A: If you will be a new 9th grader at Lowery for the 2006-2007 school year, but you are NOT a current student at an Allen middle school, please call the registrar's office at 972-396-6975 ext 1008 to make an appointment for you and your new ninth grader to come in and register for classes.

A: You can find them on the Allen ISD site here.

A:We do not use the E-school programs in Allen at this time. but students can enroll in correspondence courses through programs such as Texas Tech University which offer many of the same courses required for students to graduate from Allen High School. See your child's house counselor for more information.

A: Students are able to enroll in concurrent classes when they are classified as a Junior.

A: No. Phoenix testing does not exist. The district offers testing for Gifted and Talented and for students who are identified as GT, there is the option of taking Phoenix English in lieu of a regular English class.

A: You can find the answer to this in the manual. The differences are explained with the AP having to score a three or above on the AP exam and the IB students must score a four or above on the IB exam.

A: The homework loads vary from teacher to teacher not from program to program. Teachers have a set curriculum and standards in each program. The teachers have different methods to meet the curriculum and standards. Pre-AP and Pre-IB aren't totally about "more work". The programs use higher-level strategies and work at a faster pace for longer periods of time at the higher-levels. The "regular" courses will work at the higher-levels but not for the long periods of time and they don't work at the faster pace.

A: This would be a good time to conference with their current teachers to ask them if your son or daughter would be a good candidate for these courses. Remember to take into consideration the extra time needed for homework and projects required for these courses. Both courses are taught at the same standards and both are rigorous and challenging. The students that need to be in these courses are the ones that have really good study habits and are self-starters. They can expect homework every night and there will be several out-of-school projects during each semester. Talking with your current teachers will give you a very good idea if your student is ready for the rigorous work at the next level, but ultimately it is you and your student's decision to take an advanced course.

A: The choice is basically a personal preference. Both programs meet the needs of advanced academic students. The technical difference is that Advanced Placement courses meet National measures while the International Baccalaureate program meets International measures.

A: No.

A: They do not have to take Health, however, it is strongly recommended. They WILL need it in order to graduate.

A: Yes.

A: These are the sports listed in the Planning Guide.

A: If a student puts band or football on their schedule, it is put into the computer and the computer will schedule the rest of the courses around the periods that band and athletics are offered.

A: Off-Campus PE is for those students that are spending an enormous amount of time in their sport/activity of choice that is not part of the school activity. It is a way students can get a PE credit for their "outside" school efforts.

A: Band is going to be 1st period only next year. 1 credit only.

A: Yes. Sometimes we have to get creative in dealing with schedules, but we can make it work.

A: Freshman football players cannot participate in marching band starting next year because both groups will meet during 1st period. We will make every accommodation to keep the band kids involved by way of parades, summer band, and playing at the varsity games. After football season is over, these students will come to first period band. They will enroll in band during the spring semester for 1st period.

A: During the Fall semester, all band students participate in the Marching Band in some capacity (Marching Band Brass or Woodwinds, Drum Line, Pit Percussion, Color Guard, Drill Team, etc).
Some students who are involved in sports like volleyball and football will not fully participate in the marching band. They will be involved as much as their schedule and sport allows.

A: The marching band practices before school at 7 a.m. at the track stadium at Allen High School. Lowery Band students will then meet at the AHS band hall for 1st period each day during marching season. Buses transport students from Allen High School to Lowery Freshman Center every day. After marching season, we will no longer have 7 o’clock practice and freshmen will meet at the Lowery band hall at 7:30 a.m.

The Allen Eagle Band also rehearses each Monday night from 6-8 p.m. at the big stadium located on the Lowery campus throughout marching season.

A: Students are required to attend all events on the band calendar that pertain to them. In some instances academic eligibility will not allow students to attend some events. We make every effort to inform parents about band activities.

A: These are names for the two ability based groups in the orchestra program. Chamber String ensemble is the top performing group. Next year, all groups will meet daily.

The Lowery Freshman Center Orchestra (grade 9) consists of two orchestras - a 40 member String Orchestra, and a 35 member Chamber Orchestra. In the Spring Semester, both orchestras add wind and percussion students from the Allen Escadrille to make the LFC Symphony and LFC Chamber Symphony Orchestras.

A: It should be taken as a full-year course to receive the 1.0 Fine Arts credit toward graduation.

A: Yes. It is a one semester class.

A: If the student took Keyboarding as a 7th or 8th grader, the class counts as the pre-requisite to the technology classes available at Lowery and AHS.

A: Refer to the planning guide and sign up for the Journalism class as their elective.

A: Yes, Health is a one semester class.

A: Applications will be available through the middle school's counseling offices after the Lowery counselors visit with students at each campus. Those applications need to be turned in with the registration from in February.

A: No. The speech taken in Middle School is not a high school credit course.

A: Alternate choices are used when placing students in their elective courses. These become necessary when classes become full and sections are closed. If a student has listed an alternate, the registrar can simply place that alternate choice into the computer without having to make a choice for the student that he/she may not want.

A: Colleges do look at GPA and they are important. The GPA sets the class rank and top 10%, but colleges also look at the types of courses that students are enrolled in throughout their high school years.

A: By letting your counselor know that you would like to make the change. The main difference is that a distinguished plan requires three years of the same foreign language.

A: That is up to the student and the parent.

A: If it is available through Collin County Community College. The last couple of years, it has not been available to Allen High School students (mainly because they have not been able to find a teacher).

A: No, there is not a test. The current ESL teacher needs to be included in your decision to talk about the level of readiness.

A: Yes. Credit by exam is offered in October. A grade of 90 or above, without prior formal instruction in that class must be made in order to get credit for that class.

A: If the end of the year average (grade) is 70 or higher, they will receive credit for the class. (Add both semester grades and divide by two to get your yearly average). They do not receive GPA points for the class though.

A: Yes.

A: Algebra II or Algebra II Pre-AP. These classes will be at the high school with travel to and from Lowery.

A: The Resource Math students schedules will be completed in an ARD meeting at your school. We will be present in that meeting to assist in the transition. Until then, he/she can put Resource Math.

A: Yes, but you need to look at the grades the student made in Geometry and in Algebra I and examine their study habits. A high B or A student in the geometry and algebra with good study habits will be more successful in Algebra II PAP.

A: It will be a Pre-AP class.

A: Algebra 1 is the pre-requisite to Geometry. There is no test to skip algebra. Students can do algebra through correspondance but they are still completing a course in Algebra.

A: Yes.

A: Yes.

A: Our Science classes are vertically aligned with the state curriculum objectives so our students will be prepared to take TAKS in the 11th grade.

A: We do have a PAS class. Placement in this program is an ARD decision.

ARD meetings are scheduled on an annual basis or as needs arise.

A: These are ARD committee decisions and will be made in the ARD meetings in the years to come.

A: At the 9th grade level, students take Reading and Math state assessments. Special education students take either the TAKS test or SDAA test. These decisions will be made in the ARD meeting.

If the question concerns a specific subject area, it is best to contact the teacher of that subject directly. If the questions pertains to specific special education questions, you may contact the student's case manager. Case manager's will be assigned at the beginning of the school year.