Enrollment & Registration

Most students will take 1 elective class during the school year. Some students who select Zero Period PE may have room in their schedule for a second elective class. See Zero Period PE description.

We try our best to accommodate as many students in our music program as possible. If a particular music class is full, we will enroll students in another one of their 5 elective selections based on the elective course request process.

A course request is the term we use to assign a student to a specific course. In terms of Electives Course Requests, we are asking you to tell us which 5 elective courses your student is interested in taking. Your child will be randomly assigned 1 of the 5 elective courses. Please do not select a course your child does not want. 

We do not accept requests to change elective classes unless there is some very extenuating circumstance. Please carefully review all of the elective classes offered in the Course Description document with your child and work with him/her to make and submit 5 elective courses preferences.  

Our elective classes are designed to appeal to the multiple interests of our students; however, with staffing, most of the elective classes will only be offered during a single period, thus limiting the enrollment in a particular class to around 32 students, and slightly more for our music classes.  We ask that students select 5 choices during the electives course request process so we have options to complete their schedules.  We fill all of our classes and save room for students who enroll in the summer.

We do not have an exact answer to this question because the master schedule is not created until summer. In terms of process, we will use what’s called a course conflict matrix to identify which courses have student conflicts with their course requests and do our best to schedule classes into periods in which there are the fewest conflicts. This is also why we ask for 5 different elective choices. 

Yes! You will immediately receive an email confirmation with a copy of all the information you included on the Google form submission for Elective Course Requests.

Please make your elective course requests carefully. We will only honor changes to your selections due to a very extenuating circumstance. Take your time and make an informed decision before submitting your Elective Course Requests online. 

No. The elective wheels are designed with 3 courses and students have to take all 3. Students have the opportunity to take 3 different electives, one in each trimester during the school year.

No. The Elective Course Requests process is not first come, first served.  We collect course requests until May 9 and then randomly assign electives.

If you do not submit your Elective Course Requests, your child will be enrolled in an available elective class. 

• Core academic classes - Math courses are assigned based on recommendations from the district math department who analyzes grades, test scores, and teacher appraisals from the current school year. For the other courses - English Language Arts, History/Social Science, PE, and Science - students will be enrolled in the appropriate grade level course based on English Language support, IEP services, etc.
• Intervention Classes - Study Skills, Math Lab, and Reading Lab will be assigned to students whose progress indicates that they are in need of a particular intervention class. This class will be in place of your child’s elective class.
• ELD Program - Novice and Intermediate English Learners with language acquisition levels 1, 2, or 3 will be placed in classes with the appropriate level of support, including an ELD support course to help facilitate their language acquisition.
• Elective classes - The elective classes are assigned at random after cross-referencing recommendations, prerequisites, and/or preapprovals. 

• Venado offers an Introduction to American Sign Language as part of the Elective Wheel 1 class and is open to 7th and 8th grade students.
• IUSD offers Blended Learning World Language classes for 8th graders through IVA. These are often after bell classes in the evening with a mix of Independent, asynchronous and synchronous learning. This will count as one of your child’s electives, for a maximum of 2 electives. So if your child is already taking Zero Period PE and 2 in-person electives at Venado, you can’t enroll in IVA for a 3rd elective. If your 8th grader wants a World Language and is only enrolling in 1 in-person elective at Venado, you can choose to take a World Language course through IVA. Please know that these are high school level courses and will be rigorous.  We encourage you to read the San Joaquin School IVA catalog for IVA to learn more about their World Language offerings.  If you choose to enroll, you must submit a request to our counselor, Ms. Garcia eringarcia@iusd.org. She will then communicate your request to IVA, who will then confirm enrollment directly with you. 

You will receive a list of the assigned courses your child is enrolled in mid-August.  A final draft of their class schedule, including teachers, periods, and room numbers, will be available on the Parent Portal on August 18, the night before the first day of school.

 

Some students may choose to take Zero Period PE, which will meet at 7:15 a.m. 4 days a week in order to allow room in their schedule for a 2nd elective class.  This class has limited enrollment and students will be placed in the class using a lottery system. Priority enrollment Zero Period PE is given to students enrolled in Directed Studies, ELD Support, AVID, or an Intervention class. 

IUSD offers PE for Private Instruction for students who compete on a national level in an individual sport (not a team sport in most cases).  You may refer to this IUSD webpage for more information. If you believe your child qualifies based on the specific criteria for your sport, please complete the application linked at the end of the Webpage, include all of the required documentation, and submit it to Mrs. Van Dam by August 1.

• IUSD PE for Private Instruction

The Title I Intervention Lab Classes - such as Math Lab, Reading Lab, and Study Skills are courses designed to support students who need extra help in those areas.  Our Intervention Team works with 6th and 7th grade teachers to analyze student academic performance data - SBAC scores, STAR reading and math scores, benchmark tests, grades, anecdotal observations, etc. - to identify students who need these interventions.

If a student is recommended for these classes, this automatically becomes one of the child’s elective courses for the school year. Families will be notified that their child will be enrolled in a Title I Intervention Lab Class in Summer. This will be the student’s elective class. If a student would like a second elective, they can request Zero Period PE. 

Students will be assigned an IUSD Chromebook and will be responsible for bringing it daily for school, charged and ready to go. They will take it home to assist with homework and bring it each day to support their in-class assignments.

Since we are a neighborhood school, most of our students walk, bike, scooter, etc. to school.  Some families arrange neighborhood carpools. We don’t have any other transportation unless the students are part of a Special Education program and their placement at Venado is not their home school.  We don’t have additional information about private transportation services.

Yes - English Learners who have an ELPAC score of 1, 2, or 3 will be enrolled in an ELD Support class (ELD 1, ELD 2, or ELD 3), unless they are already receiving Special Education services and are supported through an IEP.  If your child is in an ELD support class and would like a second elective class, you may select Zero Period PE.

There is no instructional reason for a student to have a smartphone since every student will be issued a Chromebook with WIFI internet access.  Providing your child with a smartphone is a family decision.