Counseling

AHS Class Change Policy

Courses are established and staff are assigned based on students' class requests made during spring forecasting. Students are given an opportunity to review their course selections during a two-week window in April, and to submit a request for any changes at that time.

Changes may not be made after that window in April, except in the case of necessary adjustments due to classes passed over summer, or corrections to meet graduation requirements.

Rationale for policies: Schedule changes decrease instruction time, staff productivity, and disrupt the learning environment.

AHS Course Level Selection Process

All of the following are taken into consideration when determining an appropriate course level:                    

Standardized test scores
Previous performance in the subject and related subjects
Teacher recommendation
Counselor recommendation
Student choice
Parent choice

AHS Addendum to "Grading Repeated Courses" Principals Agreement

Regarding taking a failed class more than once: once a C or better is earned in a course, only the lowest grade previously earned for that course will be replaced with an N (No Grade) on the student's transcript.

AHS Addendum to District's Policy on Repeating a Class for Credit

Both academic and elective courses for which a student received a C or better may be repeated once for a grade and elective credit. A student will not receive credit for a class that has previously been passed twice with C's or better.

AHS Teacher Assistant Policy

To be a Teacher's Aide, you must meet the following requirements:

• A student may be a teacher, office, counseling, or library assistant only two times for credit during his/her high school career.
• A student may be a TA more than two times, but he/she will not receive credit after the second time.
• A student may not TA more than one class period in any trimester.
• A student may be a TA only during their junior and senior years.
• A student must have no F's and have at least a 2.0 GPA in previous semester.
• A student may not be behind in their core classes.
• Seniors have to have met or exceeded the OAKS test(s) required for graduation.

Rationale: Students have many other valuable opportunities available to them.

AHS Teacher Change Request Policy

Through the first week of each semester, a request by a student for a teacher change will be granted if the change does not disrupt balance of any class sizes, OR if the class is being repeated and the student had previously failed the class with the same teacher.

After the first week of a semester, a change in teacher will be granted under the following circumstances:

• The change does not cause the new class (or any other affected class) to go over its cap in size AND
• The student has met with the teacher to address his/her reason(s) for wanting the change and the teacher agrees to the change or the student still requests the change, OR
• The student has acquired administrator approval for the change.​

Who should seek advice from their Guidance Counselor?

All students! Every student at Aloha High School is a valuable part of this community. It is our goal to help you reach your full potential by helping you explore the many programs and opportunities that are available to you, both during your high school years and the years that immediately follow. By allowing us to get to know you early on, we can help you stay on track and make any necessary adjustments along the way to ensure success.

Besides helping to plan the daily academic schedule, what other programs can a Guidance Counselor help with?

There are a lot of options out there, both within and outside of the Beaverton School District. We can help you get connected with programs like Outdoor School, Health Careers, GED programs, and many others.

What about post-high school plans? Should I wait until my Junior or Senior year to start thinking about that?

No! You should start thinking about this right away! Whether you have your sights set on going to college or entering the military, you can take steps as early as your freshman year to get you on the best track to your post-high school goals. BSD offers post-high school planning nights for each grade level throughout the year (click here for schedule). Aloha's counselors meet with Juniors and Seniors each year to offer guidance in the post-high school planning process. We are also pleased to have outstanding staff in our College and Career Center to help with college planning, scholarship information, and assistance with other related maters such as the FAFSA.

What if issues in my personal life seem to be affecting my grades? Is there anything you can do to help?

Absolutely. We care about you as a whole person, not just your grades. Of course, we want to see you be successful, so we are here to listen and work with you and your family, if necessary, to formulate a "game plan" that will keep you on a positive track.  We can also help connect you with community resources.

When can I visit my counselor?

Counselors are available on a "drop-in" basis before school, during student lunches, and after school.  Students may also schedule a 5 or 10-minute appointment with their counselor during the student's lunch time.  Students with appointments are given priority.

Who are the Guidance Counselors at Aloha and do they have any specific areas they focus in?  How do I know which counselor to see?

Currently at Aloha we have five Guidance Counselors. Their student caseloads are assigned as a section of the alphabet, by students' last names. Each counselor also has a variety of areas on which they focus. It's possible that students may get to know more than one counselor, depending on his/her needs and interests.

Aloha also has a full-time Resource Counselor and other specialists who comprise our counseling team. Click here to view all members, titles, and areas of service.

Concerned about your students' academic progress?

ParentVUE and StudentVUE allow parents and students to view assignments and check progress in each of the student's classes. Links to teachers' email addresses are available on the AHS Contact Us web page.

Formal progress reports are completed electronically by the teachers and are mailed to parents after 6 and 12 weeks in each semester.

If you think your student could benefit from tutoring, the BSD Tutor List can be a helpful resource.

Didn't get your students' report card?

Your student may have an outstanding fine, or we may have an incorrect address.

Call AHS at (503)259-4700 to find out if your student has an outstanding fine. Your students' report card will be released after the fine is paid in full.

Sometimes students have moved, and the school is not notified of a new address. Please call (503)259-4719 to make sure we have the most up-to-date contact information.

How can a student make-up or earn extra credits?

Credit recovery courses in in Math, English, and Social Sciences are offered at AHS through the APEX program.

Consider PCC, or correspondence courses, or online courses!
PCC (Portland Community College) credits do transfer to AHS, but the credit transfer is a little tricky. 3-4 credits at PCC equal .5 AHS credits, which is the amount awarded for a one-semester course at AHS. To take classes at PCC,  a student must submit an application for PCC (available online at http://www.pcc.edu) and call PCC's Rock Creek campus (503.614.7300) to schedule a time to take the ASSET placement test. The test will determine the appropriate levels of classes for your student.

Other schools offer independent study programs, such as Portland State University, or BYU Independent Study. Speak with an Aloha Counselor for help in choosing the right option and courses.

Can I request homework?

If your student has been absent for three or more days:

You may call Kandra Luna at 503-356-2762.

Teachers require 24 hours to put the homework packets together, so your request will be ready to pick up in the Front office at the end of the following school day from when you placed the request. 

If your student will be returning to school prior to the end of this 24 hour window, it may be easier for the student to get his/her assignments directly from the teacher to allow time for questions and recap.