Academy Student & Parent Newsletter

Aug. 31st: Algebra 1 MAP Assessment (All Algebra 1 students will test)

Aug. 31st 5:00 - 6:30: AHS Open House/Meet the Teacher Evening

Aug. 31st - Donut NV Food Truck available during AHS Open House/Meet the Teacher Evening

Sep. 3rd - Chromebooks replaced with MacBook Air for all students

Sep. 4th - 9th Grade Student Council Elections During Titan Time

Oct. 7th: PSAT 9/10/NMSQT (All 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students will test)

Oct. 21st: Picture Retakes

Mar. 4th: SAT School Day (All 11th grade students will test)

You have to be here to win! Way to go Langston, Ron, and Sam for winning our latest attendance competition! Remember, you have to be here to win!

This is one of the 3 times students are allowed to drop an AP course if they have discovered it is not a good fit for them.

Students should complete this google form by TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 if they would like to drop an AP class at this time.

Other opportunities to withdraw from AP courses will be at the end of the first grading period, and at the end of the semester.

AP Course Withdrawal Form 26-27

Please review the Student Council Newsletter attached below. Thank you!

Seniors! Claim your spot on Senior Row! For just $50, you can purchase and paint your very own parking space and make it uniquely YOU for your final year at AHS. Painting parties run every Saturday and Sunday in August. Students supply their own paint and materials, and can come anytime in the morning. Spots are still available! Don’t miss out!

**All artwork must be approved by Dr. Howard BEFORE you start painting. You must also purchase an AHS parking pass**

On August 31, 2026, your student will be taking the Algebra 1 MAP assessment. We will begin promptly at 9:05 am. Please arrive by 8:45 am to report to your testing room.

What TO bring on Algebra 1 MAP Days:

Chromebook & Charger, Water bottle & Snack, Pencils, and Student ID

What NOT to bring on Algebra 1 MAP Days:

Technology devices such as phones, AirPods/earbuds, smartwatches, cameras, and/or recording devices.

A few test-taking tips for your student:

Make sure they get a good night's sleep the night before the assessment.

Eat a smart breakfast the morning of the assessment.

Good brain foods include whole grains, fresh fruit, and fresh vegetables.

​Once again, the Algebra 1 MAP assessment for your student will be on August 31, 2026. Thank you for your continued support throughout the school year!

Students are required to wear ID's at all times. Students who attended Titan Takeoff and had their picture taken should have their new ID's. New ID cards won't be available until after picture retake day on October 21st for those that missed Titan Takeoff. Temporary badges are available but should only be used for a short time. Students can use their ID's from last year until the new ID's are available. A replacement should be ordered as soon as possible if your student lost their ID. Please follow the process outlined below. Thank you!

We're super pumped to host not just one, but THREE blood drives this school year! Donating blood is honestly one of the coolest and most impactful ways to make a real difference — it’s safe, it saves lives, and it even gives you some minor health perks. Plus, it’s a fantastic way for our whole community to come together and support those in need!

Parents and students alike, we really encourage you to sign up and join the fun! Keep an eye out for the registration link, which will be coming your way soon. Let’s team up and make this year’s blood drives the best one yet! 💖🩸

For student safety please be advised that the CTE Center construction site is not open for through traffic, visitation, or general access. Anyone entering the site must be actively working on the project or specifically approved by construction management personnel.

Welcome back, Titans and welcome to our brand-new Titans! Robotics practices have not yet begun, so please watch for upcoming communication from Dr. Howard, Coach Goodwin, Coach Asfar, and the Robotics leadership team. This section will feature weekly Titan Robotics updates all year long.

The fall semester is always full of activity with our October fundraiser, community outreach, elementary STEM nights, and leadership workshops. Robotics is a well‑rounded program with opportunities in mechanical build, electrical, programming, CAD, business, marketing, and more. There is truly a place for every learner at Academy.

Parents are invited to our first Robotics Parent Meeting on September 8th at 6:30 PM. You’ll meet the board, coaches, and mentors and learn what the season will look like. We hope you’ll consider joining the Titan Robotics family, it’s going to be an exciting year!

You may have noticed that our bell schedule has "Titan Time" and "Project Time" listed but you don't see these on your child's schedule. Titan Time shows up as "Advisory" on student schedules. Project Time is linked to the following courses by grade level:

9th: Professional Communications

10th: Entrepreneurship I

11th: Entrepreneurship I/II

12th: Statistics and Business Decision Making

I always appreciate parent input. You can email me directly at josh.howard@pisd.edu or complete this Google Form. Thank you!

Any teacher specific supplies outside of the bulk supplies listed below will be communicated by the individual teacher and listed in the appropriate grade level section at the bottom of the newsletter. Thank you!

School pictures taken at Titan Takeoff on 8/7 are ready. See below.

Parents - I will reach out and let you know as soon as we have clubs approved and ready for you to provide your parental approval. We are still a few weeks away from that step. Thank you!

Students and Parents,

Our window for student led club approval is open from now until the end of the first 9 weeks. We encourage students to start and lead clubs to help them build a balanced and impressive college resume. Students who want to start a student led club should follow the process below.

1. Submit Non-Curricular Clubs Request Student Form - Student completes this for non-curricular, interest-based clubs.

2. Wait for campus and district review. Students will be notified if the club is approved or not.

3. Parents complete a consent form for all clubs (one form per club) they approve their child to participate in: Club Participation Parent Consent Form - Please note: When parents fill out the electronic consent form, they can enter any club name. This can lead to misspellings or incorrect entries. To help, the form now suggests approved club names as parents type, preventing errors.

4. Students sign up to participate in clubs during Titan Time using Flex once parent approval is received.

Club Definitions and Guidelines

Voluntary Student Clubs: These are clubs that are not required for academic credit. Parental consent is required for participation.

• Co-Curricular Clubs: These are clubs that are connected to course content but are not required as part of a class. Co-curricular clubs meet the following two criteria:

• All club content must align with school-based learning and be directly tied to, or supportive of, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

• Club sponsors must ensure student safety and obtain parental consent for all participants. They can also facilitate activities that support classroom instruction.

Examples include Business Professionals of America

• Non-Curricular Clubs: These clubs are based on student interests and are not tied to a specific curriculum.

• A faculty sponsor's role is strictly supervisory. The sponsor cannot lead, guide, or facilitate the group's activities.

• All meetings and activities must be student-led.

Approval & Parental Consent

• Annual Approval: All co-curricular and non-curricular clubs require annual approval. Requests must be received by:

• First Semester: The end of the first nine weeks.

• Second Semester: The first two weeks after the start of the semester.

• Note: Clubs should be approved before students seek consent from a parent, so that they can select the correct club when completing the Laserfiche consent form.

• Annual Parental Consent: All clubs require annual parental consent for participation. Students without consent cannot participate in any meeting or activity.

Please review these back to school safety tips for walkers, bikers, and Drivers

The fees below are only applicable for students who participate in specific activities (clubs, testing, graduation ceremony etc.) or need to replace items that are lost or damaged.

Please review the map below to see our drop off/pick up, student driver, and bus lane routes. We will open our doors at 8:30 AM each morning and students will exit the building for dismissal at 4:35 each afternoon. Please let us know if you have any questions about our arrival or dismissal procedures. Thank you!

The purpose of the Academy High School grading guidelines is to provide a consistent framework that provides students and parents with clear expectations that span across grade levels and content areas. These guidelines are intended to support academic growth for students and prepare them for college success.

1. Grading Weights & Categories

• Minor Grades: Minimum of 8 minor grades per nine weeks weighted at 40% of nine week average.

• Major Grades: Minimum of 2 and maximum of 4 major grades per nine weeks weighted at 60% of nine week average.

• No Extra Credit: No extra credit will be given.

2. Late Work & Submissions

A. Core Principle

From the Plano ISD Grading Beliefs: A grade should reflect mastery of content; therefore, student compliance issues (such as late work) should be addressed outside of the context of academic grades. Missing or late work is treated as an incomplete assessment of learning. Late work will be addressed through consequences that help change the behavior of turning in assignments late.

B. Remediation & Completion Requirement

• Mandatory Remediation Session: When an assignment is not turned in, the student is assigned a mandatory remediation session during Titan Time to complete the task. A missing work form is also completed and submitted by the student.

• Exit Standard: The student remains assigned to Titan Time remediation until all missing work for that learning unit is fully submitted and signed off by the classroom teacher.

C. Missing Work Turned In BEFORE Reassessment

• Prerequisite for Reassessment: Students are not eligible to reassess a major grade until all required missing coursework for that unit has been submitted and verified.

• Missing Work Documentation in Skyward: A teacher will enter a “0” for any missing work which communicates an assignment is missing and will average as a zero. Parents will receive a notification email through Skyward for the missing assignment. Teachers will update the “0” with the grade once the assignment has been completed. The “0” will stick if the work is not completed by the end of the reassessment window (see timeline in next section) for the unit the assignment was for.

3. Reassessment for Major Grades

• Eligibility Criteria: Reassessment is only available for assignments in the major grade category. There is only one reassessment opportunity per major grade. Reassessment is only available for original assessment grades below 85. All work for the unit must be submitted and a re-teach activity completed before reassessing.

• Points for Reassessment: The student can earn up to half the points missed up to an 85. The maximum grade following a reassessment is 85. Example: original score is a 60, the student can earn up to 20 points back (half of the 40 points missed).

• Timeline: The reassessment process, including turning in missing work, completing the re-teach activity, and the reassessment itself must be completed within 5 school days after the original assessment is graded and returned to the student.

4. Dropping of Lowest Minor Grade Score

• Lowest Minor Grade Dropped: The lowest minor grade for each nine week grading period will be dropped and not count towards the average for the grading period.

5. Absences & Make-Up Work

• Make-Up Window: Due dates for missed assignments are due date plus days absent. This is counted by school days missed. Weekends and holidays do not count. Students are responsible for checking for assignments missed on Canvas/Google Classroom.

6. Gradebook Timelines & Communication

• Posting Cadence: Minor grades should be posted within 5 school days of the due date. Major grades should be posted within 7 school days of the due date.

• Failing Grades: Parents should be notified by phone if a student will be failing the nine weeks. This conversation will be noted in Review 360.

7. Grade Checks and Remediation

• Grade Check and Remediation Process: Students who have an average below 70 in any class at any grade check will be assigned mandatory remediation sessions during Titan Time. Grade checks take place at least once during the nine week grading period and at the end of each nine week grading period. A student will be released from the remediation sessions once grade averages for all classes are at least 75. Students will get a signed grade sheet from all teachers to verify their average is at least 75. This grade verification must be turned in before a student is released from academic remediation.

8. Academic Dishonesty

Incidents of academic dishonesty include unauthorized use of AI. All incidents of academic dishonesty will follow this process:

Teachers enter all academic dishonesty incidents in 360 as admin-managed. Administration will council with students and assign the consequences below. Please note that this is total incident occurrences and not per subject area:

• 1st time- redo max 70

• 2nd time- redo, max 50 and 1 day ISS

• 3rd time and beyond- zero and 1 day ISS

9. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• AI Usage: Teachers will communicate AI use guidelines for each type of assignment using the Plano ISD Student AI Usage levels for High School

• AI Level 0: No AI use, human only

• AI Level 1: AI used to spark inspiration

• AI Level 2: AI used as a partner

• AI Level 3: AI used as a tool

• AI Tools: Only PISD approved AI resources may be used when teacher approved use of AI is allowed. See AI use levels above.

• No Implied Approval: No mention of approval defaults to AI Level 0 above.

• Attendance is critical for learning and success.
• Student absences should not exceed nine per class for each semester. 9 or more absences will result in absence make-up time or loss of class credit.
• Students must submit a parent note within three days in order to excuse the absence.

Please complete the request form linked below of you need a VOE for your license.

https://myforms.pisd.edu/Forms/VOE

Students and Parents,

Please make sure you purchase a parking pass ASAP if you will be driving to school. Any remaining spots will be allocated to students attending the new CTE Center until their building/parking opens in October. We want to make sure all AHS students who need a space have one allocated for them so getting the parking pass early is important.

Thank you,

Dr. Howard

Please use this link for instructions on setting up Skyward Family Access

The Family Access portal will allow parents/guardians to monitor and participate in your child’s education, including the ability to:

• Review grades
• Check schedules
• View upcoming assignments
• Keep track of attendance
• Manage fees and payments
• Access other important information

PSAT/SAT Resources: https://www.pisd.edu/departments-66/advanced-academics/psat-and-sat

Resources include general information about each test, test preparation resources, and how to interpret score reports.

Use this link to add many to your student's lunch account: https://www.schoolcafe.com/make-payment

Isch English 1: One regular composition notebook

Carlen AP HUG/World Geo: 1 notebook (composition or spiral), 1 folder/binder (just one of the two; their choice)

Brown Art: graph paper, ruler, and a protractor

Quezada Spanish: composition notebook, and a folder to keep papers

2nd Year Course Information

Teacher Specific Supplies for 3rd Year:

Miller English 3/AP Language:

• 1 pack of lined index cards (3x5)

• 1 spiral notebook with lined paper (wide-ruled or college-ruled, doesn't matter which)

Terry Chemistry: Scientific calculator required, such as a TI30XIIS or TI84, an organizer such as a binder, spiral notebook, pens (blue/black, red)

Teacher Specific Supplies for 4th Year:

Donoghue English: Optional but recommended- x1 folder with pockets, x1 1-inch 3-ring binder; Loose leaf notebook paper