Information Bulletin

Class Schedule for Second Semester

This semester’s class schedule has been created with a few priorities in mind:

• Math and ELA offered for all grade levels remain a district priority
• Lab (intervention) classes are provided for students needing skills improvement in Math and/or ELA
• Support sessions for students with IEPs are included in the schedule.
• The three day/week, 1 hour classes were a huge success! Another block of 3 day/week classes was added. These are offered at 9:30 and 10:30 Mon/Wed/Fri.
• To ease waitlists and aid in family scheduling some classes offer two sections of the same class on different days and times.
• We are working to align teacher work load with their union contracts. We have 3.6 teachers serving all of our K-8 students.
• As usual we also rely on our electives teachers and, most importantly, our parent educators to provide our students with a rich and complete education.
• Don’t forget clubs are a great way to add to students’ learning plans!

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Lab Classes Information

NOTE: Lab class days/times and grade bands have been adjusted. Students currently enrolled in Lab classes will have the opportunity to shift to the lab in their grade level/ subject.

Lab classes are included in the course catalog, but are requested through your counselor. You will not sign up for Labs during class registration. Talk to your counselor!

Lab Classes are designed for students below grade level in math or ELA and who do not have an IEP with goals in those subject areas.

• They are scheduled to avoid conflicts with other classes so families don’t have to choose between taking a desired class or taking a needed Lab class.
• Students are recommended by a teacher/counselor or can be requested by the parent and would be approved/denied by the teacher/counselor.

NOTES:

• These classes DO count as one of your allowed number of classes.
• Seats are limited and waitlists maintained throughout the semester.
• Students may be exited prior to the end of the semester if skill mastery is achieved. For this reason, students must also have another certificated class on their schedule besides Lab.

To request a lab class, please contact your counselor, Ann or Debi.

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Learning Support Sessions – For Students With IEPs

There is a new schedule of learning support sessions based on what was learned from first semester. SpEd teachers are working to provide SDI in a way that allows families to schedule SDI more easily into their students’ schedules and allows SpEd teachers to provide consistent, weekly instruction to their students.

Learning Support sessions are designed only for students with IEP goals in the areas labeled in the class.

Families with students who have IEPs will receive a separate sign up form for those sessions.

These sessions are considered SDI (Specially Designed Instruction) and help serve minutes as required in the IEP. They do not take away from your class count. Students taking Learning Support can still take 5 other classes if full time, 3 other classes if part time.

These sessions are included in the course catalog to help families build SDI into their student’s schedule.

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NEW! Teacher Hosted Clubs

Scott, Bill and Lily will be hosting clubs for students Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings from 9:00 to 9:30.

Club themes will vary. Teachers will manage sign-ups.

Look for club descriptions and sign-ups at the start of the semester on the club board and in the weekly bulletin. Themes may change throughout the semester.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? HOW FUN!!

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View 2024/25 Spring Classes in the Course Catalog

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About the Class Request Form

Class registration forms will be sent out Monday, January 6th and are due Friday, 10th by 4:00 pm

You will only be able to access the class registration form until 4:00 pm on Friday the 10th. Please contact Aldona for a new link if you miss the deadline (don’t miss the deadline!).

ammitchell1@seattleschools.org

Late forms will be processed at the end of priority registration. Students are placed in classes if there is space, and last on any waitlists.

New student class request forms are processed after priority registration.

• DUE DATE: You have until Friday, January 10th, 4:00pm to submit the form for each of your students. This is not first come first served, so take some time to plan your student’s schedule. But, the deadline is 4:00 pm on Friday. Don’t be late!
• Read the class descriptions in the course catalog.
• Double Check! Check that none of your requested classes overlap with another requested class!! Again, this is not first come, first served, so check your work! The registrar will not be responsible for mistakes made while filling out the form.
• Fill Out Class Request Form: Once you have your student’s schedule all planned out, fill out the class request form (sent by email on Monday January 6th)
• OOPS! I Made a Mistake: If you realize you made a mistake or need to make a change, you can fill out a new form with the correct information up until the deadline, January 10th at 4:00 pm.
  • Can’t I just call or email Aldona with the changes I want to make? Sorry, no! Please fill out a new form. This helps me keep the data all neat and tidy. It’s best for everyone!
• SUGGESTION: Save a copy of your parent led/coordinated learning plan information in case you need to fill out a new form. That way you won’t have to rewrite it all from memory!

How are class requests processed?

At the end of registration, all of the priority requests are gathered together. We begin placing students in classes based on their top priority. Students that listed a class as first choice are put into the class first. If there is still space, students that listed the class as 2nd choice are put into the class. If there is still space 3rd choices are added until all of the seats fill.

If there is room for say three 4th choice students, but we have six fourth choice requests, seats will be granted by lottery.

Anyone who requested the class, but did not get into the class, will be put on a waitlist. Waitlist position is determined by higher priority and lottery.

New student class requests are processed after priority registration.

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Viewing Second Semester Student Schedules

Student Schedules Will Be Posted in ALE/School Data Solutions on January 17th by the end of the day!

• How Do I Access ALE? If you have not yet figured out how to log into our student data system, ALE, please contact your counselor for training.
• When will I see my student’s spring schedule? Student schedules will be posted in ALE by the end of day on January 17th. We will not be emailing schedule and waitlist information. This information is conveniently located in ALE (except new students, see note below).
• What to expect on January 17th:
  • Once schedules are complete, all families will be notified via School Messenger’s robocall and an email.
  • Please refrain from calling/ emailing the office with questions about your student’s schedule before that notification. It takes all day for students to be placed in classes. If you check too soon, you may be seeing partial information.
  • My suggestion – don’t look until you receive the call/email saying schedules are complete!

NOTE: If you have enrolled a new sibling, you won’t be able to see that student in ALE until the new student begins attending classes. New student schedules and waitlist information will be emailed to you instead.

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Requesting Classes Do’s and Don’ts

Do turn in your class request form on time!

Do remember this is NOT first come first served. All requests are processed together after registration closes.

Don’t request classes that you don’t really want

• These requests overfill the classes, creating inequities and a feeling of scarcity in the community.
• These requests also create extra work for the staff when they are requested and then dropped.
• Use the add/drop form starting on January 24th to make needed schedule changes after class registration is complete.

Do read the class descriptions in the course catalog. Know what you are getting into!

• Make sure the classes you are requesting do not overlap, are in the correct grade band, and work with your family’s schedule.
• The registrar will not be responsible for mistakes made while filling out the class request form. So check your work!

Don’t request “back-up” classes

• Any classes requested that conflict with a higher priority class will be crossed off.
• Don’t request both sections of a class (exception for Learning Support). ONLY REQUEST ONE SECTION. A request for both sections of a class will cause the lower priority request to be crossed off.
• When possible we try to offer open spots in identical classes if one section over fills and there is space in the other, and it does not conflict with your other requests.
• Class registration is a complicated process, and we want to keep this process equitable. Therefore, we do not honor back up requests.

Do remember that there will be an add/drop period for making schedule adjustments.

• Schedule changes can be requested using the add/drop form starting on January 24th. Class change requests will be processed in the order received.
• Add/drop for certificated classes will run through the first two weeks of the semester.
• Add/drop for electives runs through the first half of the semester.
• The add/drop request form will be located on the Cascade website under forms, but won’t be accessible until January 24th.
• Families will receive a notification when add/drop opens with a link to the add/drop form.

Do email Aldona at ammitchell1@seattleschols.org with questions.

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Advanced Learning – HCC and AL Class Registration Information

• It is strongly recommended that you check with your counselor before requesting an above grade level class during registration.
• Advanced learning students can request certificated Math and ELA classes outside of the their grade level unless otherwise noted in the course catalog.
  • 1 grade level up for AL
  • 2 grade levels up for HC.
• Cascade staff (teacher, counselor, principal, SpEd teacher – if applicable) reserve the right to refuse above grade level requests based on social/emotional needs, class content, and for other reasons based on their professional judgement. Remember this means your student could be in class with older students rather than peers.
• Other Cert Classes and Electives – All other certificated classes (science, drama, art, etc.) and all electives are not subject to advanced learning privileges. Students will stay in their grade band for these classes.

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Out of Grade Band Requests – Certificated Classes Only

• Students may request one certificated class 1 grade level above or below their own grade level.
• This request counts as one of your 5 classes (full time) or 3 classes (part time).
• Because there are no guarantees, your first choice certificated class must be within the student’s grade-band.
  • Out of grade band requests will be your last choice on the class registration form.

Priority is first given to students within the class grade band including newly enrolling students.

Please do not request approval from the teacher. They cannot approve without team discussion. There is a space on the class request form to request a class out of grade band.

The team (teacher, counselor, principal and SpEd teacher if applicable) will discuss the request. If approved the student will be placed in the class following priority and new family registration if there is space.

If the class is full, the student will be placed on the waitlist

The results of these requests will be sent out on January 24th.

New families can talk to their counselor to possibly request an out of grade band class once add/drop opens. However, there must be space in the class. The student will not be placed on the waitlist for an out of grade band class.

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Parent Led/Coordinated Classes

Remember, being a part of our Parent Partnership means that while students learn from our Cascade teachers, most of their learning happens outside of Cascade with the parent/ guardian leading or coordinating classes.

Be ready to list your parent led/coordinated classes when you fill out the class registration form including class title, hours per week, and materials/curriculum you will be using.

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Full Time or Part Time?

Full or part time is determined by the number of hours per week on your learning plan.

Full Time = 28 hours combined classes at Cascade and classes led/coordinated by the parent.

Part Time = Less than 28 hours of combined Cascade classes (up to 3) and parent led/ coordinated classes

Even students taking only 1 Cascade class can still be considered full time because of the independent learning hours on the learning plan.

Please ask your counselor if you are not sure of your student’s status.

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Class Registration Timeline

December 20th (End of Day) – Spring classes viewable in the Course Catalog

January 6-10 – Second Semester class registration is open

• Remember, this is not first come first served. You can take your time.

January 10th, 4:00pm –

• Class registration ends.
• Any late requests are held until the end of priority registration to be processed.

January 13-17 – Process priority class registrations

January 17th –

• Process any late class requests
• Send out schedules and waitlist information by the end of the day (posted in ALE/School Data Solutions).
• An email and phone call will be sent out to notify families that fall schedules are complete and ready to view.
• Your patience and restraint from emailing or calling the office before then is appreciated!

January 20-23 – Enroll new students into classes. Families that are new to Cascade will have a chance to enroll in classes before the add/drop begins.

January 24th –

• Process Out of Grade Band Requests.
• Begin Add/Drop requests – Information and link to the form will be sent to all families.

January 28th – Last day of first semester classes

January 29th – First day of second semester classes