The Rancho Santa Fe School District has instituted new procedures regarding placement into honors courses for students in grades five through eight. Please review this information if you feel that your child should be placed into an honors course. Students who meet district placement criteria will automatically be enrolled in the appropriate honors course(s). Those who do not meet the requirements may be eligible to waive into the course. Interested parents should download the Honors Placement Packet from the district website and complete the appropriate forms, returning them to the school office no later than August 1st. Click HERE for further information and to download forms.
The following Honors Courses are offered in the Rancho Santa Fe School District:
• Honors Math 5
• Honors Math 6
• Honors Pre-Algebra
• Honors Algebra 1
• Honors Geometry
• Honors English-Language Arts 7
• Honors English-Language Arts 8
Honors courses are designed for students who are identified as "gifted" in a particular subject area. To be placed into an honors course, students must meet at least five out of six criteria for math courses and six out of seven for English Language Arts courses. General Criteria are outlined below:
• CST Scores in the 95th percentile or above
• MAP scores in the 95th percentile or above
• Math Placement Test scores as per grade level criteria (for math courses)
• Willingness and ability to contribute to an intellectual conversation (ELA courses)
• Strong classroom performance as indicated by report cards
• Strong work ethic
• Classroom behavior reflecting honors level student
• The only honors courses offered in fifth and sixth grade are Honors Math 5 and Honors Math 6. There are no honors English-Language Arts courses at grades five and six.
• Potential students for these courses are identified by the district in the Spring of each year.
• Placement in an honors course is tentative until we receive CST results in late July or early August.
• Math placement letters with tentative placement will be sent out in early July.
• The District will consider waivers for students who met 4/6 or 3/6 criteria in Math. Students not meeting at least three criteria in math will not be waived into an honors course.
• Waiver forms can be obtained by downloading the Honors Placement Packet from our website and completing the Honors Waiver Request Form.
• All waivers MUST be returned to the school no later than August 1st for consideration.
• Parents and students will be notified of final placement in late August.
• In grades seven and eight, the District offers honors courses in both English-Language Arts and Math.
• Potential students for these courses are identified by the district in the Spring of each year.
• Placement in an honors course is tentative until we receive CST results in late July or early August.
• Math placement letters will be sent out in early July.
• If your child is eligible for Honors ELA, or is eligible to waive into an Honors ELA course, you will be notified along with your math placement letter.
• The District will consider waivers for students who met 4/6 or 3/6 criteria in Math. And 5/7 in ELA. Students not meeting at least three criteria in math and four criteria in ELA will not be waived into an honors course.
• Waiver forms can be obtained by downloading the Honors Placement Packet from our website and completing the Honors Waiver Form.
• All waivers MUST be returned to the school no later than August 1st for consideration.
• Parents and students will be notified of final placement in late August.
Please click HERE to download the Honors Packet.
The Rancho Santa Fe School District provides a rigorous, standards-based curriculum to all students. We strive to create meaning-centered lessons and educational programs that are firmly grounded in the California Content Standards, while providing opportunities for enrichment, critical thinking and academic support. The following information and links will provide useful information for parents and community members as they seek to support the education of Rancho Santa Fe students.
California State Content Standards and Frameworks
State-Adopted Curricular Programs
The Rancho Santa Fe School District ensures that sufficient, current textbooks and materials are available to support the District instructional program. A Public Hearing is held each year to determine sufficient textbooks or instructional materials, pursuant to the settlement of Williams vs. the State of California. All students are given their own individual textbooks in core subjects for use in the classroom and to take home to complete required homework assignments. All textbooks and instructional materials are aligned with the California State Content Standards and Frameworks. State Instructional Materials Adoption Cycle and review processes are used for adoption of instructional materials in each curricular area within a seven-year cycle.
Math: Macmillan (K-6) Prentice Hall 7-8
Math Intervention: Math Triumphs (4-7), Prentice Hall Algebra Readiness (8th)
English-Language Arts: Houghton Mifflin
English Language Arts Intervention: Language! by Sopris West, researched-based best practices, supplemental materials
History Social Science:
Supplementary Programs and Resources
Compass Learning
Reading and Writing Project at Teacher’s College Columbia University
Standards Plus
Contexts for Learning Mathematics
Impact Math
