Academy Student & Parent Newsletter

Oct 21st: Picture Retakes

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

Mr. Hayes from NASA HUNCH presented to AHS students on Friday, August 14th. Academy seniors can choose to use a NASA HUNCH project as their capstone project. NASA HUNCH is also open to all 10th and 11th grade students at AHS. This program is a great way to help our students add to their balanced and impressive college resumes.

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.

A huge shout out to our AHS Student Council for facilitating New Titan Camp for our new Titans on Monday 8/10!

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.

Thank you!

Student Transportation Information in Skyward (Informational, Reminder)

Bus route information for eligible students is now available in Skyward and My Ride K-12. Parents can view their student's bus route information in Skyward and My Ride K-12.

• Log in to the student's Skyward account.
• Select the Transportation tab.
• Select Bus Stop to view the student's bus stop location and schedule.

Transportation Resources:

• Transportation Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
• Transportation Let's Talk
• Late Bus Information

• 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.

August 7, 2026

Dear Academy Parents and Guardians,

Welcome to another exciting school year! We're thrilled to support your child’s learning journey, and part of that is providing access to a balanced selection of library materials. Our school and classroom libraries each offer unique opportunities for students to engage in self-guided reading and exploration. These materials are intended to inspire curiosity and a love for reading, and while they support our educational goals, they are meant for self-selected reading and not part of the formal curriculum.

We deeply value your role in guiding your child’s reading choices. While our staff is here to assist students in finding books that interest them, the ultimate decision about what’s appropriate rests with you and your child. To help support this, parents will receive an email notification each time their child checks out a library item. The notification will give you a clear view of what your child is reading.

Parents can explore all the physical materials our school library has to offer by visiting the Plano ISD Catalog Search page. Select your child’s campus to view all the library materials at that location. Parents will have the opportunity to set library check out restrictions for their student(s) by following the instructions contained on the Parent Options webpage to create a prohibited list.

Classroom libraries vary from teacher to teacher. As part of our commitment to keep parents informed, teachers with classroom libraries will conduct an inventory of their libraries each school year, and the lists will be accessible. If you wish to restrict your child from accessing classroom library materials now or in the future, you may opt your child out of access by letting us know in writing by emailing our assistant principal Dr. Roberts at denise.roberts@pisd.edu.

If you wish to review physical copies of books contained in either the school library or classroom libraries, please email me at josh.howard@pisd.edu so we can make arrangements.

For more information on district policies regarding library materials, please visit https://www.pisd.edu/policies and refer to Policy EFB (Local) and EFB (Legal).

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Dr. Howard

Principal

Academy High School

Annual Registration for Existing & Newly Enrolled Plano ISD Students

Each year, parents of existing and newly enrolled Plano ISD students must update several annual registration requirements using the Skyward Family Access.

Schedules will be released in Skyward on August 3rd. Please note that students won't be able to access their class schedules in Skyward until the annual registration process is completed by parents.

If you need help or assistance registering, check out the Skyward Family Access Help Page

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

The new Plano ISD CTE Center is set to open this October. AHS will be hosting students and staff from the CTE Center until it opens in October. CTE Center students and staff will be using a portion of the 3rd floor until October. We created the best plan possible to ensure our AHS classes and activities continue uninterrupted.

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

Teacher Specific Supplies for 2nd Year:

Gonzales Algebra 2/Geometry: One spiral notebook, one folder/binder, pencil to write with, dry erase marker

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

Teacher Specific Supplies for 3rd Year:

Miller English 3/AP Language:

• 1 pack of lined index cards (3x5)

• 1 pack of highlighters with at least 2 different colors besides yellow

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

Teacher Specific Supplies for 4th Year:

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