• VLA courses are on level; not Honors. 
    • The grade earned in this course will not count toward high school GPA unless the course is taken after 8th grade. The course name and final grade will be listed on the high school transcript.
    • If students take a VLA course, the following school year’s course requests will not change until August when final grades confirm that students have earned credit.

    Courses available for Middle School students include:

    • Spanish 1 & Spanish 2
      • It is recommended students take Spanish on their home campus during the school year. 
      • If students want to pursue Spanish for their foreign language credit, we recommend that students take Spanish 1 in 7th grade and Spanish 2 in 8th grade. This will allow students to take Honors Spanish 3 and AP Spanish 4 in high school.
      • VLA does not currently offer Spanish 3 or 4
      • There is not a Spanish 3 course option in 8th grade unless students are in the dual language program. If students finish Spanish 2 prior to 8th grade, they will have to take another elective.
      • To graduate high school, students only need 2 years of the same foreign language. Some students choose to take 3 or 4 years of a language. Check the admission requirements of colleges and universities you are interested in to see how many credits of foreign language they require. 
      • Students are able to take Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 in 9th grade or another language- this is not a requirement in middle school.

     

    • American Sign Language or Latin
      • If students sign up for ALS, Latin, or French through VLA, they must continue these courses in VLA or until the students start high school. Middle schools in LISD do not offer these language courses. 
      • ALS, French, German, Spanish, and Latin are available languages in high school.

     

    • Art 1 HS
      • If students enjoy doing art and want to pursue advanced art classes with hands-on skills, we do not recommend the VLA art course. The VLA course will be more art history and theory-based instruction online. It would be best for your child to take this course as an 8th grader in middle school or take this in person in high school. Then, students can pursue other advanced art courses in high school. 
      • If your child's purpose in taking this class is just to earn a fine arts HS credit, a great time to do this is the summer before their 9th grade year or in high school. 
      • Students wanting to take this class the summer before 7th grade will be denied. 
      • Students wanting to take this course the summer before 8th grade will have to have 1 year of middle school art as a prerequisite.
      • Note: Art, band, choir, orchestra, theatre, dance, and other related courses also count toward high school fine art credit in 9th - 12th grade. The graduation requirement at a minimum is just 1 year of a fine arts course. 

     

    • Algebra 1
      • Students must pass Math 7 Honors or Math 8 before taking Algebra 1 through VLA
      • The VLA Algebra 1 course is an on-level course and not Honors.
      • There is a required End of Course Exam (EOC) with Algebra tied to graduation of high school. Students will be unable to take this exam in the summer, but will have to take it at the high school the next testing opportunity.  Students will have to keep up and remember the material for this exam on their own.
      • If students pass both semesters (part A & B) prior to 8th grade, students will have to attend Geometry at the high school. Students will need to be at the high school no later than 8:15AM. Then, students will then need to return to the middle school in time for 2nd period, around 9:45AM each morning. Transportation must be provided by the parents. There is no district transportation to take your child from their high school to middle school. 

     

    • Geometry
      • Students must have passed Algebra 1 HS and the End of Course Exam before taking Geometry VLA. 
      • This course is an on-level course and not Honors/ GT.

     

    • Algebra 2
      • Students must have passed Geometry HS before taking Algebra 2 VLA. 
      • This course is an on-level course and not Honors/ GT.