FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

MY STUDENT HAS AN IEP OR 504 PLAN. WILL THEY ENJOY THE SAME ACCOMMODATIONS IN THEIR COURSES?

Yes! If students have an IEP (mild to moderate) or 504 plan at their public school, our teachers must honor the accommodations granted them under the Students with Disabilities Act. For WASC accreditation and UC A-G approval, we cannot remove any of the content. Accommodations are modifications in the delivery of the curriculum.

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Depending on your student’s IEP or 504 plan, some acceptable accommodations may include:

• Extra time on tests

• Taking tests in a private room free from distractions

• Having directions read out loud

• Using a calculator or dictionary (for English Learner students)

• Receiving copies of lecture notes

• Slightly reducing the amount of homework 

• Receiving extra tutoring

• Having a notecard with some information or sample problems

• Allowing students to retake tests (which is already built into our mastery and standards based model)

• Revise or modify written assignments

IF MY STUDENT LEARNS BEST REMOTELY, WHAT OPTIONS DO THEY HAVE IF THEY WANT TO SOCIALIZE WITH THEIR PEERS?

We know students learn in different modalities and sometimes the modalities also change as a student develops or has access to a small and safe space. CCP’s customizable program adjusts to meet your student’s academic and social emotional needs.

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Some students may complete their core coursework online, but they still want to (or need support) to develop their social and emotional skills. Students may opt to have a hybrid experience and come to campus to collaborate with their peers during some of their core or elective courses (including Cypress Community), student clubs, and/or Homework Hub. Some students may start 1-to-1 remote or 1-to-1 in-person, but realize that they also learn in small groups and want to benefit from smaller academic and/or social group options. CPP is built on flexible academic and social options to support students where they are at, and where they would like to be.

Please reach out and set up a free consultation meeting to learn more about how our flexible model can support your student.

MY STUDENT NEEDS TO BE CHALLENGED ACADEMICALLY. WHAT OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE?

Great question, we believe all students should be challenged and have options that meet their needs. On top of offering traditional Advanced Placement Courses (AP), we have two additional options. With prior approval from CCP staff, students can accelerate their course work and graduate from high school in three years and start their college and career path earlier. Students can also take college classes at local community colleges and earn high school credits and college credit at the same time.

WHAT GRADE LEVELS DOES CYPRESS SERVE?

We currently serve students in grades 6-12 and offer different modalities of instruction like in-person, virtual, and hybrid.

As part of the mastery and standards based grading philosophy, we know that students all learn at different rates and may need additional time to study or reflect before another attempt to show mastery. We allow test corrections to allow students to further demonstrate what they know on any test. If a student receives less than a 70% on any test or final exam, that student must perform test corrections before any retakes. In that case the student will likely need to schedule extra time with their teacher to identify gaps in their understanding during office hours to reteach the content, and then retest until they can demonstrate mastery. If needed, students can also register for additional 1:1 tutoring with AJ Tutoring.

1. The bell schedule shared here follows our more "traditional" schedule to give you an example of what a typical week could look like. Students' schedules may differ to reflect their needs. For example, some students involved in extra curriculars or learning differences may have 1-to-1's scheduled outside this bell schedule to match their needs, like a late morning start. In your application, please share what your needs are so we can plan accordingly.

2. The academic calendar follows traditional holidays, and breaks. In addition, we built in two intersessions

HOW DO LABS WORK FOR PHYSICS/CHEMISTRY/BIOLOGY?

 Labs are an essential component of physics, chemistry, and biology courses. We strictly adhere to the required number of hours devoted to labs prescribed by the College Board (for AP courses) and by California state standards (for non-AP lab courses). The labs are hands-on and interactive.

DOES COURSEWORK TRANSFER FROM ANOTHER SCHOOL?

If you have high school credit, we need an official transcript from your high school to review for possible transfer credit. We want to make sure that credits are UC A-G approved and WASC approved so that students are eligible to apply to college.

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We will also have incoming students complete a math and English diagnostic that is normed by grade level to give you and our a team an opportunity to plan for any additional support, as needed.

IF MY STUDENT TAKES A WEIGHTED HONORS/AP/COLLEGE COURSE, WILL THEY RECEIVE A WEIGHTED GRADE (EXAMPLE: A 5.0 A FOR AP, VERSUS A 4.0 A IN NON-AP)?

DOES CCP AWARD PARTIAL GRADES, LIKE B+?

Yes! Students can receive partial grades like A+ or A-.

WHO ARE YOUR TEACHERS? 

Our teachers have extensive knowledge of their subjects and teaching experience. These teachers have their teaching credential and/or a masters degree in their content area, similar to college professors. Some teachers may have started off as highly qualified AJ tutors or teachers in AJ's for-credit course program with HBA, and now teach with CCP.

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If accepted into CCP, you'll also get an opportunity in June (before priority enrollment) to meet our team.

WHAT CURRICULAR STANDARDS ARE USED?

 We follow the same curriculum standards outlined by the California Department of Education. In addition, we will follow UC A-G recommendations.

WHY IS CCP NOT YET WASC OR UC A-G APPROVED?

HBA is WASC and UC A-G Accredited.

As a new school expanding from the success of AJ Tutoring’s WASC accredited Supplemental Extracurricular Program with HBA, we have been working closely with WASC and HBA to submit our application this fall. All WASC accreditation is retroactive and precedes A-G approval. We are confident that CCP will succeed, just as AJ Tutoring has over the past 19 years. 

WHAT IF MY STUDENT DOES NOT WANT TO GO TO COLLEGE?

We understand that all students have a different path and plan after high school, so we want to prepare them for any option. We also know that students may change their mind between 9th and 12th grade, so we want to make sure that our course sequences meet UC A-G requirements so that the door is still open for them to apply and go to college. Additionally, CCP’s holistic academic and social-emotional approach supports students with the skills necessary to succeed in any path they choose beyond high school.

WHAT DOES CCP’S HEALTH AND WELLNESS APPROACH MEAN?

We believe that learning occurs best when a student’s needs are met. We want to ensure students are physically active, learn about physical health, have access to healthy food on campus, and have social emotional support on campus. This framework supports students’ academic and social-emotional growth.

CAN I SCHEDULE A SCHOOL SITE VISIT?

Yes! However, we are currently transforming the Menlo Park AJ Tutoring center and administrative office into CCP’s school site. You are welcome to reach out to schedule a visit to take a look, but keep in mind there may be some changes by the time school starts in September.

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If the events have passed, please schedule a one-to-one meeting with us.

HOW CAN I REFER A STUDENT TO CYPRESS COLLEGE PREP?

We appreciate that you want to recommend CCP to your family and friends. Please encourage them to note on their application, under "How did you hear about Cypress College Prep?" they type in your name under "Other." Thank you for sharing information about what CCP has to offer!

WHAT IF WE WANT TO DROP HALFWAY THROUGH? CAN I GET A REFUND?

Almost none of our students have dropped or transferred from AJ Tutoring's for-credit program (and expect the same with CCP), but you’re always free to do so. If one were to disenroll before completing the semester, we would simply prorate the tuition to reflect the percentage of the number of days enrolled, and refund the rest.