College Readiness Seminar: Sophomores

Victor Castorini ([email protected])

Katie Cunningham ([email protected] )

Ameena Amdahl-Mason ([email protected] )

Course Description

You are on your way to college. The goal of College Readiness Seminar (CRS) is help you get there. Twice a week you will meet with your advisor who will help guide you through activities tailored to helping you reach this goal. It is the role of your advisor to nominate you for our Pathways programs.

A major focus of CRS is developing your skills as a writer in combination with developing your understanding of college and career options available to you. We look forward to working with you this term and helping you on your way to college.

Course Objectives

CMC College Readiness Seminar is designed to:

• Provide peer mentoring and social support for a positive school climate and encourage a college-going school culture.
• Encourage student engagement by ensuring that every student has at least one adult, at school, who knows and cares about him/her. Research shows that student engagement is the best prevention against dropping out.
• Enhance student achievement by helping students evaluate and reflect on their own skills, interests, and accomplishments and then make plans to improve.
• Assist students in demonstrating the new Oregon Diploma Requirements: Education Plan and Profile, Career-Related Learning Experiences, and Essential Skills.
• Assist students in meeting Key Learning Skills/Ownership of Learning and Key Transition Knowledge and Skills.
• Provide students support and structure in demonstrating readiness for CMC Pathways and post-secondary opportunities.

Attendance Policy

Since we only meet twice a week in College Readiness Seminar, the attendance policy has different criteria. They are:

• One absence in the first two weeks: Teachers send home a email, and follow up if no response. Crystal will contact home via phone message
• Two absences in the first four weeks:  Counselor intervention with family and student
• Four absences by midterm:  A letter outlining our policy sent home with progress reports
• If a student is missing 20% or more of CRS classes they loses PTC eligibility along with staffing with family and student
• If a student is missing 30% or more of CRS classes they lose eligibility for CRS credit

Plagiarism

To “plagiarize” means:

• to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
• to use (another's production) without crediting the source
• to commit literary theft
• to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's work and lying about it afterward.

All of the following are considered plagiarism:

• turning in someone else's work as your own
• copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
• failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
• giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
• changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
• copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not (see our section on "fair use" rules)

Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided, however, by citing sources. 

Accommodations

If you need any accommodations through an IEP or 504 I will be working with your learning specialists to help make sure you get those accommodations. Please talk to me about what works and what doesn’t in whatever manner is most comfortable (in person, email, through your Learning Specialist) so that your needs are met.

If you need to miss school due to illness, a trip, or an unplanned emergency please let me know as soon as possible so that I can get you the material you need. 

Grading Policy

The majority of your grade in CRS will be based on the college readiness skills you display. The college professors we work with have told us that Persistence, Time Management, and Organization are three of the most important “soft skills” that lead to academic success. Therefore, we have developed Independent Learner rubrics that will help us communicate your progress in these skills (see attached rubrics).

In addition you will receive grades for in-class activities and writing tasks.

A third of your grade will be based on daily participation so being here and being engaged will be of great importance.

Google Classroom

10th grade CRS teachers use Google classroom to post assignments and announcements. If parents would like to receive updates, they can request to do so daily, weekly, or monthly by emailing the teacher.

Gradebook

All of your CMC College Prep classes will have grades posted to Synergy. You can access Synergy through the school’s website. Check your grades often and hold on to assignments that are passed back. Errors happen (sorry!) and it’s easier to change a grade if you have your assignment.

Group Agreements

Stay engaged:

Staying engaged means refusing to let your heart and mind “check out” of the conversation while leaving your body in place. Topics: Electronics, bathroom, tardiness.

Speak your truth:

Be willing to take risks and be absolutely honest about your thoughts, feelings, and opinions instead of just saying what others want to hear. Topics: speaking, listening.

Experience discomfort: 

To deal with difficult subject matter we have to agree to experience discomfort together. This allows us to take academic and emotion risks and opens ourselves up to learning experiences. Topics: mindset, risks, topics.

Practice confidentiality:

To support each other in our learning process we agree not to share personal information with others outside of the classroom.

Acknowledgement of Syllabus and Course Policies

I have read the syllabus and by signing this form show that I understand and agree to follow the expectations and requirements of the course.  This includes policies pertaining to:

• Course Description
• Course Overview
• Attendance Policy
• Plagiarism
• Accommodations
• Google Classroom
• Gradebook
• Group Agreements

Student signature _____________________________________________________________________

Student name printed _____________________________________________________________________

Date ___________________

Parent Signature _____________________________________________________________________