Open Enrollment

• Fairfax County Public Schools offers open enrollment in honors and advanced placement (AP) courses. Counselors and teachers provide guidelines for appropriate selection of courses, but students and parents make the decision of which courses to take. Our goal is to ensure that students and parents have the information to make the best decision.

Points to Consider

• High school students are required to balance a variety of responsibilities and interests. These include academics, sports, extra-curricular activities and time with family and friends. As you decide on courses for next year, be sure to consider not only your personal abilities but also reasonable limits on your time and energy. Some students take one or two advanced courses, while others take more. For additional information about advanced academic courses refer to the course expectation sheets on the Centreville High School website. 

Standard vs. Honors and Advanced Placement Courses

• Standard courses are designed for students who perform best when provided with more opportunities to work with course content and skill development. In the classroom, this means more time, more structure and more activities to master concepts. Honors and Advanced Placement courses require students to work at a faster pace and to grasp concepts quickly. To determine which placement is right for you in each subject area, consider carefully the benefits and expectations of honors and Advanced Placement courses.

Honors Courses Benefits

• In-depth and challenging material
• Preparation for AP classes
• Value of grade increased by 0.5

Honors Courses Expectations 

• Strong foundation in the subject area
• Ability to work independently
• Ability to keep up with a faster pace of instruction
• Time management skills

An average of 1 ½ to 2 ½ hours of homework per class meeting (will vary by student and course)

AP Courses Benefits

• College-level coursework
• Potential for college credit
• Value of grade increased by 1.0
• Enhances transcript for college applications

AP Courses Expectations 

• Strong foundation in the subject area
• Ability to work independently
• Ability to keep up with a faster pace of instruction
• Time management skills

An average of 1 ½ to 2 ½ hours of homework per class meeting (will vary by student and course)

Should You Enroll?

• If, after careful consideration, you decide that honors or Advanced Placement courses are right for you, please print this page, sign it, and return it to your counselor with your course selection sheet. The course selection sheet and this form represent your commitment to the courses that you choose.
• Once students have selected their courses, Centreville administration makes decisions on the master schedule, staffing, and ordering supplies.
• For these reasons, schedule change requests are accommodated only under limited circumstances. No schedule change request will be considered before the first week of October.
• For a request to be considered by the schedule change committee 1) a student must complete all of their assignments; 2) a student and their teacher must create and fulfill an individualized learning plan; and, 3) a parent/teacher conference must have taken place. Changes may not be possible due to space or may require multiple periods and/or teacher changes to the student’s schedule.

Your Name: ____________________________________

Grade Level for 2017-2018: _______________________

Student Signature: ______________________________

Parent Signature: _______________________________