Education Overhaul - Original Patron Version v1.5 (Patreon)

Hello All! This might just be my favorite mod I've made... This originally started out as a request to make a small addition of more school projects for children using game objects. It turned into something much more... I've done an overhaul of the Education Career and Preschool, Elementary/Middle, and Secondary school in the Sims 4 in general.

For YA and up, there's a new branch of the Education Career for K-12 teachers with new assignments, tasks, new career goals, rework of the education track, support for degrees and university career entitlements including custom degrees.

Toddlers have the option to go to preschool on Mondays-Fridays for about 7 hours. They will develop all toddler skills, have their needs met, and learn character values. They have a chance to  receive buffs at the end of their day. 

Children and Teens are the focus of this mod. There are also a ton of new options for children and teens: in school interactions, field trips, the return of detention and military school, variable school projects, different types of homework assignments, independent and boarding school options, and more. 

Please read the mod description as it is very important you understand what the mod does and what it affects.

Features

Education Career

• Reworked the introductory track of the career to be broader and incorporate levels from Sims 1, 2, and 
• New Branch in Education Career: K-12 Educator
• Added support for Discover University with required degrees. Sims needs a degree in Art History, Biology, Economics, Literature and Languages, Physics, Psychology, or Zero's custom Education Degree to advance to a branch
• Degrees requirements from any of these fields leads to career entitlements for PTO, signing bonuses, performance, etc.
• Shortened the length of time for tutoring and adjusted the pay for completion
• New Custom Daily Task (Research Teaching Methods)
• Work from Home Assignments (Answer Parent Emails, Research Teaching Techniques, Write Progress Reports, Attend Department Meetings)
• New Career Goals for starting track and Educator branch

Preschool

Towards the end of finishing the mod, I realized I needed a preschool option that occurred during the day. Toddlers can now enroll in Preschool on Monday- Fridays from about 730am and will stay there for about 7 hours. Enroll the Toddler by clicking on the Toddler you want to enroll. They will woken up if not awake and automatically sent to Preschool in their Everyday clothes. They can manually be sent by clicking on the toddler, if necessary. While away, their needs will be met, they will gain skills, and increase their character values. You have the option to keep them home instead by canceling the Preschool interaction. 

**Note about Preschool and Daycare/Nanny: The Nanny/Daycare situation and notifications are hardcoded into the game. Therefore the notification will pop up when there's no one at home even if the toddler is already at Preschool. You must choose the Send to Daycare option. This will not actually send them to daycare, they will go and stay at Preschool but the game requires a choice. Note also that if you travel off lot with another Sim, they will come back from Preschool when you return home. Because the game code does constant toddler checks and does everything in its power to send unattended toddlers to daycare, sometimes the toddler may come home early or go to daycare. I've blocked a lot of this, but it will still happen on occasion.*** 

Private Education Enrollment Options

There are three new private education options in the game for children and teens. There is one independent school - SimCity Academy and also two boarding schools - Fort Starch Military Institute  and Huntington Preparatory School.

The independent and boarding schools have application requirements to complete on the computer (under the School Enrollment menu under Career)before your sim can join them. An application fee, a personal statement/essay, and a tour/interview are required. After writing the personal statement and going on the interview, they will need to go back to the computer to submit their final application and pay the application fee. The student must complete and submit all application requirements, but if accepted, only parents can enroll their children. Similarly, only parents can withdraw their children from school. After submission, your sim should hear back from the Admissions Committee within 4 hours. You have 24 hours to enroll the student once accepted or the spot is lost. You can reapply after 5 days.

There is a chance a Sim's applications can be rejected, though this is less likely depending on grades, after which they will remain in public school. Sims who have a failing grade of F at public school or independent school have a chance of flunking out and being sent to the Military School. 

Independent school works similarly to boarding school although Sims are more likely to gain skills and increase character values due to their enrollment and learn skills faster due to their wider opportunities and first-rate education. Sims who attend independent school will wear uniforms, one set for Spring/Summer and another for Fall/Winter. School hours are 7:30am-1:30pm for upper school students and 7:30am-2:30pm for lower school students. Boarding school students will also leave and come home in uniforms. 

Students who are at boarding school can only be withdrawn at their parent's behest or upon aging up to young adult. There's a chance that after a few days the Sim may become homesick. A parent will receive notification asking if they wish to withdraw the homesick Sim or not. While the student is away, they can still have texts sent to them and chat with family members through the relationship panel. 

After aging up to teen and during holidays, your boarding sim will come home for a two day break and then return to boarding school. Once aging up to a teen, a notification will pop up asking if the parents wish to pay for another year's tuition or unenroll the sim. The sim will be enrolled into Public School upon unenrollment. During Summer your boarding sim will come home for summer break and then return to boarding school. You can end their break and send them back at anytime under the phone menu. Sims at boarding school will have the chance to learn and gain most major skills. You can bring your boarding school sim home at any time, but in order to formally enroll them in another school, you must withdraw them from boarding school via the School menu. Note: If your sim's still grey in the panel after returning from boarding school, travel to a different lot and then back and they should be normal again. 

Grade School and High School Changes

Homework, School Projects, and Assignments

Added the ability for your Sims to do their homework online. The option exists under the Career menu.

Added more Homework Options for Children and Teen through Homework Book which increases skills and character values while fulfilling homework task

Unlocked Homework book options for Children:

• Fill Out Activity Chart (Motor)
• Do Math Problems (Mental)
• Practice Vocabulary (Creativity)
• Review Social Studies (Social)

Homework book options created for Teens:

• Study Dramaturgy (Charisma/Acting)
• Submit Original Composition (Piano/Violin/Guitar)
• Prove Scientific Principles (Rocket Science)
• Write English Paper (Writing)
• Work on Art Critique (Painting)
• Solve Linear Equations (Logic)
• Compose Analytical Argument (Research&Debate/Logic)

New School Projects and Active Assignments

Randomly every week or two, child and teen Sims will receive the additional assignments and projects. Not completing these custom projects and assignments before the next school day will penalize their work performance. If assigned one of these custom projects and assignments, they will count as homework when assigned and Sims will not be able to use the homework book to complete their homework. 

A note about EA's Parenthood School Projects: If installed, these projects will now no longer be given every Monday. They will be randomly assigned along with the custom assignments. They will also need to be completed before the next school day, will count as homework, and will no longer be for extra credit. 

• Artwork Assignment - Spend time working on artwork/painting
• Coding Assignment - Beginner coding assignment (new BG interaction)
• Essay Assignment - Spend time writing an essay on computer or in homework book (new BG interaction)
• Music Assignment - Practice for Band Concert, Orchestra, or Recital
• Performance Assignment - Practice for Role by Learning Lines (new interactions, BG compatible), Singing, Puppet Theatre
• Science Assignment- Chemistry Experiment (Children); Stargazing at Observatory (Teens)

School Day Changes

Detention

Detention makes a comeback! If your sim spends most of their time in school (via one of the new away interactions below) either sleeping in class, disrupting class, goofing off, or gets caught doing homework there's a chance they could be sent to after-school detention. Detention lasts for about 2 hours. Detention is more likely the poorer a student's grades are. If a Sim gets Detention, their parents may discipline the student. If your Sim gets repeated detentions and have poor grades, they are more likely to be kicked out of school and forced to attend military school.

New Away Actions for Students

Goof Around (Irresponsible) - Increases Fun. Lowers Performance, Responsibility, Emotional Control, and Manners.

Participate in Group Work - Increases Fun, Social, Skills, Responsibility, and Conflict Resolution. Slows the rate of performance gain.

Copy Homework - Increases Homework Completion. Decreases Responsibility and Manners. Chance for Detention.

Actively Participate (Study Hard)- Increases Performance, Skills, Empathy, Responsibility, and Manners. Decreases Fun.

Be Disruptive - Increases Fun. Lowers Performance, Responsibility, Emotional Control, and Manners. Chance for Detention.

Sleep During Class - Increases Energy. Decreases Manners and Responsibility. Chance for Detention.

University Prep - Teens only. Increases Performance, Skills, and Responsibility. Decreases Fun.

Attend Club Meetings - Increases Fun, Social, Responsibility, and Conflict Resolution.

Take Notes - Increases Performance, Skills, and Responsibility. Decreases Fun.

Field Trips

Students will now have a small chance at the beginning of the day to go on one of six Field Trips with classmates instead of to School. They will receive a buff at the end of their trip. 

• Aquarium
• Art Museum
• Planetarium 
• Professional Theatre Production
• Sim River Conservatory 
• Zoo

School Hours

Hours for public high schoolers have been changed from 8am-3pm to 8am-2pm. 

Summer Break

Sims enrolled in all schools (including the private school from the Private School mod) will now no longer be required to attend school during the summer. They will be on break for the entire summer and will automatically return to school on the next weekday of Fall. Of course, parents can elect to send their children back at any time via the School menu on the phone or computer. Ending summer break ends it for all children and teens in the household. 

School Milestones

Note: The separate mod is being phased out and should not be used with this mod. 

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Sims can sign up for Parent-Conferences and learn about their students' progress.

Prom and School Dances

These now occur randomly during school nights. 

Graduation 

Graduation now occurs automatically on a teen Sim's last day as a teen. If you having aging off, you can manually choose to have graduation for your teen, but it will not age them up. They will attend in cap and gown if from public or private school or in military dress if from military school. Depending on their grades, graduates have a chance to graduate with honors or be valedictorian. Upon graduation, they will be withdrawn from school. 

School Picture Day

School picture day can now randomly have occurred during or at the end of the school day for both teens and children. Your sim will get a notification it happened and a random buff. 

Academic Aptitude Test 

During the last 3 days as a Teen, Teen Sims will receive a notification that they have the opportunity to go and take an Academic Aptitude Test via the phone or computer. Taking the test will give them a large boost in performance. This is especially helpful if you have a mod that takes into account a Sim's final grade level/trait for University acceptance. 

Future Plans

• Add Homeschool and/or Virtual School option
• Add ability to drop out of high school and repercussions on career performance and promotions. 
• Add the ability to obtain High School Graduate Level Certificate after homeschooling or dropping out and becoming Young Adult. 
• Will probably change summer break from the whole summer to a specific set of days. 

Requirements

Required Packs

Base Game

Discover University (Only for the Education Career. If you don't have it, the rest of the mod still works, but none of the new Education branch features will be available. Obviously.)

Snowy Escape (for boarding Prep School child and teen uniforms only) and Strangerville (for teen Military School Uniforms only). Private/Independent School uses BG uniform. 

Compatibility and Instructions

NOTE: Mod Conflicts simply mean the same files are used and if both in the game could cause one or the other not to work as intended depending upon how they're loaded. If a mod is not listed below, I did not find a conflict with it, but if you do, let me know. 

Instructions:

Choose to download the mod after reading the Mod Description above and making note of the Compatibility and Conflict Information below. Place the entire folder from the zip file into your mods as is. Do not change the name. If you have School Milestones installed, delete before adding this mod! Also, always clear your cache when installing and uninstalling script mods!! You also need Triplis' mod script. Only the script is needed. This is required! 

Compatibility and Conflict Information:

KS Education Bundle is compatible with one exception: the Better Schools folder will conflict and is not needed with this mod as similar options are included in this mod. Delete the files KS-Better Grade School mod.package and KS-Better High School mod.package. The rest of the Education Bundle is fully compatible. 

Kuttoe's Career Overhaul is compatible with this mod with one important exception: the Education Career Goals package in Kuttoe's Career Overhaul. To avoid the issue, simply delete the file Kuttoe_CareerReqs_Education.package found under Kuttoe Career Overhaul Suite- Career Goals/Discovery University Careers. Do not use that package with this mod; they are incompatible and will cause issues.  All other portions of the Career Overhaul are fine to use with this mod.

LMS/Scarlet's Subject Homework will not conflict with this.

Zafire's Mandatory School Uniforms will conflict. Please do not use with this mod.

Shenanagin's Private School Mod will not conflict with this mod. You can withdraw your sims from Private School with this mod but you need to go through the Private School mod's enrollment event to gain entrance. However, if your sim is enrolled in Private School they will still get summer break, a chance for detention, field trips, and school assignments.

My School Milestones mod will conflict with this mod and is not needed with this mod as these options have been reworked and integrated into this mod. Delete that mod!

School Uniforms in Any World by MizoreYuki will not technically conflict but it will cause your Sims to wear Snowy Escape uniforms to public and private school and thus requires Snowy Escape. The uniforms from this mod have been made BGC. Public schools students will wear Everyday clothes. Private School students wear a uniform. Prep school students wear BGC Snowy Escape uniforms. Military school students wear BGC Military school uniforms. 

Zerbu's Go to School works with this mod but if you choose to follow your sim to school you will not receive a chance for the additional assignments, new away actions, or receive detention. Those options are only available in the school rabbithole. You will not get the chance to follow your sims to school if enrolled in boarding school or independent/private school. 

Zero's Required Degrees for Promotions-UNI package will conflict. The rest of the mod will not.

Credits: Sims 4 Studio, Mod Constructor, Triplis' Script

Updates

10/5 - Updated to fix strings issue with Youth and Family Activities. Both mods should display correctly! Please, please remember to clear cache and delete the previous version.

10/6 - Fixed an issue that prevented calendar events from showing in the event panel

10/10 - Updated the traits to change load element and opened up to Azure patrons. If you were getting an LE before, please clear cache, redownload the mod, save as a new copy of your previous save, and close the game. Reclear cache and reload. 

10/27 - Updated graduation autonomy, replaced strings in prom notification, and changed schools. In the public version, I have removed the ability to enroll in boarding school until EA fixes rabbitholes. If you were already enrolled and your sim is at boarding school, they will continue to go until you bring them home and withdraw them using phone/computer (on an adult in their household). If your sim was in the original independent school, they will continue going as usual. The uniform has changed since I realized it wasn't actually BGC; the new one is. Three new schools have been added to replace boarding schools - a private Preparatory school, a specialized exam school, and an alternative high school. I plan to make some learning difficulty traits that may or may not prompt someone to go to alternative school, but for now it's really only an option if you're kicked out of the other schools. You can choose to send your sim if that works for your storytelling, though. All of them function like regular EA schools with all the features of this mod. You can keep this version if you'd rather but if you replace it with the public version, please note these changes.