Counseling Department Information and Recommendations

Students can make appointments to meet with their counselors several ways, either via the Book An Appointment page or via their counselor’s Schoology page. Be sure to select the counselor that is assigned to the part of the alphabet that correlates to your last name and use your school email address when booking. Appointments are scheduled at least 24 hours in advance.

Transcripts

1. If you need an unofficial transcript, please email Ms. Bristol; chbristol@seattleschools.org to request one.
2. If your application is on Common App & Coalition platform, add your School Counselor to your profile on the platform. Your school counselor will send your transcript for you directly through that platform (depending on the school – i.e. UW does not require a transcript).
3. If the first two options do not apply, request your transcripts through Naviance. Visit the district Naviance page if you want to know more about Naviance.

Late Arrivals/Early Dismissals

It is strongly recommended that ninth and tenth grade students take a full schedule of six classes.  Eleventh and twelfth grade students may choose late arrivals or early dismissals so long as they meet graduation credit requirements. Please review this with your counselor with the 24 credit policy. No empty periods are allowed in the middle of a student’s daily schedule.

Grading System

Grades of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+ and D indicate credit earned in a class. An E grade indicates course failure and results in no credit earned. If a student wishes to take a class for a Pass/No Pass grade, this must be requested by the fifth week of the semester and may be chosen for only one course per semester. Students who are withdrawn from a class after the fifth week of the semester will earn an “E” on their transcript for that course unless the withdrawal is due to a move to another school.  Classes dropped after the 10th day of the semester but before the 5th week of the semester will result in a “W” on the student’s transcript. Incompletes are rarely given and must be completed within six school weeks of the end of the grading period or the Incomplete will become an E grade. All classes earn .50-semester credit, with the exception of TA (teacher assistant) positions, which earn .25-semester credit. This may affect students needing 24 credits for graduation.

Percent (%) grading scale: A=93-100, A- =90-92, B+=87-89, B=83-86, B-=80-82, C+=77-79, C=73-76, C-=70-72, D+=67-69, D=60-66, E=50-59

Grading Practices

Ballard High School staff are committed to:

• Grading students based on academics, not participation, attendance, or behavior.
• Providing effective progress monitoring through updated grades and Source information at least every other week for all students.

Grading Requirements

Per SPS policy, we will continue to utilize an A-E scale. However, SPS leadership will require the following 3 grading practices that promote equity and our long-term effort to move towards a competency-based grading system. For information related to a specific course, please refer to that teacher’s course syllabus.

1. Communication: SPS educators will provide biweekly check-ins with students and families for students at risk of earning an Incomplete, No Credit, or a failing grade. 
2. Redemption: SPS educators will allow retakes and assignment revisions to the extent possible. 
3. Minimum Grades: SPS educators will not give any grades lower than 50% on any assignment or assessment even for a missed assignment.

Report Cards and Progress Reports

Semester report cards can be viewed on the Source at the end of each semester. Semester grades are posted to the official transcript. Mid-term progress reports are issued at the middle of each semester. These grades are for information only and are not part of a student’s final transcript. However, senior year mid-term grades may be used as part of the college admission process, even though credits are not yet posted to the final transcript. “D” and “E” grades are reported halfway through each quarter.

Weighted Class Rank

Class rank is an indicator requested by some colleges and universities, scholarship programs, and some employers. A weighted class rank system is intended to recognize students who take more rigorous academic courses. These include courses designated as Honors (H), Advanced Placement (AP), College in the High School (CIHS) and Running Start (HRS). Honors courses earn a half weighting point; AP, CIHS, and HRS courses earn a full weighting point. The weighted ranking process does not affect the GPA.  The highest attainable GPA is 4.0 (WAC 180-57-050). Valedictorian(s) and Salutatorian(s) are based on cumulative weighted rank as of 1st semester senior year.

Ballard High School Valedictorian/Salutatorian Policy

Ballard’s Valedictorian must:

1. Have the highest weighted Class Rank after the first semester of the senior year. Additional courses taken beyond the six-period day will not be counted towards the calculation of the student’s Class Rank for purposes of determining Valedictorian, except in the case of Running Start courses, for which all credits through fall quarter of senior year will be counted.
2. Have been a full-time student (six classes each semester) on Ballard’s campus, including Running Start courses, all four years.
3. Have no “E” or “N” grades on the transcript.
4. Have no “P” grades.
5. Have no Teacher or Office Assistant classes on their transcript.
6. Students cannot be full time Running Start students and be eligible to be Valedictorians.

Ballard’s Salutatorian(s) must:

1. Have the second highest weighted Class Rank after the first semester of the senior year. Additional courses taken beyond the six-period day will not be counted towards the calculation of the student’s Class Rank for purposes of determining Salutatorian, except in the case of Running Start courses, for which all credits through fall quarter of senior year will be counted.
2. Have been a full-time student (six classes each semester) on Ballard’s campus, including Running Start courses, for at least three years.
3. Have no “E” or “N” grades on their transcript.
4. Have no “P” grades other than a Study Abroad experience.
5. Have no Teacher or Office Assistant classes on their transcript.
6. Students cannot be full time Running Start students and be eligible to be Salutatorians.

Class Standing

A minimum of 24.00 credits are required to graduate. Students must meet the graduation requirements of their “Class of” designation, as assigned in grade 9. This is never altered regardless of the year of actual graduation (i.e., early or late completion of graduation requirements).

High School Credit for Middle School Courses

High School credit is available for some pre-approved middle school courses. Some examples of this include Spanish, French, Japanese 1, and Algebra 1. See your counselor for more details.

Making Up a Required Course

To graduate, students must pass all required courses. If a student fails a required course, they generally must expect to take that course through an afterschool or summer school credit retrieval program if available, or through an accredited program outside of Ballard High School.

Course Fees

We believe students should be able to take courses of their choice regardless of their ability to pay course fees. While course fees do support Ballard’s ability to offer high quality programs, they are not required and are not connected to student grades.

TA (Teacher or Office Assistant)

Students may take only one TA position per semester. Students are not allowed to take a TA course for more than 2.0 credits. Teacher Assistant positions earn .25 credit and a P/N grade. Office and Lab Assistant positions earn .50 credit and a pass/no pass grade. Please be aware that TA positions can negatively affect athletic eligibility, Valedictorian/Salutatorian standing, and PE waiver availability, so students are advised to consider this decision carefully before deciding to take a TA position and to consider needing 24 credits for graduation the year 2024 and beyond.

Athletic Eligibility

In order to play on a school sports team, students must have earned a grade point of 2.0 or higher in 5 subjects during the previous semester of school.  Continuing eligibility will require a student athlete to earn no less than a 2.0 grade point average in five subject areas (2.5 credits) as reported on their current report card on the Source. TA classes, lab assistants and PE waivers cannot be counted as one of the five classes for eligibility.

NCAA Athletic Eligibility

Students interested in participating in college athletics after high school need to be aware that additional academic courses are required for eligibility and not all courses are approved for NCAA eligibility. Student athletes must also register with the NCAA Eligibility Center, preferably during their junior year. Visit the NCAA Eligibility Center website and see the athletic director or your counselor for more information.

As of Jan. 8, 2024