students can take over the summer, which can help students advance or catch up on academic credits earned towards graduation requirements. Students must let their counselor know if they’re interested in taking a course through Online Campus, and work with their counselor to complete the required registration paperwork. For more information on Online Campus course offerings, how online classes work in general, and the registration process please click the link below.
Academies & Specialty Programs
Advanced technical and specialized elective courses are available at the High School Academies for students interested in pursuing coursework in a variety of options related to career pathways. Academy details and contacts.
Economics & Personal Finance - High School
One credit in economics and personal finance must be completed prior to graduation. This course is required for the Standard and Advanced Studies Diplomas. Information on how to complete this requirement is available here.
Meet Your Counselor
Student Services, 304 Quander | ||
Counselor | Student Alpha Range | Emails |
Lauren Creighton | A-Bee | |
Taylor Oakley | Bef-Chau | |
Holly Bush | Chav-El | |
Michael Matthews | Em-Guc | |
Keri O'Connor | Gud-Kel | |
Stephanie Bluestein | Kem-McE | |
Sara Brewer | McF-O | |
Debora Lee | P-R | |
Jennifer Piechoski | S-Th | |
Charlette Jefferson-Dixon | Ti-Z | |
Suellen Espino Dextre | EL Levels 1-2 | |
Register for Classes
Register for Your Class in 10 Easy Steps!
- Log into SIS StudentVUE on your laptop by going to https://sisstudent.fcps.edu/. This process will not work on your phone.
- Click on the "Course Request" tab in the menu to the left.
- Click the blue "Click here to change course requests" button.
- Using your Course Selection sheet, type in the course ID for the first class you would like to take into the "Course ID" box.
- Click the "+ Add Request" button.
- Repeat this process for the other six courses you have selected.
- Add two alternate courses in preference order by clicking the "* Add Alternate" button.
- Review your list of seven classes and two alternate electives.
- If necessary, remove any incorrect courses by clicking the "X Remove" button.
- Once all seven classes and two alternative electives are listed under "Selected Course Requests," click "Click here to return to course request summary."
Schedule Change Overview
The Master Schedule is developed from student course requests submitted in early spring in conjunction with WPHS staffing allotment. The master schedule is finalized in the summer in order to set student and teacher schedules and class sizes. Every effort is made to provide students with their initial course selection, but alternate courses may be used to fulfill a student’s schedule. For this reason, changes to a student’s schedule will not be granted in the fall, unless the reason for change is listed in the Eligible Schedule Change Requests list below. Students may make changes to their requests up until the last day of school, June 11, 2025.
Scheduling Assistance
WPHS offers various means to deliver programming to assist students in selecting courses. These events and a brief description are outlined below. Dates for these events are communicated to the community before each event throughout the year. These events occur in late winter/early spring.
- Electives Fair – students are able to explore elective options to determine which elective(s) they are most interested in and feel would most benefit to their future goals
- Curriculum Night – night program for students and parents to learn course offerings
- Core teachers discuss their subject course sequence and offerings for the upcoming school year
- Academic Advising Lessons - during Advisory students view a presentation on the Academic Advising process developed by Student Services. Materials are located on the WPHS website
- Academic Individual Counseling – students meet individually with their School Counselor to discuss future planning and discuss their course selections
Schedule Change Requests
All schedule change requests must be submitted to the student’s counselor no later than June 11, 2025, the last day of school. It’s recommended that changes are made via email in writing to the school counselor.
Procedures for Course Request Changes PRIOR to the change deadline:
- Students must notify their counselor
- The counselor will work in conjunction with the Director of Student Services to evaluate space in the course. If space is not available, the student will be added to the waitlist
Advanced Academic Course Change Request
Procedures for Advanced Academic Course Request Changes AFTER the change deadline:
- Students must meet with their school counselor
- Students will fill out the Advanced Academics Schedule Change packet completely (available end of September), which includes securing all signatures. Students return the completed form to their school counselor
- As part of the schedule change packet process, the student will continue in their course until a decision has been made by the WPHS Committee
- Students must continue with their current schedule until they receive notification that the change has been made in SIS by their School Counselor
Granted Schedule Changes
Students enrolling in a course after the start of the class are responsible for all course expectations. This includes coursework covered prior to the student’s enrollment. The student is responsible for developing a work completion schedule with their teacher. Grade replacement is based on teacher discretion. Seniors are responsible for contacting all colleges they have applied to, prior to schedule change.
Eligible Schedule Change Requests
To minimize disruptions of student schedules and to maintain class size balance and continuity of instruction, changes to a student’s schedule may be made for the following reasons only:
- A course was put on a student’s schedule they did not request
- A student is missing a course needed for graduation
- A student failed or did not take a prerequisite course
- A student’s IEP or 504 was amended
- A student has been scheduled into a course previously passed
- Meeting college application requirements
- Interest in increased rigor contingent on space availability
- Administrative decision due to discipline
Change in course levels will be considered via the Advanced Academics Schedule Change Packet that will be available mid first quarter, after a conference with School Counselor.
Ineligible Schedule Change Requests
To ensure class sizes stay balanced and student instruction is not interrupted, student schedules will not be changed for the following reasons:
- Change of mind- requested a course but is no longer interested
- Teacher preference, classmate preference, lunch or class period/time preference
- Unsatisfactory academic performance – Students are responsible for maintaining passing grades ALL year and seeking any assistance needed in order to pass
- Student Conflicts -Students should make their counselor and/or administrator aware of any conflicts, as soon as they occur, so they can be addressed immediately
- Replace a course to improve GPA
Course Information by Department
Questions?
If you have any questions or need any assistance related to academic advising during this time you are welcome to contact your school counselor or the appropriate department chair/teacher/content area administrator. Please also bookmark this site to refer to it for necessary information.