FOCUS
Course Syllabus
Ms. Shapiro/Mr. Whittles
General Description:
FOCUS is an elective program that helps students to achieve the necessary requirements and skills to be
eligible for university acceptance. The program has two major components: tutorials and curriculum. Tutorials will
occur twice a week. Tutorials are small study groups that assist students with their studies. Each student is to come
prepared for the tutorial with questions from their core or college classes. Field trips may be scheduled to visit local
colleges and universities, providing students with the opportunity to visit the institutions firsthand.
FOCUS students are expected to be motivated and determined to achieve university acceptance at the end of
their high school career. It will be necessary for students to manage their time so that school and studies become a top
priority. This means that they will need to be responsible for making wise and sometimes difficult choices.
Required Materials:
The following materials are required in class every day. A lack of materials wastes valuable class time and interferes
with success.
• 2 ½ or 3 inch 3-ring view binder
• Color dividers (a minimum of 1 per class)
• sheet protectors
• 2 black ink pens
• 1 red pen
• 2 #2 pencils
• Zipper pouch to store supplies
• 2 different colored highlighters
• 1 pack of filler paper (college ruled)
• A school provided planner
• 1 scientific calculator (with sin, cos, tan, and probability functions)
Expectations:
 Students are expected to demonstrate maturity, responsibility, and respect for others. The work that they
submit must be their own.
 Cell phones, eating & drinking, personal grooming, and wearing hats in class are not allowed. Repeated
offenses will be regarded as defiance and students are subject to referral to administration for appropriate
disciplinary action.
Z’s and 0’s: When using points or percentages, a teacher assigns a grade no lower than 50% to the task/
assessment. If a student does no work on the task/assessment, the teacher will assign a zero. If a teacher
determines that the student did not attempt to meet the basic requirements of the task/assessment, the
teacher may assign a zero.(MCPS Policy)
Due Dates/Deadlines: Teachers will establish due dates and deadlines. Teachers are expected to
separate the due date from the deadline in order to increase opportunities for students to complete
assignments; however, there may be some exceptions when the due date and deadline are the same. It is
recognized that for daily homework assignments the due date and deadline may be the same to facilitate
the teaching and learning process.
Retake/Reassessment Policy: Students will be allowed to retake any formative in order to improve
their grades. Students will be reassessed as needed.
Assignment/Make Up Policy
Students have a responsibility and are expected to make up missed work, regardless of the legal status of
their absence. If the absence is excused or is a result of a suspension, the teacher will help a student
make up work. If the absence is unexcused, the teacher does not have to help a student make up the
work missed, give a retest, or give an extension on work that was due. Even though the teacher does not
have to help a student make up missed work, the student still has to make up the work so the student can
complete the rest of the course. For unexcused absences, teachers may deny credit for missed
assignments or assessments, in accordance with the process approved by the principal and the leadership
team. (MCPS Student handbook)
Evaluation: Final grades will be weighted by the following categories: Here are some of the weekly things that are part
of each category
Formative (60%)
 Tutorials,
 Current events,
 Socratic seminars
 Quizzes
Summative (30%)
 Writing assignments
 Tests
 Projects
Homework (10%)
 Binder Checks
 Warm-ups
 Tutorial questions
Grading Scale: Final grades will be assigned as follows:
100% - 89.5% = A
89% - 79.5% = B
59.4% = E
79% - 69.5% = C
69% - 59.5% = D
Below
Cut and return to school
I have read and understand the requirements for the FOCUS elective.
Student Name _______________________________________________________ Period ________
Parent/Guardian Signature ___________________________________________ Date ___/___/___
Phone Number (____)______-_______ Parent’s Email Address _____________________________