8th to 9th Transition

Information is beginning to come in regarding the registration process for the 2025/2026 school year. Below, you will find information about this year's transition process. All 8th graders have two potential options for next year. Almost all students will continue on to Albemarle High School for 9th grade. The one school in the county that is open to rising 9th grade is the Community Lab School. Below, you will find dates for both schools.


AHS Registration Dates to be aware of:

  • December 4th and 5th: 8th grade trips to Center One and CATEC
  • December 6th, 2024: Lab School lottery opens
  • December 9th: Town Hall for 8th grade students here at LMS
  • December 11th and 12th: Classroom lessons with 8th grade on the transition process. 
  • December 12th, 2024: Portal opens for student course registration
  • December 12th, 2024: Curriculum Showcase and 8th grade Family Meeting @ AHS 5:30 - 7:00 PM

  • Optional Zoom Sessions with LMS Counselors (Q&A)
    December 13 at 8:15-9:15 am
    December 16 at 5:30-6:30 pm
    December 17 at 12:00-1:00 pm

  • January 8th to February 14th: Individual family meetings at LMS to discuss 9th grade classes/transition to high school. 

  • January 10th, 2025: ParentPortal Registration closes for AHS.

  • January 15th: Transition & Curriculum Night at LMS

  • February 28th, 2025: Deadline for Lab School Lottery & Scholars Interest Forms Due

  • March 7th, 2025: Lab School Lottery Results sent

  • Late March: Summer School registration usually begins (applies to those interested in Summer health and PE).

  • March 27th, 2025: Last day for class changes.


Community Lab School Dates and Lottery Information:

For those students interested in attending CLS next year, the school admission process is based on interest as well as a lottery system. There are three informational session being held throughout the Winter months. To register for a session, you must fill out this interest form

CLS Information 2024/2025 Session Dates:

  • Thursday, November 14:  5:30 - 6:30 PM
  • Tuesday, December 10:  2:00 - 3:00 PM
  • Wednesday, January 15:  10:00 - 11:00 AM
  • Thursday, February 20: 6:00 - 7:00PM 

Lottery Information:

The Community Lab School is small, and thus can only take a handful of students each year. Their system of enrollment is based on both interest and a lottery. If your child is interested in attending CLS, you should fill out the lottery interest form located here. The admission deadline is February 28th, 2025. Students should receive a lottery update on enrollment by March 7th, 2025.

AHS Summer School Information: Not yet updated

Information for this school year has not yet been posted, so here is the information from LAST year: Albemarle High School will be offering the below classes virtually for first time credit (not for repeating the course):

  • Health 9 - .5 credit
  • PE 9- .5 credit
  • Personal Finance- 1 credit

The cost of summer school is currently being discussed, but we do know the cost is increasing.  Students are only eligible to take up to one full credit over summer school.  All fees collected will be non-refundable, so please make sure your student can commit to the full 6 weeks before registering them.  Students cannot take 2 PE classes.  All initial credit courses that are offered over the summer are virtual and will run for 6 weeks.  

Parent Portal Access:

Parent Portal will open for students and parents on December 12th, 2024 and will remain open until January 10th, 2025. Students and families will have one month to register for all classes. All students will select their courses, as well as alternative electives, at this time.

How to Register for Courses on ParentPortal

Starting in January, counselors will meet with all 8th grade students and families to review the courses selected for AHS and answer questions about high school. A sign-up genius will be sent out for meeting dates.

Courses will be finalized in February. Students will not be able to make changes to their course requests for 9th grade after the end of March. At the end of the year, any questions regarding 9th grade courses should be directed to the AHS Counseling Office.
 

Selecting Classes:

9th graders at all high schools will take 7 classes. Freshman Seminar is a required course and will be auto-populated by the high school. Students will select six classes for their freshman year: English, Math, History, Science, Health and PE I, and an elective or World Language.
 

Because students may have at most two electives, we ask that students select a few alternates on ParentPortal during the registration window. Many freshmen do not receive their first choice electives, so it is important to review the Program of Studies to select a few back-up choices.

To learn more about classes, please look at The Program Of Studies. 
 

Family/Student/Counselor Meetings: 
We all know this is overwhelming, so we invite all of our families in for individual meetings to sit down and talk about 9th grade and answer questions. These 30 minute meetings will be offered throughout January and February. We do this through Sign-up Genius (found below). We do need students at the meeting, so if you sign up to come for a meeting, make sure your child is in school that day. Because there are so many 8th graders and we only have six weeks, all three counselors will host meetings. 

Sign up for a Family Meeting:
Last Name starting with A-H AND AVID students: Ms. Lindsay
Last Name starting with I-PMr. Guy
Last Name starting with Q-Z: Ms. Hill
 

SchoolLinks 4-Year Plan: SchooLinks is a modern, college and career readiness platform to prepare students for what comes after graduation. SchooLinks helps students discover their interests and strengths, explore colleges and careers, and create an individualized career and academic plan that best reflects their post-secondary goals. SchooLinks at Albemarle County is accessible in 6th-12th grades by students and their parents. All 8th grade students will have a tentative academic plan in their SchoolLinks account.

Click Here to Access SchooLinks
» SchooLinks: How to Log In for Students 
» Schoolinks: How to Find Your Guardian Claim Code
» Schoolinks: Guardian Login  

Denial of Credit Letters: At the end of the current school year, any student who took a high school credit class will receive a Denial of Credit letter. These letters will list all high school credits received in middle school (Spanish I, Algebra I, and/or Geometry) and the grades received for each class. Before entering high school, rising 9th graders can opt to deny the credit if the family was not satisfied with the grade. If a credit is denied, the grade will not show up on a high school transcript. Generally students who choose to deny a credit either repeat the course the following year or opt to take a different course in its place.

Potential 9th Grade Specialized Programs

The Scholars Program:

Formerly known as Career Learning Communities (CLCs), Albemarle County Public Schools’ Scholars Program offers 14 innovative Studios within the Scholars Program, designed for students in grades 9-12 to explore career pathways aligned with their interests. These Studios connect academic subjects with career fields, linking student passions to challenging academic content in a small, collaborative learning environment.

With so many offerings, your best source for information can be found here

Community Lab School:

Our school provides Albemarle families a small, liberal arts middle and high school option for students who wish to maximize intellectual curiosity and creative potential. It is a school that emphasizes rigorous academic standards in disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge with the arts integrated throughout the curriculum.

Community Lab School is also an International Baccalaureate World School offering the IB Diploma Programme.

AVID:

Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a course taught at AHS dedicated to closing the achievement gap by preparing all students for college and other post-secondary opportunities. In the AVID class, students receive daily instruction and support to prepare them for college from a trained AVID elective teacher. AVID impacts students school wide as academic strategies like writing to learn, inquiry, collaboration, organizational skills, and critical reading are taught in all classes by teachers who have been trained to use AVID strategies in their specific content areas.