April Counseling Newsletter

Posted Date: 04/16/26 (02:28 PM)

April 2026

Hello Students and Families:

We hope that you had a wonderful and relaxing Spring Break. It’s hard to believe that there are only about 6 weeks left in this school year! The Counseling Department would like to share some upcoming important dates and grade-specific information.

General Information

Course selection for 2026-2027 School Year Course The course selection process for the 2026-27 school year has closed. Preliminary recommendations for Math and Language courses will be added in the coming weeks. Some courses will not be offered next year due to low enrollment. Other courses may overenrolled. In these cases, you will be placed in your alternative course. Schedules will not be finalized until Opening Day in August.

Reminder of Academic Support Available to All Students

Grades/Academic Support If you have any questions about your grades or class assignments, we recommend that you reach out to your teachers directly. You can email your teachers from your AUSD Gmail account; their names should automatically pop up when you type in the last name of the teacher.
Students can also get help from their teachers during Advisory on Wednesdays and Fridays. Use Google Classroom or Canvas to find information about assignments and due dates. Progress Report grades are a good indicator of how you are progressing in your classes. There is still time to raise your grade before the end of the semester (June 5th).

Subject Specific Support for Students

Math Hour Come get math support from math teachers and peers!

Mondays, 4:00-5:00 p.m., Room A-313
Tuesdays, 4:10-5:10 p.m., Room A-313

World Language Hours Come get extra help in your world language class from your teachers after school:

French: Wednesdays, 4:30-5:30 p.m., Room A-210
Mandarin: Thursdays, 4:00-5:00 p.m., Room A-212
Spanish: Thursdays, 4:00-5:00 p.m., Room A-213

English Hour Listen to the Bulletin for information about the next English hour, an opportunity to get help from your English teachers after school.

AP Exams AP exams will be administered May 4-22. Starting April 20, students will start receiving emails with exam details including date, time, location, and what to bring.

All exams will be digital (some remain hybrid digital/paper). A fully-charged testing device (school-issued Chromebook or personal laptop) will be required. Devices should hold a charge for at least 4 hours with Bluebook installed.

Do NOT wait until the day of the exam to take care of the tech requirements:

On school-issued Chromebooks, make sure the operating system has been updated to the latest version and that the Bluebook app is loaded.
On personal Mac/Windows laptops, download the Bluebook app.

4th Quarter Progress Reports At the beginning of May, teachers will be submitting 4th Quarter Progress reports for students who are at risk of not passing a class (grade of D, F or NM). 4th Quarter Progress reports will be visible in Aeries. We encourage you to communicate directly with your child’s teacher if you have questions about your child’s grades. Teacher’s email addresses can be found in Aeries.

Note to Seniors and families of Seniors Please be aware that any Senior who receives a D or F grade for 4rd Quarter Progress in a class that is needed for graduation will be receiving a 4th Quarter Warning Letter the week of May 4th. This letter outlines the credits needed for graduation. If students are not within 10 credits of meeting graduation requirements, they will have their graduation tickets held until the day before graduation.

Concurrent Enrollment in Community College Students in grades 9-11, are you interested in taking a community college class this summer? Contra Costa College will be on campus at Lunch on Wednesday, April 22nd and on Friday, April 24th. Come learn about the enrollment process and course offerings. Listen to announcements in the Bulletin for locations.

I Can Go to College Campaign The ICanGoToCollege.com (I Can) campaign is excited to present Black Student Success Week – The Student Hour, a free nightly college webinar series taking place April 20–23 from 6:00–7:00 p.m. Designed for students of all ages and backgrounds, The Student Hour brings together education leaders, community experts and real student voices to help students and parents navigate the many opportunities available through California’s 116 community colleges. Each night covers a different topic critical to college access and success.

Annual Latina Youth Leadership Conference (LYLC) for Bay Area middle and high school female students and their parents on Saturday, April 25th, 2026 from 9 AM to 4 PM in the UC Berkeley campus. Sign up by April 20th.

UC Davis Women in Business's Spring '26 High School Outreach Program. Join the Davis Women in Business virtual High School Outreach Program! Learn about applying to college and writing a great college essay.

Workshop Dates:

Wednesday, April 29th, 7:00-7:30pm PST: Career Exploration
Wednesday, May 20th, 7:00-7:30pm PST: DWIB Q&A Panel

These two workshops will be hosted via Zoom. This program is open to any high school student who is interested, and this is a completely free opportunity!

Civic and Activism Remote Internship This internship brings students together (remotely) from hundreds of high schools and colleges, we are excited to bring this invitation to students at Albany High School. The program is fully remote, offers start dates at the beginning of each month, and has a flexible time frame and schedule. All students have access to grow into more capable and responsible citizens and to develop their professional skills for a successful future.

Students join remote teams that are energized by diverse students from around the country who work on amplifying youth civic engagement.

The program is free and students can count their participation for community service hours. Interns who complete the program receive certificates and TurnUp is authorized to give awards, including The President’s Volunteer Service Award. Here is the application link.

Summer School AHS Summer School will run from June 15, 2026 to July 15, 2026 (no classes on 6/19 & 7/3) at Marin Elementary School.. Students who have earned a D or F in a Math, English, or Social Studies course can apply. Students who have received D's in a Math, English or Social Studies course may repeat the course in Summer School and the grade can be replaced for college eligibility. Counselors have started notifying families whose students are being referred for summer school. You may pick up a Summer School Application in the Counseling Office.

Space for Summer School will be limited. Priority will be given in this order: 12th graders, 11th graders, 10th graders, then 9th graders based on class status during Spring 2026. Students who have failed a class have priority over all other students.

Grade-specific Information

9th Grade

Forum Project Congratulations on finishing the Forum project! You have been working hard and are almost done with your first year of high school, can you believe it?!

Sophomores

Xello Hey Sophomores! Remember to check out Xello, our college and career exploration tool! Find the Xello app in your AUSD Google account (it’s in the waffle). Check out the various lessons: Matchmaker, Work Values, Time Management, or Career and Lifestyle Costs!

Juniors

11th graders and families: please mark your calendars with REVISED DATES for our upcoming event series to help you plan for life after graduation! These events will all be held via Zoom at 7:00pm, and they will be recorded. Zoom links will be sent ahead of the events.

Wednesday, April 29 @ 7:00-8:30pm - 11th Grade Postsecondary Options
Learn about the many opportunities open to students after high school, including 2- and 4-year college, vocational training, gap year, military and more. ECMC The College Place's Samantha Smith will present.

Monday, May 4 @ 7:00-8:30pm - Financial Aid Night for 11th Graders
It's never too early to start planning how to pay for college! Our speaker is Samantha Smith from ECMC The College Place.

Wednesday, May 6 @ 7:00-8:00pm - What You Need to Know About College Essay Writing (for parents)
Is your child about to undertake the challenge of writing their college application essays? Join us to understand the purpose and process of writing thoughtful UC, Common App and supplemental essays. Learn how to best support your child at each step of the process – from brainstorming to essays that showcase their strengths, stories and voice. Our speaker is Wendy Frey, a writing coach and college essay specialist and parent of an AHS alum!

Standardized Tests For students interested in taking standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT, now is the time to start thinking about registering for an exam. Not sure which test to take? Look here for a comparison of the two tests. Please note that UCs and CSU do not accept any SAT or ACT test scores.

Seniors

4th Quarter Progress Grades As mentioned above, please be aware that any Senior who receives a D or F grade for 4th Quarter Progress in a class that is needed for graduation will be receiving a 4th Quarter Warning Letter the week of May 4th. This letter outlines the credits needed for graduation. Students who are not within 10 credits of meeting requirements will have their graduation tickets held until the day before graduation.

Cap & Gown Orders There’s still time to order your cap & gown! Use this QR code to purchase!

College Decisions For those of you who applied to 4 year colleges, as you receive word back from the colleges you applied to, please email your counselor to let us know the decision - admit, deny, defer or waitlist. We will always keep your information confidential. We track all of the college decisions in order to help and inform future grade levels. We will also be visiting senior classes in May to help students complete our exit survey, which we use to send final transcripts.

Character Evaluation Please be aware that any referral for Academic Dishonesty will be disclosed to students’ colleges & universities if counselors are asked to evaluate a student’s character.

Check email/portals Students who have applied to 4 year institutions should check their personal email and admissions portals frequently for any requests or updates from the colleges. Requests (for documents, housing applications, financial aid details, etc.) are often time sensitive and/or required, so don’t miss out!

Some CSUs are still accepting applications For students interested in applying to a California State University, applications are still being accepted at several campuses.

Considering community college? Contra Costa College will be on campus on Wednesday, April 22nd and Friday, April 24th at Lunch. Listen to the Bulletin for announcements for locations. We will also be hosting a lunchtime Community College Fair on Wednesday, April 29, 2026.

For seniors who would like to enroll in a community college class this summer, DO NOT complete a concurrent enrollment form. Instead, email your counselor to request a letter indicating that you will be graduating in June. Take this letter and an unofficial transcript (available to you in Aeries) to the community college admissions office when you are ready to enroll.

Scholarships AHS Local Scholarships and Purdom Family Scholarship applications are open now to all AHS/MacGregor 12th graders. There are opportunities for students planning to attend 2- and 4-year college as well as vocational programs. Applications are due Fri. 4/24!

Students interested in scholarships should also complete their Scholarship Profile in Xello. To get started, log in to Xello, navigate to the College Planning tab, and select the Scholarships section. From there, complete your profile to receive personalized scholarship matches. You can view potential opportunities, save them to your list, and track your application progress all within the platform.

Additionally, please continue to listen to or read the Daily Bulletin for ongoing updates and announcements about scholarship opportunities.

FAFSA Opened October 1st! Be aware that the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) opened on October 1st. We recommend that every senior complete the FAFSA, even if you believe you are not eligible for aid. The FAFSA is the largest source of college financial aid, including federal grants (like Pell Grants), work-study, and federal loans. Many states and colleges also use FAFSA information to determine their own financial aid packages and merit scholarships.

Cal Grant GPA Verification forms were submitted on September 8th. Counselors automatically submitted your CAL GRANT GPA Verification Form. If your name or address is Aeries does not match the information submitted to FAFSA please contact Mrs. Grogans with the correct information. To review this information you may go to My CalGrant.