College and Career Readiness

Canyon ISD is committed to ensuring that our students are prepared to pursue a fulfilling career aligned with their interests. We believe that no matter what our students are planning to do after high school, they should be in a position to choose the college and career pathway that will lead to a successful life.

When we are talking about being college and career ready, what do we mean? College and career readiness is being equipped with the knowledge and skills, habits of thinking, and preparation necessary to successfully complete the first year of college without the need for remediation or to be able to enter the workforce ready to handle the demands of the job successfully.

We know that we must be intentional when it comes to preparing and growing our students to succeed in college and career readiness through instilling the ideals of professionalism, leadership, and service.

Our mission is to actively engage and fully equip each student to graduate prepared and confident for post-secondary endeavors

College and Career Readiness Video

Graduation Requirements At-A-Glance

Foundation High School Program

The Foundation High School Program with endorsements is a flexible program that allows students to pursue their interests. It is the graduation program for students who entered high school in the 2014-15 school year or later.

The Program Contains Up to Four Parts

A 22-credit foundation plan which is the core of the Texas high school diploma program
Five endorsement options that allow students to focus on a related series of courses
A higher performance category called Distinguished Level of Achievement
Performance Acknowledgments that note outstanding achievement in specific areas

The Foundation Requirements (22 Credits)

English (4 Credits)
Mathematics (3 Credits)
Science (3 Credits)
Social Studies (3 Credits)
Language Other Than English (2 Credits)
Physical Education (1 Credit)
Fine Arts (1 Credit)
Business Information Management (1 Local Credit) *Beginning with 2017-2018 Freshmen Class
Health (.5 Local Credit)
3.5 Elective Credits

Endorsements

STEM
Business and Industry
Public Service
Arts and Humanities
Multidisciplinary

Enhancements to the Foundation Program

A student may earn the Distinguished Level of Achievement and/or a Performance Acknowledgment for outstanding performance. The Distinguished Level of Achievement must be earned to be admitted to a Texas public university under the Top 10 percent automatic admission law.

Distinguished Level of Achievement

Foundation Program requirements
4 Credits in Math including Algebra II
4 credits in Science
At least one endorsement

Performance Acknowledgement Areas

Dual Credit Courses
Bilingualism and Biliteracy
PSAT, ASPIRE, SAT or ACT
Advanced Placement (AP) Exams
Earning a state-, nationally-, or internationally-recognized business or industry certification or license

Why it Matters? Benefits

The Distinguished Level of Achievement opens a world of educational and employment opportunities for you beyond high school. The Distinguished Level of Achievement will:

Allow you to compete for Top 10% automatic admissions eligibility at any Texas public university;
Position you among those first in line for a TEXAS Grant to help pay for university tuition and fees; (Must be financially qualified)
Ensure you are a more competitive applicant at the most selective colleges and universities
Taking Algebra II and Physics will improve your ACT/SAT Score

Performance Acknowledgements

Dual Credit Courses
Bilingualism and Biliteracy
PSAT, ASPIRE, SAT or ACT
Advanced Placement (AP) Exams
Earning a state-, nationally-, or internationally-recognized business or industry certification or license

Canyon ISD College Roadmap

8th Grade Roadmap

Counselors will work with Exploring Careers teachers to help students work through the following items in Naviance, our online program used for post-secondary readiness and developing 4-year plans:

Introduction Survey
Career Cluster Assessment
Browse Careers
Add Career Clusters to list
Complete the Strengths Explorer
Student Explore Road Trip Nation
Build 4-year Plans
Complete endorsement form
Completion Survey

9th Grade Roadmap

Fall Semester

Student and Parents will be invited to attend a meeting to discuss their student’s 4 Year Plan, endorsement options, courses and post-secondary goals
Revisit 4-year plan during pre-registration
Complete Career Cluster Finder

10th Grade Roadmap

Fall Semester

PSAT

Spring Semester

Revisit 4-year plan during pre-registration
Complete Career Interest Profiler through Naviance
TSI Test for students enrolling in Dual-Credit courses

11th Grade Roadmap

The goals for the 11th grade year are to make sure the students will be on track to graduate. Majority of students will have already selected their endorsement(s) with the correct courses, and they need to begin narrowing the list of colleges that they will be applying for.

September:

Graduation/Transcript Checklist
Register for the PSAT
Plan Community Service and Leadership Opportunities

October:

Take PSAT
Begin College Visits

November:

ASVAB – Early November
Research post-secondary options by completing SuperMatch on Naviance
FAFSA4Caster to help in planning potential financial aid

December:

Continue post-secondary options

January:

Register for 12th Grade classes, making sure they align with 4-year Plan
Complete the Strength Explorer
Register for the ACT

February:

Continue to research post-secondary options
ACT for all Juniors provided by CISD

March:

Discuss options with College and Career Counselor

April:

TSI Test for Dual-Credit and CCR

May:

Possible AP Exams
Register to take ACT
Work on Resume’
Practice college essays in English class

June/July:

Begin applying to colleges and universities (Apply Texas Application)

12th Grade Roadmap

August:

Sign up for ACT or SAT re-test
SuperMatch College Search – Naviance
Begin admissions essays
Know application requirements and deadlines