The regular Valley High School diploma shall be awarded to the graduating class upon completion of 48 credits. This must include all required subjects.

Diploma requests not covered by the above policy shall be submitted to the administration and Board of Directors for consideration.

All courses count toward the calculation of student GPAs.

Students intending to graduate early must complete the early graduation form and get it to their counselor by Oct. 1 of the year/semester they intend to graduate. All graduation credits must be scheduled by the start of your final semester. No early graduation requests will be approved if these requirements are not fulfilled.

To earn a Valley High School diploma requires 48 credits. To ensure that a student is satisfactorily progressing toward this goal, the following grade classifications will be in effect:

Freshman Status (Ninth Grade)
The ninth-grade year begins upon the enrollment of the student on the beginning day of classes for the school year. Until then, the student is not considered to be enrolled in ninth grade.

Sophomore Status (10th Grade)
Requires two or more semesters of high school enrollment and a minimum of 6 credits in the core area.

Junior Status (11th Grade)
Requires four or more semesters of high school enrollment and a minimum of 22 credits (includes physical education). (A junior approved for graduation at the end of the year would be advanced to senior status for the spring semester.)

Senior Status (12th Grade)
Requires six or more semesters of high school attendance and a minimum of 34 credits (includes physical educati

Transfer students who have successfully completed six semesters in good standing and have met the requirements from the transferring school will be graduated from Valley upon completion of Valley’s graduation requirements. The transfer student must take a normal senior schedule of five courses and physical education. Credits will be counted on the Valley High School system of awarding a diploma.

All courses taken from  any other acredited institution need prior written approval by a counselor and the principal (or his/her designee) if they are to be included on the Valley transcript and/or counted toward graduation. Forms may be obtained in the Counseling Center. No more than two credits may be applied toward those needed for graduation.

Board Policy 505.10

Courses taken for graduation purposes from schools other than Valley may be granted approval only if a student cannot graduate by taking 10 credits and physical education his/her senior year.

A senior student in good academic standing may have a one-course reduction in Valley courses if he/she wishes to enroll in one or more college/university course(s).

• The course must offer at least three semester hours of credit.
• The course will be awarded one high school credit.
• The credit will count toward high school graduation.
• The grade earned in the course will be figured into the high school GPA.
• The course scheduled must not interfere with the student’s Valley schedule.
• The course must be in the curricular area only.
• The student must take a minimum of four classes and physical education at Valley.
•  The course cannot exist in Valley’s curriculum.

All transcript requests are to be submitted online.

Student Records/Transcript Request

Faxes, phone calls, emails, and mail will no longer be accepted.

Some requests will incur fees that are listed on the start page of the order process.

Currently enrolled students receive two free transcripts; each transcript requested after that is $5, plus a $3 fee per transaction, regardless of the number sent. It is advisable to have transcripts sent directly to the college office of admission; they will match it up with your application. Email verification will be sent to the student when the transcript has been processed. If the student applies using Common App or SENDedu, a transcript is uploaded and attached by the counselor, so there is no need to request a separate transcript be sent.

At the end of the senior year, students will be assessed regarding the destination for the final official transcript. There is no fee for the final transcript; all will be sent by the third week in June. Unless there is a change in schooling plans after the student has graduated, there is no need to contact the registrar to confirm that the final transcript has been sent. 

Students who earn a 3.5 GPA or higher at Valley Southwoods are eligible for participation in the Honors Diploma Program at Valley High School. Students must also complete any prerequisite courses for the required 10th grade courses in the Honors Diploma Program. In order to meet these prerequisites, it is recommended that students take the following courses at Southwoods.

• Biology
• AP Human Geography
• Geometry C
• Literature and Composition
• World Language

Successful completion of the following classes at Valley, including senior exhibition, will result in the Valley High School Honors Designation on the Valley diploma at graduation. Up to 5 elective credits may be transferred in from other institutions if the courses are not offered at Valley High School. To meet the Honors Designation World Language requirement, students must have successfully completed a minimum of four years in the same language. Students must receive a letter grade in all required classes. Students must take the AP exam in all required AP courses. The application process is enrollment in the Honors Diploma Track. A minimum GPA of 3.9 is required to graduate with an Honors Diploma. 

Sophomore, junior, and senior seminars will be an opportunity for students to explore their areas of interest, reflect on their talents/skills, shadow adults in different career pathways, and create a thoughtful plan for the next three to five years to enable them to implement an in-depth project including their “area of concentration.” (This area of concentration can change at any time. It does not lock students into anything, but it provides them with focus or vision and “an end in mind.”) 

• AP European History (DMACC course = World Civilizations: Ancient to Early Modern and Western Civilization: Early Modern to Present; 8 credits) or AP World History
• AP Chemistry (DMACC course = General Inorganic Chemistry I & II; 8 credits) or
  AP Biology (DMACC course = Biology I & II; 8 credits) or
  AP Physics (may take science classes in any order)
• Advanced Composition and Advanced Contemporary Literature or World Literature
• Algebra II and Trigonometry C
• World Language (will continue in same language all 4 years)
• Physical education
• Honors Seminar
• Elective/Study Hall
• Elective/Study Hall

• AP U.S. History (DMACC course = U.S. History to 1877 & U.S. History 1877 to Present; 8 credits)
• AP Literature and Composition (DMACC course = Introduction to Literature and Contemporary Literature; 6 credits) or
  AP Language and Composition (DMACC course = Composition I & II; 6 credits)
• AP Chemistry (DMACC course = General Inorganic Chemistry I & II; 8 credits) or
  AP Biology (DMACC course = Biology I & II; 8 credits) or
• AP Physics (may take science classes in any order)
• AP Calculus AB (DMACC course = Calculus I; 5 credits)
• World Language (will continue in same language all 4 years)
• Physical Education
• Honors Seminar
• Elective/Study Hall
• Elective/Study Hall

• AP U.S. Government and Politics (DMACC course = American National Government; 3 credits) and
  AP Macroeconomics
• AP Language and Composition (DMACC course = Composition I & II; 6 credits) 
• AP Literature and Composition (DMACC course = Introduction to Literature and Contemporary Literature; 6 credits)
  
• AP Chemistry (DMACC course = General Inorganic Chemistry I & II; 8 credits) or AP Biology (DMACC course = Biology I & II; 8 credits) or
  AP Physics (may take science classes in any order)
• AP Calculus BC (DMACC course = Calculus II; 5 credits) or
  AP Statistics (DMACC course = Statistics; 4 credits) 
• World Language (will continue in same language all 4 years)
• Physical Education
• Honors Seminar with Senior Exhibition
• Elective/Study Hall
• Elective/Study Hall