Welcome to our Academic Advising website! This page will be updated throughout the Academic Advising Window (January-March). 

Please review the Timeline for Academic Advising drop down menu below to view dates related to academic advising. 

• Please be sure to join us for Curriculum Night on Wednesday, January 15th (snow date: January 21).
• Curriculum Night is an opportunity to meet with teachers from every academic department to learn more about course offerings available for students next year. This is open to all rising 9th-12th grade students and their families.
  • 6:00-6:45 - Presentation for Rising 9th Graders in the Auditorium (students and parents/guardians of rising freshmen are strongly encouraged to attend)
  • 6:00-8:00 - Open house in both cafeterias with representatives from each academic department 

Academic Advising Information

• Student Services Academic Advising Padlet - Comprehensive information regarding the overall academic advising process at Woodson
• Students currently enrolled at Frost Middle School should view the Frost Rising 9th Grade Course Selection website and follow the steps below.
• Current Woodson students should follow the steps below.

Please review the materials below in the dropdown menus for details on our core and elective course offerings (core courses are courses that are required to graduate; elective courses are courses that you take by choice in addition to your core academic classes). This information will be instrumental during academic advising and course selection in January, February and March. 

Core Course Information

Information may include the following:

• amount of homework given nightly
• teacher expectations of their students
• projects due throughout the year
• skills needed for success in the course
• differences between the general level/honors level and/or AP level
• time management
• commitment, balance, and work ethic requirements
• work samples from all levels of the course
• differences in textbooks by levels

Regular courses vs. advanced placement and honors courses. What is the difference between them?  What is right for you? View our core course presentations for the upcoming school year.

Elective Course Information

Elective courses are courses that you take by choice in addition to your core academic classes. Please review the information below for more details on elective courses.

Learn More about our Academies

Many students take advantage of learning career/trade skills while still in high school through the hands-on and experiential learning provided by FCPS academy courses. Students must apply to an academy course and, if admitted, they attend most of their classes at Woodson while traveling to their academy either daily or every other day for their academy class. Bus transportation is often provided, but in some cases students must provide their own transportation to and from their academy class. 

Woodson students mostly attend Fairfax, Chantilly, and Falls Church academies since bus transportation can typically be provided. In some cases, students may be able to take a course through another academy. Students work with their counselor to determine what options might be available and to apply to a course. The application deadline is March 7^th. Late applications are added to a waitlist with no guarantee of being admitted.

To learn more about specific FCPS Academy programs please see the links below (please note that links below designated as “student sites” can only be access by students using their FCPS Google account). You can also visit the FCPS Academies page for information as well. These sites provide useful information on course options, and many of the sites have videos where you can learn more information about a given course. The academies will also be hosting open houses in the coming weeks as well. See below for open house dates and review the academy open house flyer:

• Chantilly Academy Open House - January 8, 2025 from 6:00-8:00pm
• Falls Church Academy Open House - January 9, 2025 from 6:00-9:00pm
• Fairfax Academy Open House - February 4, 2025 from 6:30-8:00pm

FCPS Online Campus

FCPS Online Campus allows students to take an additional course online to supplement what they take in school. Online Campus offers a variety of standard, honors, and AP level courses, and also provides access to additional courses not offered at Woodson. The online campus also has courses students can take over the summer, which can help students advance or catch up on academic credits earned towards graduation requirements. Students must let their counselor know if they’re interested in taking a course through Online Campus, and work with their counselor to complete the required registration paperwork. For more information on Online Campus course offerings, how online classes work in general, and the registration process please click the link below.

FCPS Online Campus Site

Concurrent/Dual Enrollment Courses at NOVA

FCPS partners with Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) to offer high school students the chance to earn college credit while still in high school. Additionally, some of these courses can count towards both college credit and high school credit. Students must let their counselor know if they’re interested in taking a course concurrent or dual enrollment course, and work with their counselor to complete the required registration paperwork. To learn more about concurrent and dual enrollment between FCPS and NOVA please click the link below.

FCPS Concurrent Enrollment Site

FCPS Dual Enrollment Site

Questions

If you have any questions or need any assistance related to academic advising during this time you are welcome to contact your school counselor or the appropriate department chair/teacher/content area administrator. Please also bookmark this site to refer back to it for information as needed.