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Graduation Requirements (NEW)
Credits (NEW)
Absences and Make up Work
Bright Futures Scholarships (NEW)
College and Career Planning
Testing (FCAT, Florida Writes and EOC) NEW
PSAT and PERT (NEW INFO)
Florida Virtual School, EVA and Compass
(NEW)
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4 Credits of English
4 Credits of Math including Algebra I and Geometry
Algebra I EOC (Level 3 score required or PERT score of 97 in Math –NEW)
Geometry EOC (30% of final grade)
3 Credits of Science including Biology
Biology I EOC (30% of final grade)
1 Credit of World History
1 Credit of American History (EOC is 30% of final grade)
½ Credit of American Government
½ Credit of Economics
1 ½ Credits of P.E. including Personal Fitness
1 Credit of Fine/Practical/Performing Art
9 ½ Elective Credits
1 Course through Virtual School – Driver’s Education will count
Four-year college entrance requirements include:
2 consecutive credits of the same foreign language
Additional academic electives
ACT/SAT
Students have to pass the EOC
exam in Algebra 1 for the Math
graduation test requirement.
Students can take the Math
Portion of the PERT exam and a
score of 97 will count as their
Math graduation requirement!
Students can get credit for the course with a
passing grade, or they will earn credit as
soon as they have successfully passed the
EOC exam in Algebra.
 Students will take the exam in December if
they take Algebra, Geometry or Biology in
the first block.
 Students will take the exam in May if they
take Algebra, Geometry or Biology in the
second block or as a two-semester course.
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 You
can take courses for credit
recovery online through Florida or
EscambiaVirtual School.
 You can also take courses for credit
recovery through community school.
You have to be 16 to be considered
for community school.
 You can also take a course on
Compass Odyssey Learning at
school in our learning lab!
If a student fails the first semester of a
class, they can still earn credit. If the
combined semester score for first and
second semester is a 119 or higher, they
will receive the credit for the class as
long as other requirements are met.
*This does not apply on EOC courses!
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If you have more than 5 absences (excused
or unexcused) you must pass your semester
exam or you will receive a 59 for the exam
grade and the semester grade.
 If you do not take the semester exam in a
class, you will automatically receive a 1 for
the semester grade even if your grade
before the exam was a passing grade.
 If you have an absence, excused or
unexcused, your work can be turned in for
a grade within a three day period of
returning to school. (NEW ATTENDANCE
RULE)
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 Create
a student account at:
www.flvc.org
 Bright Futures Eligibility requirements:
www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org/S
SFAD/bf/
* This is so important! Please create
your account now so you can start
looking!
* STUDENTS ARE TO APPLY THEIR LAST YEAR OF
HIGH SCHOOL AFTER DECEMBER 1st!
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Florida’s College and Career Planner
http://files.flvc.org/pdfDocuments/career/C
ollege%20and%20Career%20Planner_formfil
lable.pdf
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This resource provides students with
important information regarding career
planning and gives them average GPA
and test scores used for admission into
Florida colleges and universities.
Florida Academic Scholars Award
GPA=
3.5 weighted GPA using the
following credits: 4 English, 4 Math (Alg 1
and above), 3 Science, 3 Social Science, 2
Foreign Language(sequential in the same
language) for a total of 16 core credits
Community Service Hours = 100 or more
Best combined test score of 1200 on SAT
or 28 on ACT
Florida Medallion Scholars
GPA = 3.0 weighted GPA using the
following credits: 4 English, 4 Math (Alg 1
and above), 3 Science, 3 Social Science,
2 Foreign Language(sequential in the
same language) for a total of 16 core
credits
Community Service Hours = 75 or more
Best combined score of 1020 on SAT or 22
on ACT
Florida Gold Seal Vocational
GPA = 3.0 weighted GPA using the 16 core
credits and a 3.5 unweighted GPA in a
minimum of 3 Career and Technical
Education credits in one vocational
program.
 Need to be a program completer to qualify
for this (example: Vet 1-3)
 Community Service Hours = 30 hours or
more
 Test scores for ACT, SAT or PERT
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Early Evaluations (7th Semester) – Postings may begin in March of Senior Year
All students whose transcripts are submitted electronically to the FDOE for an official
early evaluation (based on academic progress in the middle of the last year of high
school and test scores for tests taken by January 31) will receive an eligibility or
ineligibility determination, with the award status notification posted to their online
account.
Students cannot lose an award based on early evaluation unless they fail to earn a
standard Florida high school diploma from a Florida public or FDOE-registered private
high school.
Final Evaluations (8th Semester) – Postings may begin in July after graduation
All students whose final transcripts are submitted (following the student’s last term in high
school) will receive an award status notification (eligibility or ineligibility determination)
posted to their online account.
The Process
The award (or ineligibility) determination will be posted to a student's online Financial
Aid Recipient History (FARH) screen and is viewable by the student. Login credentials will
be sent to the student after the FFAA is submitted and enable a student to:
• view award status (eligibility determination);
• view/update demographic information;
• view/update postsecondary institution;
• view the amount disbursed each semester;
• view the spring renewal GPA;
• monitor hours remaining for the year and for the scholarship; and
view all correspondence posted and/or sent from the FDOE.•
Please access the Bright Futures Eligibility
Handbook at:
http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org/
SSFAD/PDF/BFHandbookChapter1.pdf
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This will give you valuable information
about the Florida Financial Aid
Application (FFAA) and how to track
your status online!
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As you may be aware, there has been
much back and forth between articulation
and Bright Futures/SUS for Liberal Arts
Mathematics 1 and Liberal Arts
Mathematics 2 to count as core versus
elective. After once again reviewing the
content of the courses, both courses will
now be accepted and considered as
CORE, not only for all four Bright Futures
Scholarships but also for SUS admissions.
Students are allowed three days
between their Junior and Senior year to
count as College Visit days.
 They need to make sure they let Ms.
Frazier or myself know so the absences
can be counted as excused.
 Please use your College Visit days wisely
because you will only be allowed three.
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The Common Application is a standardized
undergraduate college application that is accepted
at more than 240 accredited, independent colleges
and universities nationwide.
Some schools that accept the Common Application
are: Boston University, Syracuse and New York
University.
Some advantages is that it saves time. Instead of
typing the same information multiple times, you only
have to do it once and there is only one essay to
write.
Some disadvantages is limited acceptance because
it only services 240 colleges. You can visit the website
at:
www.commonapp.org
Students who plan to play Division I/II
college sports need to register with the
NCAA Eligibility Center
www.ncaaeligibilitycenter.org
 Tate School Code is – 100-560
 ACT and SAT test scores must be sent
directly to Eligibility Center. (code =
9999)
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Summary of Changes
Minimum core-course GPA of 2.300
required for competition;
 Ten core courses required before
beginning of senior year for competition;
and
 Slight changes in GPA/test score index
(sliding scale).
 The following slides explain these changes
in further detail.
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NCAA Division I Full Qualifier: Requirements for Athletics Aid, Practice
and Competition Students will need to meet the following requirements
to receive athletics aid, practice and compete their first year:
16 core courses in the following areas:
4 years English;
3 years math at Algebra I level or higher;
2 years natural or physical science (one lab if offered at any high
school attended);
1 year additional English, math or natural/physical science;
2 years social science; and
4 years additional from areas above or foreign language, philosophy
or comparative religion.
Minimum required GPA:
Minimum GPA of 2.300 required for competition in those 16 core
courses.
Graduate from high school.
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Academic Redshirt: Requirements for Scholarship and Practice.
16 core courses in the following areas:
4 years English,
3 years math at Algebra I level or higher,
2 years natural or physical science (one lab if offered by any
school attended);
1 year additional English, math or natural/physical science;
2 years social science; and
4 years additional from areas above or foreign language,
philosophy or comparative religion.
Minimum required GPA.
Minimum GPA of 2.000-2.299 in 16 core courses.
Sliding scale.
Minimum ACT sum or SAT score (critical reading/math only)
that matches the 16 core-course GPA.
http://scholarships.fastweb.com/y-highschool-juniors
 https://secure.flchoices.org/Financial_Ai
d_Planning/Scholarships/_default.aspx
 https://www.scholarships.com/
 http://www.gocollege.com/
 http://www.nasfaa.org/
 https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/schol
arship-search
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Please inquire about a new file including
updated scholarship searches and
requirements. This file has over 70
scholarships with application information
and deadlines!
 The link to the file will be posted on our
school website in the guidance section
and I will e-mail the form as well!
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Students need to get involved with
community service organizations.
 To qualify for the Florida Academic
Scholars, you must have at least 100
community service hours.
 To qualify for the Florida Medallion Scholars,
you must have at least 75 community
service hours.
 To qualify for Gold Seal Vocational Scholars,
you must have at least 30 community
service hours.
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10th grade FCAT Reading scores will count
as the graduation requirement for reading.
It will also determine what level of core
classes you will take. The ACT Reading
section can count as the reading
requirement with a score of 19.
 Students will have an opportunity to take
the PSAT test on Wednesday, October 15th.
The cost is 14.00 and you need to sign up
with Ms. Reeder in Guidance!
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Scholarships & Recognition
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By taking the PSAT/NMSQT, you may qualify to enter the competitions for
prestigious scholarships and participate in recognition programs.
National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC)
Students in the eleventh grade of high school enter NMSC competitions by taking
the PSAT/NMSQT, which serves as an initial screen of approximately 1.5
million entrants each year, and by meeting published program entry and/or
participation requirements. NMSC uses the Selection Index score (the sum of
the critical reading, mathematics, and writing skills scores) on the
PSAT/NMSQT as an initial screen of program entrants and to designate
groups of students to be honored in the competitions it conducts.
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Student Entry Requirements
To participate in the National Achievement® Scholarship Program, a student must:
take the PSAT/NMSQT® in the specified year of the high school program and no later than the
third year in grades 9 through 12, regardless of grade classification or educational pattern;
request entry to the National Achievement Program by marking Section 14 on the PSAT/NMSQT
answer sheet.
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What's on the Test
The PSAT/NMSQT includes five sections:
Two 25-minute critical reading sections
Two 25-minute math sections
One 30-minute writing skills section
The whole test requires two hours and 10 minutes.
Critical Reading
Two 25-minute critical reading sections = 48 questions
13 Sentence completions
35 Critical reading questions
Math
Two 25-minute math sections = 38 questions
28 multiple-choice math questions
10 Student-produced responses or grid-ins
Students are advised to bring a calculator with which they are comfortable. Students should have
basic knowledge of 4 math categories:
Numbers and Operation
Algebra and Functions (but not 3rd year level math that may appear on the new SAT)
Geometry and Measurement
Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability
Writing Skills
One 30-minute writing section = 39 questions
14 Identifying sentence errors
20 Improving sentences
5 Improving paragraph questions
These multiple-choice questions on writing skills measure a student's ability to express ideas effectively
in standard-written English, to recognize faults in usage and structure, and to use language with
sensitivity to meaning.
It is never too early to start preparing for the
ACT and SAT tests.
 ACT TEST DATES:
Test Date: October 25th Deadline: September
19th
Test Date: December 13th Deadline:
November 7th
Test Date: February 7th Deadline: January 9th
Test Date: April 18th Deadline: March 13th
Test Date: June 13th Deadline: May 8th
Get all study guides and sign up information in
guidance or visit:
www.actstudent.org
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PSAT Workshop
Saturday, October 4th
8-12 in the Tate Media Center
Sign up in Guidance
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ACT Workshop
Saturday, October 18th
8-12 in the Tate Media Center
Sign up in Guidance
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The students that have a 3.0 GPA or higher
are eligible to take the PERT test in the
spring of their 10th grade year.
 PSC faculty and staff come to Tate to help
test the students.
 This is the test that will qualify them for Dual
Enrollment classes at school or through PSC
or UWF.
 They can start taking DE classes in the
summer after their sophomore year.
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Students entering the 9th grade this year and
after are required to take at least one online
course before they graduate.
Visit www.flvs.net
There is a Course Catalog and you can Test
Drive a Course to determine if it would be
something you would be interested in taking.
Students can also take a class on Compass
Learning at school.
Deadline to sign up for EVA classes is Sept
27th! Please let me know if you need a class.
You must be done with any fall courses by
December 19th.
Students are only allowed to take one
online course at a time in addition to
their regular school schedule.
 If the student registers for more than one
class at a time on Escambia Virtual
School, one class will be activated until
the course is completed and then the
next class will be activated after course
grade is entered into transcript.
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The academic profile of the middle 50% of
freshmen accepted in 2014 was:
3.8-4.3 academic GPA; 26-30 ACT composite;
1760-1960 SAT total
In addition to the academic profile, a variety
of other factors are also considered in the
review process. These include the written essay,
the rigor and quality of courses and curriculum,
grade trends, class rank, strength of senior
schedule in academic subjects, math level in
the senior year, and number of years in a
sequential world language. They look for wellrounded students!
It is vital that you keep up with your student’s
academic progress to ensure that they don’t fall
behind. Please contact Ms. Reeder in the
guidance office at 937-2300 ext 229 to set up
parent/teacher conferences if you have any
questions or concerns about your student’s
grades.If you don’t have an account, follow the
link below to create a parent portal account:
https://focus.escambia.k12.fl.us/focus/auth/
 If you already have an account from last year,
please follow the link below:
https://focus.escambia.k12.fl.us/focus/
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The state of Florida is changing the
diploma types.
 There are now three high school diploma
types that your student can achieve.
 They are the Scholar Diploma, Standard
Diploma and Merit Diploma.
 No student will be required to earn a
credit in Algebra 2, Chemistry or Physics
for the standard diploma!
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English = 4 credits (must pass FCAT reading and take
FCAT Writing in 10th grade)
Math = 4 Credits (Algebra 2, Pass Alg EOC, Math course
above Algebra 2)
Science = 3 credits (Pass Bio EOC and Chemistry or
Physics)
Social Studies = 3 credits (Pass US History EOC)
PE = 1.5 credits Including Personal Fitness
Electives = Must take at least one AP or DE course
Fine or Performing Art = 1 credit
Online course = 1 course (excludes Driver’s Ed after July
1, 2013)
Foreign Language = 2 consecutive years of the same
language
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English = 4 credits (Pass Reading FCAT and must
take FCAT Writing in 10th grade)
Math = 4 credits (Must pass Alg EOC, Geometry
EOC is 30% of grade, 2 credits can be substituted
for industry certification)
Science = 3 credits (Biology EOC is 30% of grade, 1
credit can be substituted for industry certification)
Social Studies = 3 credits (US History EOC is 30% of
grade, World History, Government and Economics)
Foreign Language = no requirement
PE = 1.5 credits including Personal Fitness
Fine or Performing Art = 1 credit
Online course = 1 credit (excludes Driver’s Ed after
July 1, 2013
Same
as requirements for
standard diploma plus one
industry certification!
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Students are placed in honors classes based on their standardized test
scores and overall grades. Teachers can also recommend for students
to be placed in honors classes.
The honors curriculum usually covers the same subjects and materials as
non-honors courses, but honors courses work through topics at a faster
pace than standard courses do and they dig into the subjects in more
detail. They might have extra assignments included in the curriculum to
enrich students.
Honors courses carry weighted grade point average points that make
them worth more on transcripts. While an “A” in a regular class is worth a
4.0, an “A” in an honors class can earn them .025 on their weighted
GPA. Each honors class the student takes is worth .025 toward their
overall weighted GPA.
AP or Advanced Placement courses have the same weighted GPA
points as Honors Classes. The students can earn .025 points added to
their overall weighted GPA for AP classes. The students will take an AP
exam during the last part of the course and if they score a level 3 or
higher on the exam, they can earn high school and college credit for
the course. If they score below a level 3 and pass the class, they will still
get high school credit but they will not receive college credit for the
course.
AP credits transfer to any college or university in the United States.
www.act.org
www.collegeboard.com
www.flvs.net
www.flvc.org
www.escambia.k12.fl.us
www.escambia.k12.fl.us/schscnts/that/guid
ance/index.asp
 http://ecsdfl.schoolloop.com/cms/resources?d=x&fold
er_group_id=1313209628754&group_id=131
3209628754&id=1377669530805
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The complete State University System
Matrix is available at the following link:
http://www.flbog.edu/
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You can also find valuable resources
and various criteria for admissions for the
different colleges and universities in the
state. There is also new information
about Florida Polytech University!
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https://secure.flchoices.org/
Florida Choices website: Please create
an account on Florida Choices for
your student. You can look at various
specific scholarships. This is just as
important as creating an account on
Florida Virtual Campus! You can also
plan for your college career!

http://pdfs.remind.com/invite?class_cod
e=tatec&class_name=Tate+Class+of+20
16&phone_number=%28850%29+6340372&sms_supported=true&user_signatur
e=Ms.+Mills
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Use this link to sign up for Remind 101 text
and e-mail announcements. I will be
posting important deadlines and
information for students and parents!
If you have any questions, please contact
me!
Christy Mills
937-2300 ext 234
cmills@escambia.k12.fl.us