Academics

Course Registration for returning students occurs during the Spring.  Specific dates will be communicated each year.

See Durham Tech's page for more information about the opportunities juniors and seniors have to earn free college credits while in high school.  There are three main options available via CCP:

1. Career and Technical Education
   • Earn credits toward a CTE certification or diploma
   • Students concurrently take high school courses at PAHS and college courses at Durham Tech.
2. College Transfer
   • Earn transferable* college credit toward a 2- or 4-yr degree.
   • Students concurrently take high school courses at PAHS and college courses at Durham Tech.

*UNC-System 4-yr schools have an articulation agreement for the transfer of credits between NC 2-yr and 4-yr schools.  Non-UNC-System 4-yr colleges may not award all credits from a 2-yr school, although often credits are transferred in as general elective credits, even if the 2-yr course is not fully recognized toward a more-specific major or graduation requirement.

The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) is an unparalleled opportunity for academic and personal growth, particularly for students pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education.  At or through NCSSM, students can attend the residential program, take online courses, or attend numerous in-person or online summer programs. Students who are admitted to NCSSM and fulfill certain academic requirements are guaranteed admission to any UNC System University and tuition is waived!!!

You apply to (non-summer) residential or online NCSSM during your 10th grade year (some summer programs are open to younger students).

The North Carolina School of the Arts (NCSA) is an unparalleled opportunity for academic and personal growth, particularly for students pursuing Arts education. NCSA offers high school programming with foci in Dance, Drama, Instrumental and Vocal Music, and Visual Arts through a unique blend of a conservatory experience with top-tier traditional academics.

Applications are submitted through their website, and more information, including about visiting and touring, can be found here.

The state of North Carolina allows for Credit by Demonstrated Mastery (CDM) for certain high school credits, through which students can test out of a course.  Please carefully review all of the district's CDM information if you are considering this option.  In particular, note that the timeline is in the winter of each year.

• 9th to 10th: Students must have earned  5 credits, including one credit of English and one credit of social studies.
• 10th to 11th: Students must have earned 10 credits, including two credits of English, two credits of social studies, one credit of math, and one credit of science.
  • Students entering 9th grade 2025-26 or later are required to revise their Career Development Plan to be promoted from 10th to 11th grade.
• 11th to 12th: Students must have earned 14 credits, including three credits of English, three credits of social studies, two credits of math, and two credits of science.

Certain Newcomer ESL students and Occupational Course of Study (OCS) students may be exempted from these usual promotion requirements.

You can view the UNC-system's admission requirements for 4-yr schools here. These are good guidelines for most 4-yr schools, but you should verify each school's requirements on their own website.

Generally speaking, your high school diploma from will fulfill all minimum required coursework for 4-yr schools, as long as you complete a higher-level 4th math course (and, for many 4-yr schools, two units of a foreign language).  Of course, there are also GPA and testing requirements at many 4-yr schools, and fulfilling the minimum requirements is not the same as being competitive for admissions.

Generally, 2-yr schools like community colleges only require a high school diploma for admission.

All Rising 9th grade students are eligible to participate in athletics first semester, S1, of their freshman year. After that, all eligibility will be based upon the previous semester's grades. High School athletics academic eligibility requirements are below. The Driving Eligibility Certificate required for students to get their Learner's Permit follows the same requirements.

• Currently enrolled in at least two courses.
• Passed at least three courses the previous semester.
• Met local promotion requirements for the school year.

Senior Open Lunch and Free Periods are privileges, dependent upon grades and behavior. Requirements may change from year-to-year.

80% classroom grades + 20% final exam = 100% final grade

Q1/Q3 (40%) + Q2/Q4 (40%) + E1/E2 (20%) = F1 (100%)

Grade Point Average (GPA) is one, academic data point that colleges use to compare applicants.  While they most closely look class-by-class at what courses you took and how you performed (your final grade for each class) each year, overall GPA can be a helpful measuring stick of how competitive you are for a school, based on how you compare overall to prior accepted students.

To calculate your GPA, each class’s 0-100 final grade is converted to a 0.0-4.0 "quality point" scale, with added “weights” for Honors (+.5) & AP/CCP(+1.0).  See the chart below.

To calculate your GPA for a year or overall, you add up your total quality points and divide by Potential High School Credits to calculate your overall GPA. Middle school credits count for graduation, but are not calculated into GPA (no quality points and no potential high school credit calculated). The document that colleges see is your high school transcript, which records your final grades for a class and whether or not a credit was earned. See a sample transcript below.

Remember, colleges do a good job at looking at each year’s individual classes on your transcript, so the overall GPA isn’t as black-and-white as you may think.  And, “average” GPAs of admitted students are the average, with students that have higher or lower GPAs.  This is where extracurriculars and recommendations have a huge role.

That said, the most competitive schools’ accepted students could have an average GPA over 4.0, students who were very successful in Honors and AP classes.  Other schools’ average GPAs will range from around 3.0 and up, depending on the school. Search for a school's Class Profile or average GPA and test scores, to find the average GPA of admitted students.

If any student needs help with their login credentials or navigating these systems, please get help from a teacher or your counselor.

InfiniteCampus is the official record of attendance and grades. Generally, teachers are expected to have grades updated to within two weeks. Students and parents can utilize InfiniteCampus to monitor grades and attendance.  Students should know their login via NC EdCloud. Parents can get their login credentials from our Data Manager, Ms. King, in the Main Office or see the district's page (link dead, more to come at start of 25-26 school year).

Canvas and Google Classroom are learning management systems that teachers and students use. Students should know their Canvas login via NC EdCloud, and Parents can see the instructions for setting up your parent "Observer" account in Canvas here. This is a way to see what your students see for their classes and, alongside InfiniteCampus, keep track of assignment submission. Speak with your student's teacher about Google Classroom access as well.

GoGuardian is the district's internet filtering and monitoring tool. Teachers can use it to filter and monitor internet access during school hours and for two-way communication with students. Parents can create an account using the instructions linked here to similarly monitor internet access, set up filters, and pause internet access during non-school hours.

Edficiency, now securlyflex, is the system used for Flex Time, where students choose what sessions to attend and teachers can request students. There is no parent-facing account option, but your student's counselor can run reports on student Flex Time utilization.

eHallPass, now securlypass, is the electronic hall pass system. There is no parent-facing account option, but your student's counselor can run reports on student hall pass utilization.

Students, parents, teachers, school counselors, and other support staff are ALL part of the team when thinking about an individual student's success.

In high school, first and foremost, we want students to be empowered to monitor their learning and to have initial conversations with their teachers.  Identifying areas of need, self-advocacy with teachers, and implementation of teachers' suggestions of how to be more successful are all vital skills to build.

That said, we do have a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) that is more formally preventative (all students receive Tier 1 support) and responsive to student needs (Tier 2 supports target groups of students with similar struggles and Tier 3 supports are individualized for each student who is not progressing with Tier 1 and Tier 2 supports). And, your school counselor is always available as an academic resource.

We hope that the tips and resources below are helpful.

We borrowed and modified the following tips from Chapel Hill High School:

1. Attend your classes.  The importance of being at school and in class cannot be overstated.  Missing class is the #1 barrier to academic success.
2. Try your best.  Being present in class is crucial, but physical presence alone is not enough.  Lack of effort is the #2 barrier to academic success.  It's high school—you will not pass and earn credit for the course, be promoted, or graduate without earning it.
3. Get organized.  If you're doing the above two steps but still aren't as successful as you want to be, then not submitting completed assignments on time and lack of preparation for quizzes and tests are most commonly the problems.  Use an agenda or planner to keep track of daily homework, due dates for longer-term assignments, and quizzes and tests.  Come up with a consistent method of organization that works for you and your classes:  dividers and 3-ring binders, spiral notebooks and folders, whatever works.  Take the time and energy to do this.  If your bookbag or binders are chaos with loose papers everywhere, then you are not setting yourself up to be successful.
4. Self-monitor via InfiniteCampus and Canvas/Google Classroom, and self-advocate.  There is no reason you shouldn't know how you're doing in each class and whether or not you have any missing assignments.  If you aren't happy with your grade, have that conversation with your teacher about what ideas they have for what you can do differently or additionally.
5. Use the resources that are available.  In addition to open communication with your teachers, take advantage of the resources that are available to all students:
   • Flex Time - use your Flex Time with purpose!
   • Lunch Office Hours - every department, or subject, has a specific day when teachers are available for extra help.
   • Other teacher availability - some teachers are available for extra help on other days at lunch or before or after school on certain days.
   • Online resources - from Khan Academy, to YouTubeing lessons, to teacher-recommended sites like Tyler DeWitt's Chemistry site, there's a lot of good stuff out there!
     • Students have access to certain resources via the Public Library.
   • Private tutoring - we do not endorse any private vendors over another, but we can provide information about vendors who have advertised their services to us to families upon request.